Music / NCT

Neo Culture Technology ^note NCT 2020

"To the world, here comes NCT!"

NCT (Korean: 엔시티), is a South Korean boy band formed and managed by SM Entertainment. Their name stands for the Hallyu localization project Neo Culture Technology^note Neo stands for "new", while Culture Technology / Cultural Technology refers to the system created by SM Entertainment and is currently used by all South Korean agencies to form, manage, and promote K-pop artists internationally, a term coined by SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man to describe the group's concept of having an unlimited number of members divided into multiple sub-units based in various cities worldwide. The group currently has six sub-units: NCT U^note Rotational members, NCT 127^note based in Seoul, NCT DREAM^note Consists of the younger members, WayV^note based in China, NCT DOJAEJUNG^note consists of Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Jungwoo, and NCT WISH^note based in Japan.

Prior to 2023, there were 23 members. However, on February 24, 2023, SM Entertainment announced that they're abandoning the unlimited concept with the Tokyo sub-unit being the last sub-unit to debut with seven new members. On May 10, 2023, Lucas left NCT and WayV to pursue his solo activities. Then on May 24, 2023, Shotaro and Sungchan departed from NCT to join SM Entertainment's new boy group, RIIZE, along with SM Rookies Eunseok and Seunghan, who appeared in Welcome to NCT Universe. The 7-member line-up of the Japan sub-unit was later announced, until Jungmin's departure on October 2, 2023. NCT, as a whole, is composed of 26 members.

On June 5, 2023, Taeyong became the first member to debut as a solo artist with his extended play, Shalala.

Members

Current

• Taeyong (Lee Tae-yong, born July 1, 1995 in Seoul, South Korea) – Leader of NCT and NCT 127, Rapper, Dancer, Center/Face of the Group, Visual
• Taeil (Moon Tae-il, born June 14, 1994 in Seoul, South Korea) – Vocalist
• Johnny (Seo Young-ho^note English name John Jun Suh, born February 9, 1995 in Chicago, USA) – Rapper
• Yuta (Nakamoto Yuta, born October 26, 1995 in Osaka, Japan) - Vocalist
• Kun (Qian Kun, born January 1, 1996 in Fujian, China) - Leader of WayV, Vocalist
• Doyoung (Kim Dong-young, born February 1, 1996 in Gyeonggi, South Korea) - Vocalist
• Ten (Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul^note Chinese name Li Yong Qin, born February 27, 1996 in Bangkok, Thailand) - Dancer, Vocalist
• Jaehyun (Jeong Yun-o^note Birth name Jeong Jae-hyun, born February 14, 1997 in Seoul, South Korea) - Vocalist, Dancer, Rapper, Visual
• Winwin (Dong Si Cheng, born October 28, 1997 in Zhejiang, China) - Dancer, Vocalist
• Jungwoo (Kim Jung-woo, born February 18, 1998 in Gunpo, South Korea) - Vocalist
• Mark (Mark Lee^note Korean name Lee Min-hyung, born August 2, 1999 in Vancouver, Canada) - Leader of NCT Dream, Rapper, Dancer
• Xiaojun (Xiao De Jun, born August 8, 1999 in Guangdong, China) - Vocalist
• Hendery (Wong Kun Hang, born September 28, 1999 in Macau, China) - Rapper
• Renjun (Huang Ren Jun, born March 23, 2000 in Jilin, China) - Vocalist
• Jeno (Lee Je-no, born April 23, 2000 in Incheon, South Korea) - Dancer, Rapper
• Haechan (Lee Dong-hyuck, born June 6, 2000 in Seoul, South Korea) - Vocalist
• Jaemin (Na Jae-min, born August 13, 2000 in Jeonju, South Korea) - Rapper, Dancer
• Yangyang (Liu Yang Yang, born October 10, 2000 in Taiwan) - Rapper
• Chenle (Zhong Chen-le, born November 22, 2001 in Shanghai, China) - Vocalist
• Jisung (Park Ji-sung, born February 5, 2002 in Seoul, South Korea) - Dancer, Rapper
• Sion (Oh Si-on, May 11, 2002 in Mokpo, South Korea) - Leader of NCT WISH, Vocalist
• Riku (Maeda Riku, June 28, 2003 in Fukui, Japan) - Rapper
• Yushi (Tokuno Yūshi, April 5, 2004 in Tokyo, Japan) - Dancer
• Jaehee (Kim Dae-young, June 21, 2005 in Daegu, South Korea) - Vocalist
• Ryo (Hirose Ryo, August 4, 2007 in Kyoto, Japan) - Vocalist
• Sakuya (Fujinada Sakuya, November 18, 2007 in Saitama, Japan) - Rapper

