The 27-Year-Old Idol Seemingly About To Debut For The 6th Time
In K-Pop, making multiple debuts is not completely out of the ordinary. Some idols, like ZEROBASEONE‘s Kim Jiwoong, have debuted more than once due to their group’s disbanding. In contrast, others, like aespa‘s Karina and Winter, have been added to project groups like Got The Beat and debuted again.
One male idol seemingly will make his 6th debut since entering the industry more than a decade after his first.
In 2012, the now-disbanded boy group C-CLOWN debuted with a six-membered line-up. Among the members was the 15-year-old Maru, who, like the other members, remained with the group until their official disbandment in 2015.
Under his birth name, Maru, now known as Jaejun, released a digital single as a member of a duo called TREI before the pair joined the survival show MIXNINE. In 2019, a third member was added to TREI, and the group made their official debut, though they would disband just one year later.
After signing with MLD Entertainment, Jaejun would debut as Marcus with his previous group mate Kim Juntae (JT) as JT&MARCUS in 2021, marking his third debut.
JT&MARCUS did not disband, but Jaejun would join the Wild Idol survival show, eventually making it to the final episode and debuting as a member of the temporary group T.A.N.
It was while in T.A.N that the idol made a fifth debut — as an actor. Jaejun, along with model Lee Ji Han, actor Seo Byuk Joon, and model Ahn Hyo Sang began appearing in a YouTube-based series titled CITYBOY_LOG, a BL set up in the style of a vlog.
TAN officially entered an indefinite hiatus in July 2024, with the members returning to their respective agencies.
Recently, it was announced that Jaejun, Juntae, and Hyunyeop, another member of T.A.N, would hold a fan meeting later this year in October. The trio’s official name of In A Minute seems to hint at some sort of promotional activities, as well as the fact that they are releasing music and would mark Jaejun’s sixth debut.
Jaejun has seen a steady increase in popularity that hopefully only continues grow!