Lee Mark (Minhyung), 21, Toronto, Canada: The Tigerย ย
2010-2012: A Coincidence or Fate?ย
Thereโs a Korean proverb that says โto catch a tiger, you have to go to the tigerโs den,โ which in the West we may know as โno pain, no gain.โ It means that without one putting in all their hard work and effort, theyโll never reach for what they aspire. In the case of Mark Leeโwho is often lovingly compared to a baby tiger by fansโhe embodies this to a tee.ย
Before he was the superstar idol we know him as today, Mark was just an ordinary student growing up between the towns of Vancouver, Toronto, and New York. As he bounced along the East side of North America, he focused on his studies, citing himself as a studious student. Growing up he was surrounded by musicโhis father was a music vocal major and his mother had a background in piano and jazz.
Unknowingly, his environment would influence his future path. Even his deep faith in Christianity introduced him to dancing and singing in front of others through church. He noted that although he enjoyed music it had never crossed his mind to pursue it seriously. Instead, he originally dreamed of becoming an author and publishing his own book someday. To this day, heโs stayed true to his word and is still writing, and even sharing his poetry on his personal Instagram.
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His story officially began in 2012, a monumental year for K-Pop with the steady rise of PSYโs โGangnam Styleโ all across the globe. Although Mark is now well known for his rapping prowess, he first got into SM Entertainment through his singing abilities. As if by fate, the one day he had a day off from school there was coincidentally a SM Global Audition in Vancouver, Canadaโwhich at the time was rare since K-Pop had not yet become the Hallyu wave we see today.
He auditioned with the song, โGrenadeโ by Bruno Mars and joined the company that same year heading to Seoul, South Korea, 6,603 miles away from everything he knew. Describing it as his lifeโs first turning point he was more scared and worried than excited living on his own in a strange country. His mother has expressed regrets that she had let him audition at the tender age of 13, since in exchange for the fame he sacrificed indispensable precious youthful memories. However, seeing his growth as an artist has made her reassured heโs made the right choice with this once-in-a-lifetime career.ย
Markโs goal to become an idol flourished as he drew inspiration from artists he greatly admired. As seen by his audition song selection – Bruno Mars was a huge influence on him. It was after seeing Bruno Marsโ performance that he thought for the first time in his life that he wanted to be on stage too. Mark has also often referenced Justin Bieber as an artist he has dreamed of collaborating with since he was little. He explained that he was able to relate with Bieber who started his career at a young age as well. This commonality drew him to look up to Bieberโs style of music.ย
(Credit: SM Rookies, courtesy of SM Entertainment)
2013-2015: Welcome to the Show
His training began and within a few months he became a standout trainee. In this time he would meet Mq, his rap teacher who would become a significant person in his career. According to Ep. 7 of Boys Mental Camp Season 2 (2021), Mq is attributed to the discovery of Markโs natural talent and igniting his passion for rap. It came to no surprise on December 16, 2013 when he was quickly introduced to the public for the first time as a prospective trainee-to-debut with SMโs predebut project dubbed SM ROOKIESโthe project aimed at cultivating the next generation of global artists. Mark in particular drew attention for being foreign to Korea as a Canadian, which appealed to international fans. He became well known for being a part of SM ROOKIESโ โforeign swaggerโ line consisting of fellow members Johnny and Jaehyun who could also communicate in English. Fans were able to get glimpses of his down-to-earth demeanor, his most notable being his music video reaction with Haechan to Red Velvetโs debut, โHappiness.โย
By 15 he would go on to further develop as an entertainer through several TV broadcast opportunities. He made his first variety show appearance on EXO 90:2014 (2014) dancing short covers and playing games with EXO and fellow SM ROOKIESโ members. Mark and the younger SM ROOKIES revealed a quick preview of them dancing to EXOโs โGrowlโ on the show, which they later performed at their first concert on August 15, 2014 at SMTOWN Live World Tour IV in Seoul. This would be Markโs first chance at a live performance before an audience and an opportunity to show off the dance skills he was polishing.
