SM Entertainment trainee at 16, SM The Ballad member at 18, Cube Entertainment artist at 24- he's been called one of the best vocalists that this generation of kpop has to offer. This is Jo Jinho: the E! True Hollywood Story. To find out how he got here, we take a look at his life- before joining Cube Entertainment.
Childhood
Entering SM Entertainment
SM The Ballad
Park Chanyeol
Post SM
Cube Entertainment
Jo Jinho was born on April 17th, 1992. He was actually born in Bucheon and lived there until he was seven and his family moved to Daejeon, where they stayed until Jinho was in middle school. While Jinho was in middle school, they also moved to China (city unspecified) for a year and then finally settled in Seoul (by himself.) His dad apparently used to be an athlete at some point but not as a professional (I'm not sure what his actual job is, but it seemed to require their family to move around a few times during Jinho's childhood.) Jinho also has two younger sisters, age difference unspecified.
His mom is a teacher and actually had a part in Jinho's dream to become a musical actor. When Jinho was a kid, he was good at academics but wanted to be a singer and his mom stopped him. She told that Jinho should focus on school for now and go to a good university but if he still really wanted to be a singer after that, he should try. She also said that she dreamt of being a musical actor too when she was young and Jinho has said before that she also sings very well. Source, 220819 Jinho and Kino guest appearance on Youngjae's Close Friend Radio, subbed by 0026yoyo
I don't know if there's much to cover about Jinho's school life because he doesn't talk about it often. Well, the next section starts when Jinho is 16 anyway!
His childhood dream was supposedly to become a prosecutor, an occupation that seemed to be encouraged by his mom. Source, a 2022 Japanese interview translated by twitter user yutodaaaaaaaaaa
I don't have anywhere else to put this but here is a video of 2009 trainee Jinho performing at school!
Here we go. This is it.
In 2008, Jinho joins the SM Everysing Contest. From what I've gathered, SM opened a karaoke place/business called Everysing in September 2008 and was trying hard to promote it, including having some TVXQ, SNSD and Shinee members at the opening. They also held this sponsored contest, the SM Everysing Contest, partly as a replacement for the "SM Best Youth Contest" that was a similar type of contest but for all talents that ran from 1999 to 2007. SM scouts for potential trainees through these contests, both current members of TVXQ, Donghae from Super Junior, Taeyeon from SNSD as some prominent examples from the SM Best Youth Contest.
The SM Everysing Contest in 2008 was the first one and focused on singing. The first round was selecting 100 out of 40,000 contestants, the second round was selecting 30 out of 100 contestants, the third round was selecting 10 out of 30 contestants. There was a televised final for the top 10 to decide the winner and runner up, both of whom would get a cash prize (1 million and 500 thousand won for the first place and a million won for the runner up) and an exclusive contract with SM Entertainment.
You'll never guess what happened.
That's right, Jo Jinho, at only 16 years old, won the 2008 Everysing Contest! He placed first! He got a million and 500 thousand won out of it! And an exclusive SM contract, I guess. Fun fact: Kim Minseok aka Xiumin from EXO was actually the runner-up and this was how he got into SM Entertainment!
Here's another picture:
So this is how Jinho found and joined SM Entertainment, simply by being the best singer out of 40,000 people. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any footage of the televised final, only these pictures. Now we begin Jinho's SM Entertainment era at the end of 2008/beginning of 2009.
Jinho starts training at SM Entertainment, but he doesn't have to train for long before he got his first taste of real idol life!
According to wikipedia, title track, Miss You, was originally recorded as a Shinee duet between Onew and Jonghyun for Shinee's 2008 debut album, but plans changed and they shelved it. Then SM decided to re-release the song with a new unit, Xia Junsu of TVXQ, Kyuhyun of Super Junior and Jonghyun of Shinee, but that was also complicated by the fact that Xia Junsu left SM two months before this EP was intended to come out (which suggests this was supposed to come out around late 2009.) (If you are unfamiliar with TVXQ/why Xia Junsu left, please refer here. Really important read and especially relevant in current kpop.)