Former:

• Lucas (Wong Yuk Hei^note Birth name Huang Xuxi, Korean name Hwang Wook-hee, born January 25, 1999 in Hong Kong, China) - Rapper
• Shotaro (Osaki Shotaro, born November 25, 2000 in Kanagawa, Japan) - Rapper, Dancer
• Sungchan (Jung Sung-chan, born September 13, 2001 in Seoul, South Korea) - Rapper
• Jungmin (July 24, 2004)

Sub-units

• NCT U: A sub-unit wherein the lineup keeps changing for every comeback, depending on which members fit the comeback concept and theme.
• NCT 127: With 127 standing for the longitude of Seoul, the sub-unit is based in Seoul, South Korea and is in charge of promoting K-pop globally^note particularly in the United States. The members are Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Doyoung, Yuta, Jaehyun, Winwin^note inactive since 2019 and is currently a member of WayV, Jungwoo, Mark, Haechan.
• NCT Dream: Composed of the younger members of NCT and has a more colorful and lighter concept than NCT 127. Initially a rotational group for teenagers with a graduation concept once a member turns 20 years old, NCT Dream became a fixed unit consisting of the seven original members: Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Mark^note graduated in 2019, but returned in 2020, Chenle, Jisung, and Jaemin.
• WayV (威神V): The sub-unit is based in China, under its own exclusive label Label V. The members are Kun, Ten, Winwin, Lucas^note left the subunit and the group in 2023, Xiaojun, Hendery, and Yangyang.
• NCT DOJAEJUNG: Composed of Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Jungwoo.
• NCT Wish: A sub-unit based in Japan. The members are Sion, Riku, Yushi, Jaehee, Ryo, and Sakuya.

Project Units

• NCT 2018: Includes all members of NCT in 2018: Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Kun, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun, Winwin, Jungwoo, Lucas, Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung.
• NCT 2020: Includes all members of NCT in 2020: All previous members of NCT 2018 plus Xiaojun, Hendery, Yangyang, Shotaro and Sungchan.
• NCT 2021: Includes all members of NCT in 2021 minus Winwin^note He was focusing on his solo career in China at the time, although he made appearances in the teasers and Lucas^note He announced his hiatus from the group in August of the same year due to a scandal.
• NCT 2023: Includes all members of NCT in 2023.

Discography

NCT 2018

• Studio Albums:
  • Empathy (2018)

NCT 2020

• Studio Albums:
  • Resonance Pt. 1 (2020)
  • Resonance Pt. 2 (2020)

• Singles:
  • Resonance (2020 KOR)

NCT 2021

• Studio Albums:
  • Universe (2021)

• Singles:
  • Beautiful (2021 KOR)

NCT 2023

• Studio Albums:
  • Golden Age (2023)

NCT 127

• Studio Albums:
  • Regular-Irregular (2018 KOR)
    • Regulate (2018 KOR)
  • Awaken (2019 JPN)
  • Neo Zone (2020 KOR)
    • Neo Zone: The Final Round (2020 KOR)
  • Sticker (2021 KOR)
    • Favorite (2021 KOR)
  • 2 Baddies (2022 KOR)
    • Ay-Yo (2023 KOR)
  • Fact Check (2023 KOR)

• EPs:
  • NCT #127 (2016 KOR)
  • Limitless (2017 KOR)
  • Cherry Bomb (2017 KOR)
  • Chain (2018 JPN)
  • Up Next Session: NCT 127 (2018)
  • We Are Superhuman (2019 KOR)
  • Loveholic (2021 JPN)

• Single Album
  • Be There For Me (2023 KOR)

