First Non-Korean K-pop Group EXP EDITION

This K-pop boy group showcases flawless singing and dancing skills... As we can see from their looks, the group is composed of non-Koreans, all from New York City.
Meet the K-pop group EXP EDITION that’s breathing new life into the K-pop scene.

We caught up with EXP EDITION at a music studio in Seoul.
They were checking their recording to ensure everything sounds good, as it was the day their first mini-album was released.
The group’s first mini-album, “First Edition,” is comprised of five songs. The lead track “Stress” is a danceable song with an intense synth sound, which depicts the desire to get away from all the stress of life.
Like all other K-pop artists, the members celebrated their big moment with their fans through a live broadcast.

"Since we started in New York, after releasing our first singles...it was always a dream of ours to come to Seoul. And when we realized we really wanted to pursue this, we said 'let's go to Seoul and let's release our first single and debut there'...and so, we came to Korea over a year and five months ago, and we started preparing for our debut and we released ''Feel Like This" last April and it's just been the craziest adventure ever since..."

EXP EDITION made their debut in Korea 2 years ago and has been everywhere in the industry ever since.
Due to the sensation they caused in the country, the group won a Newcomer’s Award last year,
and were even invited to the prestigious Roskilde Festival in Denmark in June as the K-pop representative.

It started out as a project for Kim Bo-ra's master of fine arts thesis at Columbia University. With two of her friends, she developed a hypothesis about what it would be like to start a K-pop boy group with non-Korean members. She then recorded the entire audition process to create a documentary film. The group’s origin story is just as unique as they are.
In New York, Frankie was active as a dancer and actor, Hunter was an actor, Koki was a model, and Sime from Croatia was a singer with three albums.
The members say they fell in love with Korean culture after experiencing the food, movies, and music.

"When we, I guess were first together and really wanted to do this, we were all intrigued by the fashion, the performance, the dancing, the singing and all the different kinds of music that is put together for K-POP and it's such a global phenomenon now...you can find K-POP fans anywhere all around the world...and it is just fascinating and it's cool."

In fact, there’s nothing new about having non-Korean members in K-pop groups. Twice and GOT7, for example, feature non-Korean members, but EXP EDITION was the first group made up of entirely non-Koreans.
CNN also covered EXP EDITION with the question, “Can Korean pop music still be considered Korean if it no longer features any Koreans?” The answer is yes, although there are heated debates around issues of identity.

"Since EXP EDITION is comprised of non-Koreans only, they may have a hard time, expressing