So SM reorganized the project group to Kyuhyun of Super Junior, Jonghyun of Shinee, Jay of TRAX, and new trainee Jinho!! He officially debuts with SM The Ballad (may be referred to as SMTB from here) on November 28, 2010 with the title song Miss You, same name as the EP, under the stage name Jino.
This is the MV for their title track, Miss You:
And this is the MV for Hot Times: (Just between you and me, this is one of the best kpop songs ever created so you should listen to it. If not for the vocal perfection then to hear Jay of TRAX say the line "Hey! I'm gonna tell about this, this story about love... of men.")
This is not a SM The Ballad primer and there does not exist a SM The Ballad primer as far as I know, considering the fact that SMTB had one (1) release with this lineup 13 years ago. Actually no, I'm changing my mind as I type this, I'm making this into a SM The Ballad primer. Click here to skip to the next section.
This iteration of SM The Ballad is also referred to as "Volume 1" because in 2014, SM gave SM The Ballad a "comeback" with Breathe except they changed the lineup completely. (Side note: The link leads to the Jonghyun and Taeyeon version of the MV, there are a lot of versions of the MV and the song in different languages, it's a whole thing) They still used the name SM The Ballad though, so Volume 2 is used to refer to the 2014 lineup with TVXQ's Max Changmin, Super Junior's Yesung, Zhang Liyin, SNSD's Taeyeon, Super Junior-M's Zhou Mi, f(x)'s Krystal, EXO's Chen and original member Shinee's Jonghyun. Then I guess they scrapped this whole thing until they made SuperM in 2019, followed by GOT the Beat.
Anyway, I'll focus on SMTB Volume 1, the only legitimate SMTB in my mind!
Kim Kyunwoo (aka Jay aka Typhoon, yes, Typhoon):
-Born April 8, 1983
-Look I know nobody cares about Jay from TRAX but if I don't talk about Jay from TRAX who will?? So here is the most condensed version of the story of Jay from TRAX: He went by the stage name Typhoon and formed a rock group called The Trax in 2004 with a guy called Rose, a guy called Attack, and a guy called X-mas (yes this is real) then Rose and Attack left in 2006-2007 so Typhoon and X-mas rebranded to TRAX in 2010 and then went to the military and when they came back they added a DJ to their group and got into EDM for some reason and also changed their name to TraxX but only dropped one English song in 2018 before unofficially disbanding. A 14 year history in a sentence.
-He's an actor/singer/vocal trainer now and free from SM since 2019. It's SO funny he became a vocal trainer lol.
(Cr: Dailyvita.net)
Cho Kyuhyun:
-Born February 3, 1988
-Debuted in Super Junior in 2006, also part of Super Junior-M and Super Junior- K.R.Y.
-Maknae of Super Junior and acts like it for sure
-Still part of Super Junior and active in the idol industry, you'll definitely see him around. The average 3rd/4th gen kpop fan may know him as a host on Singles' Inferno or on various random variety shows. He's also supposed to be a judge on the upcoming JTBC survival show for nugu bgs called Peak Time. Unfortunately I have to be tuning in because BDC and BAE173 are on it.
(Cr: The Bling)
Kim Jonghyun:
-Born April 8, 1990
-Debuted in Shinee in 2008 and as a soloist in 2015
-He was the shortest member of Shinee but still taller than Jinho lol
-Not only was he an amazing singer but also a great songwriter, dancer and radio host. I recommend checking out his solo discography!
-I know all four of them were literally the best of the best vocalists SM have to offer but hearing Jonghyun in SMTB songs just gives me chills, he was just born to perform
Jo Jinho:
-We just covered his entire life up to this point lol
-Wow I'm now realizing there's a 9 year gap between him and Jay that does explain a lot
Their first Miss You performance is on Inkigayo, November 28th, 2010:
Here are more Miss You performances:
M-wave. IDK what date but there is no Jay
Inkigayo, mistaken labled with the debut date but this is from 101205, no Jay
Music Bank, 101210, no Jay
ByulBam Radio, 101213. no Jay
Where the hell is Jay?:
Ok I should probably explain why there is no Jay for all of these performances. Basically, Jay got casted in a drama and had to start filming in the middle of Miss You promotions for some reason so there are a lot of performances/appearances where it's just Kyuhyun, Jonghyun and Jinho. Not to get too into member dynamics but given the age differences and also just lifestyle differences the three probably got along better as a trio. Also when Jay isn't there, sometimes they skip his part but sometimes Jinho covers his part.