NCT DREAM

• Single Albums:
  • The First (2017 KOR)
• EPs:
  • We Young (2017 KOR)
  • We Go Up (2018 KOR)
  • We Boom (2019 KOR)
  • Reload (2020 KOR)
  • Dream()Scape (2024 KOR)
• Studio Albums:
  • Hot Sauce (2021 KOR)
    • Hello Future (2021 KOR)
  • Glitch Mode (2022 KOR)
    • Beatbox (2022 KOR)
  • ISTJ (2023 KOR)
• Winter Albums:
  • Candy (2022 KOR)

WayV

• See WayV

NCT DOJAEJUNG

• EPs:
  • Perfume (2023 KOR)

NCT WISH

• Single Album
  • Wish (2024 KOR & JPN)
• EPs
  • Hands Up (2023 JPN)

Solo Discography

Taeyong

• EPs
  • Shalala (2023 KOR)
  • TAP (2024 KOR)

Ten

• EPs
  • TEN (2024 ENG)

Doyoung

• Studio Album
  • YOUTH (2024 KOR)

Tours

NCT

• NCT Nation: To The World (2023)

NCT 127

• Neo City – The Origin (2019-2020)
• Neo City – The Awards (2020; cancelled)
• Neo City – The Link (2021-2023)
• Neo City – The Unity (2023-2024)

NCT DREAM

• The Dream Show (2019-2020)
• The Dream Show 2: In A Dream (2022-2023)

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Tropes relating to WayV can be found on that page.

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NCT provides examples of:

General Tropes

• Boy Band: A Korean Pop Music boy-band.
• Cast Full of Pretty Boys: As per the norm for any standard boy band from Korea.
• Confession Cam: Was set up during the last episode of NCT Life in Bangkok. Brought Taeil to tears.
• Cooking Duel: The plot behind "NCT Life: Korean Cuisine Challenge"
• Crowd Chant: Some Music Shows staff reported their fanchants to be the most loud and united.
• Debut Queue: We are still waiting for NCT Tokyo...
• Genre Shift: From the experimental hip-hop music of NCT 127 to the bubblegum pop music of NCT Dream.
• Gentle Giant: Most of the taller (and older) members, such as Johnny and Jaehyun, are this.
• Gratuitous English: "Firetruck", "That's a long ass ride", etc. Inverted in "Mad City", where Mark has a whole verse in English, which makes perfect sense.
• Lighter and Softer: NCT Dream was envisioned as a cuter, more youthful version of NCT as the members at the time of debut had an average age of 14-17, and their first two songs were about having a First Love. Suddenly, they released "Go", a Darker and Edgier Genre Shift from their previous works.
  • Ironically, NCT 127, who released a song around the same time as NCT Dream's "Go", did the opposite. Their previous discography was filled with hardcore hip-hop, dark R&B and heavy electronic songs, but suddenly, they released a colorful music video with a cute, pop love song — "Touch."
• Officially Shortened Title: The group's name is Neo Culture Technology, which is officially shortened to just NCT, and most casual listeners don't even know the real meaning behind it.
• Performance Video: Have this for all of their title tracks.
• Reality Show: "NCT Life" and its variations.
• Singer-Songwriter: Mark and Taeyong have been actively taking part in writing their lyrics from the very debut.
• Team Hand-Stack: It's a tradition for them to do this before every performance.
• Travelogue Show: "NCT Life" and the video logs present in the NCT YouTube channel.
• Vocal Dissonance: Most of the Dreamies, ever since they hit puberty. Jisung in particular is a very good example of this trope.
• Vocal Tag Team: Taeil, Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Haechan.
• A Wild Rapper Appears!: Well, they are a contemporary K-Pop band, there has to be at least one.
  • Taeyong in Red Velvet's "Be Natural".

NCT U

• Big Word Shout: RAISE THE ROOF! RAAAAAAAIIIIIIISE!
• Interchangeable Asian Cultures: The Aladdin-themed music video for "Make A Wish (Birthday Song)" got into some quite of trouble from Middle Eastern, Muslim, and Indian fans, with one of the many reasons being their cultures interchanged as seen from the set designs, outfits, and choreography.
• Never Trust a Trailer: The "Synchronization of your dreams" version of "The 7th Sense" was sung by another set of members, and also those who appeared in the trailer were not the ones who sung it either.
• Precision F-Strike: "The 7th Sense" contains this: "Uh, and that's a long ass ride".
• Revolving Door Band: The main concept of NCT U is that the line-up is rotational, and members constantly change from time to time depending on the genre of the song.
  • For example, "From Home" is an emotional ballad song, so the members participating are NCT's vocalists. Meanwhile, "OK!" is a rap track composed of NCT's main rappers.
• The Stinger: The music video for "Make A Wish (Birthday Song)" contains a post-credits teaser for aespa's debut.