As one of the youngest trainees, he joined alongside his future NCT Dream group mates as cast members for the revived Walt Disneyโs Mickey Mouse Club in Korea on July 8, 2015. This became a valuable experience for him to become well known to the public, allowing him to exhibit his dance and rap on a regular basis. Here, fans were able to delve in deeper into his personality and talents with various performances, skits, and games. The Mouseketeersโ cover of The Little Mermaidโs โUnder the Seaโ currently has 2.9 million views on YouTube, their most-viewed performance from the show online.ย
Despite not even debuting yet, the SM ROOKIES formula was working. Their consistent social media posts and large amount of accessible content attracted a steady fan base by 2015. So much so, that the male subunit was granted their own concert series named, the SMROOKIES Show where they toured in Korea and Thailand from 2015-2016. Markโs original rap for their cover of โUnder The Seaโ blew fans away proving not only his unique rap style, but his abilities as a future lyricist.ย
2016: To The Worldย
With the success of SM ROOKIES the next steps for the future of these members were clear. At a press conference, Lee Soo-Man announced a new mega boy group on February 1, 2016 called Neo Culture Technologyโwhose concept of localization would be the foundation for the companyโs future. Markโs rap could be heard in the teaser for NCT Uโs โThe 7th Senseโ as it introduced the fresh new talent to debut.ย
After four long years of training, Mark officially debuted as the youngest member of NCT U at 16 years old with the title track, โThe 7th Senseโ on April 8, 2016. Right off the bat, his impactful and self-written rap verse drew attention. In fact, this was only the beginning as Mark is currently credited for 40+ songs. It comes as no surprise considering he has always been interested in writing.ย
โDrenched in emotions, I think about the rainbow that resembles your smile, That is caught in between the two clouds in my heart.โย
โ Mark Lee, โRainbowโย
By July, Mark would be placed in the fixed and second unit of NCT, NCT 127. Before debuting for the second time, he and the members appeared in their first reality TV show series, NCT Life in Bangkok (2016), which followed them to their debut day. Anticipation was high when the fiery title track โFire Truckโ dropped July 7, 2016 and peaked at number two on the Billboard World Album charts.
Barely a month later, NCT Dream was announced to debut with the popping track, โChewing Gum,โ and once again, Mark was in the lineup. Grabbing the title of โPro Debuterโ it became a topic of concern for fans who worried the teenager was overworking himself.
Regardless, if he was overwhelmed or not Mark stayed diligent throughout the rest of 2016 without rest. His dedication to his groups bore fruit and by the end of the year he stood proudly on stage collecting the coveted MAMA โRookie of the Yearโ award where he thanked his family, fans, and most importantly, God, for taking them all the way.
2017-2018: Steady Climbย
With the start of the new year, Mark challenged himself by joining the first season of the survival reality show, High School Rapper (2017). The format of the show followed high school representatives from each of Koreaโs districts as they battled one another with their rapping abilities. He viewed this as an opportunity to shed prejudice he faced as an โidol rapper,โ wanting to prove his sincerity towards the craft of rap and hip hop. Mark represented the Gangseo district of Seoul and was able to reach the final round placing seventh overall.ย
Throughout the show, he demonstrated his humble mindset and hard working demeanor. Even with his busy schedule between comebacks and schoolwork, he was often seen jotting down ideas and lyrics any chance he got. His fellow NCT members have mentioned themselves that he โpractices rap even in the carโ and โMark was considered the most sincere/hard working trainee during our trainee days.โ His final iconic solo stage, โDropโ with Red Velvetโs Seulgi features his honest thoughts of stereotypes and how the grind never stops.ย
โThey say it’s dangerous outside the blanket
But you can’t just sleep forever
If you only dream, That’s the nightmare
Even when they say the top is near, I can’t stop thereโย
โ Mark Lee, โDropโ
ย ย
Mark thrived at the beginning of 2017 as he snagged the first music show win alongside the NCT Dream members with their upbeat comeback song, โMy First and Last.โ NCT 127โs comeback โCherry Bombโ on June 14, 2017 cemented their popularity and signature โNCT Noiseโ sound that would be found in ensuing songs later on. Once again, Markโs rap verse was met with high praise from critics and the general public. His powerful rapping style alongside member Taeyong was changing the image of SMโs โidol rappersโ that were belittled before. He would stand on a joint stage with other โidol rappersโ in the industry at the MAMAโs award show in Hong Kong by the end of the year confirming this point, rapping alongside GOT7โs Jackson, MONSTA Xโs Jooheon, and Seventeenโs Vernon.ย ย
Leading into 2019, Mark was booked and busy with solo endeavors and ambitious projects. He collaborated with the likes of EXOโs Xiumin for SM Stationโs โYoung & Freeโ and Park Jaejung for โLemonade Loveโ during July 2017. While juggling long work hours he graduated high school from the School of Performing Arts Seoul majoring in Practical Dance in February 2018. That very same month he would become a regular MC host for Show! Music Core with gugudanโs Mina and Ong Seongwoo.