In addition to the title track Miss You, their EP also featured the songs Hot Times (which they promoted), Love Again, Don't Lie (ft. Henry, yes Henry Lau), and Another Day. In my humble opinion Hot Times is the best song ever made by man and everyone should listen to it. Unfortunately, this album is not on any streaming services so...
Hot Times is also just SOOOOOOO much more satisfying to hear live, each performance is literally them trying to outdo each other and it's just vocal perfection. It's beautiful. Here are some:
Music Core, 101204, JAY IS HERE THIS TIME (IMO best Hot Times performance)
Music Core again, 101211, no Jay
Inkigayo, 101212, no Jay
ByulBam Radio, 101213, no Jay and Jinho covers his rap lol
No date, no Jay ok wait I have no idea what event this is but it's not a music show it looks like some sort of private event? I genuinely don't know what this is but I'm leaving it here
This is a behind the scenes video/interview with SMTB for the Miss You MV: (it's not subbed and it's potato quality but hey! That's what being a kpop stan in 2010 was like!)
A colorful one, the group picture I included above and I used for Jay's profile
A rooftop shoot that they used for the album cover
A... indoor... tweed? themed? shoot? Jinho has long hair. It's a lot.
Link to a whole load of pictures from these shoots that I can't be bothered to download and reformat here. There's a lot more high quality pictures there, I'm just lazy.
They also did a photoshoot for Nylon magazine that's really cute! Here are some of the pictures:
(For some reason they would make the Kyuhyun, Jonghyun and Jinho take pictures together but Jay would have solo pictures. I'm guessing it's supposed to make Jay look/feel more important?)
This is the behind the scenes video for the Nylon shoot, JUST LOOK AT HOW CUTE JINHO IS
This is literally one of the best Jinho looks ever tbh
There is also this bizarre skit that Kyuhyun and Eunhyuk do in 2011 where Kyuhyun pretends to teach Eunhyuk how to sing Hot Times but neither of them nor the cameraman can hold in their laughing:
(also before you judge Eunhyuk please remember he is the main rapper and dancer of SJ)
Unfortunately, SM The Ballad Vol. 1 never got a comeback. I wonder if there was supposed to be one or if SM just wanted to launch them as a one-off unit. After their promotion period, SM The Ballad never performed Miss You or Hot Times ever again. I think that's why this little era was so special to look back on, knowing you'll never have a collaboration like this again.
Personally, I think it's actually pure coincidence that Jinho ended up in SM The Ballad. Originally it was supposed to be Kyuhyun and Jonghyun with Xia Junsu, right, but then they had to replace Xia Junsu with someone else. I think they probably wanted to only put Jay in but Jay had his drama filming schedule and would have to miss out on some schedules so they added a fourth person: Jinho. This is mostly my theorizing but I think it's entirely possible that it's all coincidence that Jinho ended up in SMTB. But a good coincidence!
Jay is actually in this one
OT3 picutres
My personal favorite
Jinho rarely talks about SMTB but during Pentagon's early days, he did sing a line of Miss You once, which I'll use to close off this era of his life. It's beautiful yet haunting and wow Jinho is just such a good singer??? Also look at Changgu's expressions lol
Ok. Welcome to the whole reason I started writing this post.
Park Chanyeol was born on November 27th, 1992 in Seoul. He's 186cm tall, an ENFJ, has an older sister, he's the main rapper of EXO and one half of the subunit EXO-SC. But this isn't about Chanyeol. You can google Chanyeol and get a few dozen sites with thorough profiles about him written by expert Chanyeologists. This is about Chanyeol AND Jinho. You won't get this scoop anywhere else, I swear. A princesshakky exclusive.
Park Chanyeol actually didn't want to be an idol or musician initially. He enrolled in an acting academy when he was 16 (2008) and then joined the Smart Model Contest in the same year where he placed second. Fun fact: Seolhyun from AOA was also at this same contest!