NCT 127

• Auto-Tune: Has an unreasonable addition to Taeyong's opening rap in "Sticker".
• Awesome Personnel Carrier: There are 10 custom-made armored vehicles in the music video for "Fact Check".
• Badass Boast: "Mad City", "Cherry Bomb", "Lemonade", and "2 Baddies". Can be also considered a case of Self-Empowerment Anthem.
• Bait-and-Switch: "Designer" at first sets up a badass song, with its intro featuring adlibs from Mark… until it turns into a cute-sounding song about falling in love.
• Batman Can Breathe in Space: In the music video for "Fact Check", Mark is shown floating in space with nothing but his usual stage outfit.
• Call-Back:
  • Lyrics in "Bring the Noize" include the group's past title tracks.
  • In "Whiplash", Mark raps his iconic line from "The 7th Sense": "uh, long ass ride."
• Censored Title: "2 Baddies" was originally titled "2 Bitches 1 Porsche".
• Computer-Generated Images: The music videos for "Sticker", "Favorite", and "2 Baddies" are CGI-loaded.
• Cool Car: The customized Porsche specifically made for "2 Baddies".
• Cowboy: The concept for "Sticker".
• Deranged Animation: The trippy music video for "2 Baddies" takes the crown.
• Distinct Double Album: While it could technically be considered more of a double EP, Regular-Irregular features two different styles on a single disc. The first half is lighter pop fare that focuses on the concept of reality, while the second half carries more hip-hop influences and focuses on dreams and ideals. The repackaged version of the album, Regulate, adds new songs that further emphasize the duality.
• Hacker Collective: The members appear as college students-at-day and hackers-at-night in the "Who is Sticker?" teaser for Sticker.
• Hell-Bent for Leather: Most of the stage outfits for "Punch" are black leather, which are mixed-and-matched for different members in different performances.
• Hollywood California: The teaser photos for Ay-Yo were taken at the Pink Motel in Los Angeles.
• "I Am Great!" Song: "Cherry Bomb" is all about them being the biggest hit on this stage.
• Intercourse with You: The lyrics for "Whiplash" and "Baby Don't Like It".
• Jitter Cam: Used for effect in certain performances of "Cherry Bomb," such as this one.
• Lyric Swap: In most of the South Korean television broadcasts for "2 Baddies", the lyrics "2 Baddies 1 Porsche" were changed to "2 Baddies 1 Squad" due to brand name censorship.
• Martial Arts Movie: The concept for "Kick It".
• Mood Whiplash: Applies to all of their albums, which would usually start with an energetic hip-hop song followed by a chill R&B track, then a ballad, then another rap track.
• Neon City: The sets for the "Regular", "Kick It", and "Sticker" music videos.
  • And the style for their 2 Baddies Highlight Medley!
  • Coincidentally, Neo City is another nickname for NCT, and is even mentioned in the lyrics of "Whiplash".
    • Neo City is also the main title for NCT 127's concert tours.
• '90s Hair: Largely the case for their "Limitless" comeback.
• Numerological Motif: NCT 127 is so named because it's based in Seoul, Korea, which has a longitude coordinate of 127. It signifies that even though this is their home base, they will eventually branch out and conquer the music industry all over the world.
• Pelvic Thrust: The choreography at the beginning of "Favorite (Vampire)".
• Product Placement: Coca-Cola in their "Taste The Feeling" MV. It is a commercial, after all.
  • Porsche is the running theme in "2 Baddies".
• Romantic Vampire Boy: The concept for "Favorite (Vampire)".
• Secret Handshake: Jaehyun and Winwin do this in the rough version of the "Limitless" MV. Also Mark and Jaehyun have one of their own.
• Sensory Overload: The music video for "2 Baddies". Not only that it is an overall trippy music video that seems to take the viewer on an LSD experience, the almost 4-minute long song also contains the group's trademark noise music with group chanting and loud Hip-hop instrumentals.
• Sequel Song: "Kick It" and "Sticker" are this to "Cherry Bomb".
  • The three songs are all produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dem Jointz, alongside SM Entertainment's writer and composer Yoo Young-jin.
  • These three tracks also happen to be the most popular and most successful in NCT 127's discography, that the members themselves consider it as their representative songs.
  • Inverted with "2 Baddies". Yes, it is a "noisy" song that contains the group's trademark chorus chants like "Kick It", but this is their first non-repackage title track since "Highway to Heaven" to not be produced by Dem Jointz and Yoo Young-jin.
• Shout-Out: "Cherry Bomb" and "Kick It" have a handful of shout-outs to Hollywood.
  • "Cherry Bomb" makes a reference to Kingsman: The Secret Service.
  • "Kick It", being a song about Bruce Lee himself, is composed of chants of the actor's name in the chorus. Taeyong's verse also references Bruce Lee's film Enter the Dragon, while Mark's verse references actor Samuel L. Jackson.
• Surprisingly Gentle Song: "Touch" is this in contrast with most of their title tracks.
• Take That, Audience!: "Lemonade" is clearly about their haters who consume their media only to leave negative comments. Also a case of Diss Track and Ode to Apathy.
  • The fact that Jaehyun has the most memorable lines in the song is even more iconic, considering how just the year before, he was receiving tons of hate on social media for a very specific reason...
• Textless Album Cover: NCT 127 is just red-white-black camo. Cherry Bomb is just some graphics of, well, a cherry exploding like a nuclear bomb.
• Title by Number: 127
• Title-Only Chorus: "Firetruck"'s chorus is just... Firetruck in both English and Korean translations.
• Title Track: Most of their albums are titled after the lead single.
• Word Salad Philosophy: Apparently, "Ay-Yo" is about... a sustainable environment?
  (In Korean) The storm of paradigm comes crashing (Ha!)
  In the warning (Yeah!)
  A sudden twist for immortal beings
  It's up to you, what you wanna do?

