ENHYPEN's Sunghoon Reveals How He Went From Figure Skater To K-Pop Idol

It is no secret that ENHYPEN‘s Sunghoon is a former figure skater and had great success competing for many years, winning several medals throughout his career. Yet, the transition to becoming a K-Pop idol and debuting in ENHYPEN seems to be an unusual one.

[INFO] Park Sunghoon is a figure skater@mnetiland @BELIFT_official #Mnet #ILAND #I_LAND #I_LAND_COMING_SOON pic.twitter.com/zRFemWSIGr

— SUNOO PICS (@picturesunoo) June 1, 2020

ENHYPEN‘s Jake, Sunghoon, and Jungwon were the latest guests on DIVE Studios‘ K-Pop Daebak with Eric Nam. During the episode, Eric Nam asked Sunghoon how he went from a figure skater to an idol.

Sunghoon explained how, while he was skating, he was scouted by HYBE (formerly Big Hit Entertainment) but had no real intention of becoming an idol.

I joined the dance group, thinking it would help out my figure skating skills. I joined, but I didn’t really have any intentions of becoming an artist.

— Sunghoon

Yet, after watching those around him, including BTS, Sunghoon found a new motivation and love for the industry.

It was motivating watching BTS and the other trainees training hard. I got friendly with them, and that’s when I wanted to become an idol.

— Sunghoon

After making that decision, Sunghoon continued to train for two years before debuting through Mnet‘s show I-LAND.

Although Sunghoon seemed to have adjusted to the change of careers, he pointed out one of the biggest differences between being a figure skater and in an idol group.

Working on my figure skating was personal work for me. However, an idol group consists of numerous people working together. Now I have people to depend on instead of doing it by myself.

— Sunghoon