There's a video of the event here where Chanyeol also plays the guitar:
I tried to dig as far as I could to find out exactly how Chanyeol actually got into SM Entertainment but I'm not a chanyeologist so my understanding from reading various sources is that he auditioned through the regular SM auditions, also known as the "SM Casting System," which probably led to a lot of confusion over whether he auditioned or was casted. I think he auditioned and passed, probably with the help of the Smart Model Contest runner-up boost in his resume.
So that was how he entered SM Entertainment. He supposedly wanted to be a part of a rock band just like TRAX (lmao) which is why he agreed to become an idol trainee but then realized SM wasn't planning to make another TRAX. Not that that really panned out the first time.
He also briefly appeared in a random k-drama called High Kick (2008):
Watch a clip of it here:
It was during this time that Chanyeol and Jinho meet, roughly around 2009. Their entire history together is a little fuzzy and especially this part but I have tracked down two pictures I think are from this time:
There used to be a popular social media called Cyworld in Korea, similar to Myspace, where you can customize your own profile and webpage and it was a trend to create matching profiles with your friends. This is a picture of Jinho and Chanyeol's matching Cyworld profiles, undated but I'm assuming before 2010. (A glance into the Cyworld wikipedia page suggests that Cyworld usage in Korea peaked in 2007 but started dropping in 2009 when Facebook was gaining popularity.)
This is supposedly a picture of Jinho and Chanyeol going shopping in Myeongdong. Could be. Could be two other random guys. It's super hard to tell.
In 2010, as we just covered, Jinho debuts with SM The Ballad. A few members of EXO haven't even signed on as SM trainees yet at this point! I guess while Jinho was preparing for SMTB, Chanyeol appeared in SNSD's Genie MV (2009) for a quick second, as well as SNSD-TTS' Twinkle MV (2010):
In January 2011, SM announces plans to debut a new boy group. EXO! Right? You, a person who is now caught up on Jo Jinho's life so far, must be thinking, wow, Jinho got so much predebut clout and now it's time for SM to properly debut him in EXO!
YOU'RE WRONG!
JO JINHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE IN EXO!
Shocker! What! Wow!!!
As an expert Jinhologist it frustrates me to no end every time I see someone say "hey did you know that Jinho from Pentagon was supposed to be in EXO" because it's not true. I know. It's shocking. I'm sure it's frustrating for JINHO HIMSELF as well because he finally got the chance to clarify it in an interview he did before enlisting in 2020.
Watch the video yourself here, where Jinho gives a pretty in depth interview about... well everything in his life. The EXO conversation happens at the 4:32 mark.
Well. There you have it. Jinho was never supposed to be in EXO, but in some other mysterious non-EXO group that was supposed to happen after SM The Ballad yet never materialized. This is a good a place as any to discuss my theories!
1. It was supposed to be a kpop group with some of/the same members as EXO but it had a different concept/image. (Maybe pre-debut EXO was split into three, EXO-M, EXO-K and another group?) For some reason plans changed, Jinho left the lineup and SM changed the concept and remade the group into EXO.
2. It was not a kpop group at all but more like a ballad/singing group like a male CSJH/The Grace (if you don't know who they are, refer here) with a completely different lineup from EXO. But again for some reason plans changed and the entire project fell apart.
Honestly I have no idea but from the way Jinho talks about it, it seems like the second one is more likely.
Now I'm going to let you in on a little secret. There is a picture out there of Jinho with EXO. I can't find the exact source or time for this but one of the reposts of this image says that it was a leaked photo of EXO at a SM party/function of some kind. The first time I saw the picture I did think it was a leaked test photoshoot for MAMA or something but I think this is just how idols dressed in (roughly) 2011.
