How Two Cousins Ended Up Training And Debuting Together In The Same K-Pop Group

Families and relatives working together is nothing new in the Korean entertainment business…

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…but what happened to god (formerly known as g.o.d) members Joon Park (Park Joon Hyung) and Danny Ahn was unprecedented at the time.

The two cousins, Danny Ahn being Joon Park’s uncle’s son, didn’t set off to debut in the same group. It was Joon Park’s older sister who made both members’ dreams come true.

Joon Park’s older sister, who was actor Jung Woo Sung‘s stylist when the 1997 K-Movie Beat premiered, carried Joon Park’s picture in a keychain. The CEO of Sidus saw the picture and decided to cast Joon Park, who was a student at California State University Long Beach. With the promise of debuting, Joon Park dropped his life in the US and headed to Korea.

At the same time, Danny Ahn was living in Korea and also pursuing a singing career. After watching a Seo Taiji and Boys performance, Danny Ahn started auditioning, though he failed all. Then, in Itaewon, he came across Son Hoyoung. The two of them started practicing together, eventually passing an audition together as well. The two almost debuted as part of a four-membered co-ed group—but the plan fell apart, and they were left to keep training.

Upon arriving in Korea, Joon Park then asked his cousin and Son Hoyoung to start training with him to debut. On January 13, 1999, the three of them—plus Yoon Kye Sang and Kim Tae Woo—debuted with “To My Mother.”

Now, god remains one of the longest standing K-Pop idol group!

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