NCT DREAM

• Acronym and Abbreviation Overload: Their third studio album is titled ISTJ, which, you guessed it, refers to the MBTI personality.
• Anthropomorphic Food: The album cover for Hot Sauce.
• Boy Band: "Broken Memories" is reminiscent of early 2010s boy band music, particularly One Direction's.
• Cool Board: "Chewing Gum" has hoverboards incorporated into the choreography.
• Design Student's Orgasm: The music videos for "Chewing Gum", "Hot Sauce", "Hello Future", and "Glitch Mode".
• First Love: "My First and Last" is about the feelings of falling in love for the first time.
• Hot Teacher: In the music video for "My First and Last", all of the boys have a crush on their teacher and try to impress her. Unfortunately, she is already married and has a child.
• Rebellious Spirit: NCT Dream's "Go" is about rebelling against the world. The music video also portrays the members as teenage rebels, as they run through the city throughout the night and do reckless things.
• Scooby Stack: The music video and the album cover for "My First and Last" has NCT Dream peeking out from behind a wall.

NCT DOJAEJUNG

• The Cameo: All NCT DOJAEJUNG members make a cameo in each member's music film.
  • Doyoung and Jungwoo appear as assistant chefs in Jaehyun's Passion.
  • Jaehyun and Jungwoo have minor roles in Doyoung's Commitment.
  • Averted in Jungwoo's Intimacy. Jaehyun and Doyoung play bigger roles as Jungwoo's best friends and had significant screentime.
• Differing Priorities Breakup: In Jaehyun's music film Passion, his girlfriend breaks up with him to pursue her dreams overseas.
• Double-Meaning Title: Passion refers to the romantic desire that a couple feels for each other; it could also be about one's dream and enthusiasm for something. The music film is exactly both of these; it's a romantic story with a Bittersweet Ending after Jaehyun's girlfriend leaves him for her "passion".
• High School: Jungwoo's music film Intimacy is set in high school.
• Power Trio: The sub-unit consists of three members.
• Short Film: As part of NCT DOJAEJUNG's promotions for their debut extended play Perfume (2023), they released three music films for each member, titled: Passion, Commitment, and Intimacy.