A few months later he joined the cast of the reality-variety show Itโs Dangerous Beyond the Blankets (2018) and showed how he enjoyed his time as an adorably awkward introvertโa stark contrast to him on stage. Project group, NCT 2018 brought great success to the NCT brand especially with the NCT U Boss subunit which Mark participated in. The dynamic song is one of NCTโs most popular songs to date having been covered by a number of idols.
2019-Present: No Better Time than Nowย
In the midst of this all, Markโs impending graduation from NCT Dream befell him since he would be a legal adult after December 31, 2018. On the final seven-member mini-album, they dedicated a song โDear DREAMโ to say goodbye to Mark and reassure fans everything would be OK. Markโs heartfelt lyrics about his time as a member of NCT Dream touched fans who could feel his bittersweet farewell.ย
โThis is only one part of something passing
You can write this down, I believe you will pass on, this bookmark
Itโs more natural if you leave it to the flow
But I donโt want this to sound like
Weโre about to depart
If I ever get lost
I wasnโt going to make it obvious
Imma call back
Donโt forget the tone I called you
Chant it like we always did
Hope we always feel likeโย
-
– Mark Lee, โDear DREAMโย
Markโs tremendous global popularity as an NCT member made him a perfect fit for the supergroup, SuperM which combined remarkable talents from SMโs top boy groups: SHINee, EXO, NCT, and WayV. The group ultimately aimed to broaden the K-Pop genre in the western market. Already being able to connect with international fans and having trendy rap and dance skills made it pretty clear why he was chosen. They debuted with their title track, โJoppingโ on October 9, 2019, which has since accumulated 100 million views. They shortly went on a world tour making stops in Europe, Asia, North, and Latin America. He had the crowds going wild performing an unreleased, self-written solo track, โTalk Aboutโ at each concert. However, it was Markโs groundbreaking rap verse from the title track โJoppingโ that had the entire audience chanting it with him.ย
Even as years passed, NCTzens couldnโt help but express their displeasure at NCT Dream still being a graduation unit. Growing fond of the original seven members, they couldnโt imagine a future without the seven performing together. Realizing the overwhelming popularity of the group, in April 2020 SM Entertainment abolished the graduation system and announced the reinstatement of Mark into the forever fixed unit of NCT Dream. Since coming back to Dream, Mark alongside his members has continuously proven their value together by breaking records left and right. Theyโve become double million sellers with album sales, swept an all-kill on music charts, and rightfully won seven music show awards.ย
The contributions Mark has made for NCT are undeniable. Starting from the very beginning heโs been a member of the group with good reason. Being immensely talented heโs changed the rap game for not only NCT as a group but SM Entertainment as a whole. Both professionals and peers have complimented the all-rounder as โan artist who is known for his overwhelming passion and sincerity.โ Time and time again fans have seen him continue to transform with each performance. The relatable messages he leaves through his work seek to encourage fellow youths to dream and console them of the struggles of growing up and figuring out who they are. Mark has come a long way to find his forever family and supporters, becoming a special existence to so many. With all that heโs been able to achieve by 21, we can only imagine what else is down the road for him.ย
Read about Taeyong’s journey in the Turn Back Time feature here.
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