K-Pop Blog > Artists > Member Profile > NCT 127 / NCT Dream > Mark

ARTIST NAME:	Mark
REAL NAME:	Mark Lee
KOREAN:	Mark
KOREAN NAME:	Lee Min Hyung (Lee Min Hyung)
BIRTHDAY:	2. August 1999
Size:	176 cm (5’9″)
BLOOD GROUP:	A
MBTI TYP:	INFJ
ZODIAC SIGN:	♌︎ Leo
CHINESE ZODIAC SIGNS:	Yes

Mark
12.2M
Follower

NCT 127
15.5M
Follower

NCT Dream
12,8M
Follower

SuperM
4.7M
Follower

NCT 127
9.6M
Follower

NCT Dream
10.6M
Follower

SuperM
2,8M
Follower

NCT
12,8M
Follower

NCT
6.2M
Follower

SuperM
2,48M
Follower

BIOGRAPHY

Mark (Korean: 이마크) was born on August 2, 1999 in Vancouver, Canada. He has an older brother who convinced him to pursue a music career and apply to SM Entertainment. In 2012 Mark passed the SM Global Audition in Canada and from then on he trained for his debut.

In 2013, SM Entertainment launched the pre-debut team “SM Rookies”. The team has its own social media channels and publishes performances and song covers. Mark was one of the very first members of the SM Rookies, along with other future members of NCT and the future members of Red Velvet.

In 2015, SM Entertainment produced a Korean version of "Mickey Mouse Club". The show featured several SM rookies. They played games, performed skits and performed covers of Disney songs. The so-called "Mouseketeers" who appeared on the show , Mark and four other future NCT members: Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin and Jisung There were also four girls. The show started in July and was hosted by Super Junior's Leeteuk. It ended in December of the same year.

Mark graduated from the School of Performing Arts Seoul.

On April 9, 2016, Mark debuted in the first ever NCT unit “NCT U” with the song “The 7th Sense”. The line-up for the song consisted of Taeyong, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun and Mark.

NCT

NCT is the largest K-pop group in the world with 26 members! It consists of six different units: NCT U, NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV, NCT DoJaeJung, and NCT Wish. Originally the line-up of the units was supposed to change depending on the concept, but now each unit has a fixed line-up. The only exception is NCT U.

Every few years the units get together to record an album with all members and give concerts together. The concept is unusual, but it works. Over the years, NCT has broken countless records and redefined the K-pop genre. The list of achievements is almost endless, so we have picked out the most interesting facts and milestones for you:

• NCT 127 debuted in 2016 with seven members: Taeil, Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, Winwin, Mark and Haechan. By 2018, Doyoung, Johnny and Jungwoo were added.
• NCT Dream debuted in 2016 with seven members: Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung. Mark left the unit in 2018, but returned in 2020.
• “NCT 2018 Empathy” is the first NCT album with the entire group. (18 members at the time) It was certified platinum.
• All NCT units together will have sold over 40 million albums by 2024; more than any other SM Entertainment artist.
• The final unit NCT WISH debuted in February 2024, eight years after NCT U.
• With 4.2 million copies sold “ISTJ” by NCT Dream NCT's best-selling album. The best-selling album by NCT 127 is “Sticker”.

You can find out more about the history of NCT here!

It's not without reason that Mark is one of the most famous members of NCT.

He debuted in three different NCT units in 2016 - NCT U, NCT 127 & NCT Dream - and is also a member of the super group “SuperM” from SM Entertainment.

NCT Dream was originally intended as a rotating unit. When a member turns 19, they should graduate and leave the unit. New members would arrive and NCT Dream would remain a teenage unit. Mark was the oldest of the seven members and left the unit as planned in 2018.

From then on, NCT Dream was a six-piece and released several singles, a Japanese compilation album and two Korean mini-albums without a mark. But even before the release of “Reload”, SM Entertainment announced that Mark would return to NCT Dream after the album. The rotation system was abolished and NCT Dream has been a permanent unit ever since.

The studio album “Hot Sauce” was released on May 10, 2021, which is also the first album since Mark’s return. It topped the Gaon Charts and broke NCT Dream's record for most pre-orders of an album.

To this day, Mark alternates on stage with NCT Dream and NCT 127. This also applies to his bandmate Haechan, who is also active in both units.

SUPERM

On October 4, 2019, the new boy group SuperM debuted with the mini album “SuperM” and the title song “Jopping”. SuperM is a supergroup that brings together all of SM Entertainment's boy bands that existed at the time. The members include Taemin (SHINee), Baekhyun & Kai (EXO), Taeyong & Mark (NCT 127) and Ten & Lucas (WayV). The group only released a few songs, but they were very successful:

• The debut album “SuperM” was the first debut work by an Asian artist to top the US Billboard 200 chart.
• The title track “Jopping” reached number 1 on the US World Digital Songs Billboard Chart.
• SuperM was the first group from SM Entertainment to hold a live online concert. The concert entitled “Beyond the Future” took place in April 2020.
• The second album “Super One” was released in September 2020 and topped the Billboard World Albums Chart.

DISCOGRAPHY

SONGWRITING CREDITS

Mark has written more than 80 songs for NCT since his debut in 2016 and has also produced some of them himself.

FILMOGRAPHY/ VIDEOGRAPHY

ILLUSTRATION

One of Mark's many talents is modeling. Of course he regularly appears in front of the camera with his bandmates, but he also cuts a good figure alone. Among other things, Mark can be seen on the cover of the October 2023 issue of Esquire. In 2024 he was photographed for the April issue of ELLE and the June issue of Cosmopolitan.

FUN FACTS

• Mark originally applied to SM Entertainment as a singer because he prefers singing to rapping.
  
• He speaks in both Korean and English in his sleep.
  
• Mark originally dreamed of becoming an author.
  
• The lyrics “I don't know how to make eggs” for his solo song “Golden Hour” were inspired by Gordon Ramsay. A fan sent Gordon a photo of Mark's attempt to make a fried egg and Gordon responded humorously with the phrase "Get back on Tinder!" As Mark was writing the song, the situation came back to him.
  
• In 2023, Mark donated £150 million to help earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.

OUR FAVORITE PERFORMANCE

Even after 8 years on stage, Mark wants to continue making music and sharing his feelings with his fans. Above all, he wants to show them and himself what he looks like alone. He has already released several solo songs in recent years and will definitely continue to work on his own projects. We look forward to hearing more from Mark!

MORE NCT 127 PROFILES

TAEYONG

Sources: Social media channels from NCT, SuperM & Mark, SM Town, Youtube, Billboard, Hanteo, kmca, Circle Chart