Here's a zoomed in version:
I've seen one iteration of everyone from left to right: Kris Wu, Chen, Xiumin, Lay, Tao, Luhan, Kai, Sehun, Chanyeol, Jinho, D.O., Suho. I used to be a little bit of an EXO-L so although I'm not an expert, my opinion is that this is a pretty accurate ID of all these people. That guy in silver who is supposed to look like Jinho REALLY does look like Jinho, which is the main thing. Interestingly, you'll notice that Baekhyun isn't in this lineup while Chen is. Baekhyun and Chen officially joined SM around the same time, Chen 3 days after Baekhyun. For some reason there are differing sources on how long/when Baekhyun officially joined SM but it was definitely under a year, meaning that he joined in 2011.
Now what does this mean? I have no idea. But I do have guesses.
1. Jinho was supposed to be in EXO/an EXO like group with the same members as EXO, instead of Baekhyun. But then plans changed, maybe SM found Baekhyun and decided to swap the two of them? Or maybe started a different project group they wanted Jinho to be in, and removed Jinho from the EXO lineup.
2. Jinho wasn't supposed to be in EXO/this EXO like group, he either was just standing in for a test shoot or was grouped together with the EXO trainees for this particular event/photo.
Either way, very very interesting to consider. I find the first theory very juicy personally but I want to believe Jinho when he says he was never supposed to be part of EXO and I would push the second theory, which also would be in line with the theory that Jinho was supposed to be in a different ballad group. But who knows!
We are finally at the EXO era. Remember that SM announced they would debut a boy group in Jan 2011? They announce EXO as the boy group and start introducing them to the public in Dec 2011, and EXO would debut on April 8th, 2012 with the song MAMA.
Their debut showcase in Korea was actually on March 31st, 2012. The debut showcase is recorded and posted on youtube if you want to see it.
There was a very special guest in the audience that day.
Yep. Jinho was there to support his besties!
After this it seems like EXO were probably too busy to hang out, you know, given their fame and widespread success. I have no idea what Jinho does for the next year but I don't have him doing anything for the entirety of 2013. My guess is that he was just waiting around in SM's basement for something to happen.
I will get into this more in the next section but Jinho leaves SM Entertainment in 2014 and opens an instagram account around June 2014. Chanyeol opened his instagram account a bit earlier in May 2014 and when Jinho opens his instagram account, they start following each other.
Jinho posted fairly often on his instagram, mostly random stuff like screenshots of candy crush or random plants or memes. He sometimes posted pictures and selfies too. Here is a twitter thread archive of Jinho's old instagram posts, most of them are pretty random but I will highlight the important ones in this post.
I don't have an exact date but some time in 2014, Jinho, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo (D.O.) went to Vivapolo (Chanyeol's mom's Italian restaurant) together. We know this because they left their signatures on what seems to be the wall.
Chanyeol's signature on the left says "my mom's shop is the best! Eat the kimchi arrabiata, eat it twice." Jinho's signature in the middle says "guess who this is" with an arrow pointing to a little face saying "it's good!" Kyungsoo's signature on the right says "eat deliciously ♡ heart ♡"
So obviously they came together. Interestingly, Jinho leaves a signature as "Jino" or the name he went with during his time in SMTB.
It seems like Jinho came back at least one other time, because there's a second signature from Jinho on a piece of paper this time, hung up amongst the massive wall of Chanyeol and EXO merch.
It's addressed to the owner of Vivapolo but I can't figure out what the rest says. My guess is "Give this restaurant lots of love! It's the best!" It's also signed as Jino.
I'm having a great time imagining Jinho and his besties Chanyeol and Kyungsoo coming to the restaurant to hang. Unfortunately Vivapolo closed down in 2019.
Ok if you're thinking "wow this is pretty neat stuff but you spent most of this section rambling about how Jinho isn't supposed to be in EXO and talking about insane conspiracy theories this isn't the juicy scoop I was promised," THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR. THIS IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD.
On March 9th, 2015, Jinho posts this on instagram.
Caption: It was fun, it was cool~~
You and I both see that's an EXO concert lightstick right? EXO just started their second tour in the aftermath of the two lawsuits going on. I'm guessing Jinho went to the March 8th date in Seoul, but the tour continues throughout Asia and even some of North America up to early 2016.
Later that month, EXO releases their second studio album, EXODUS, on March 31st 2015.
Chanyeol shouts out Jinho and his other actor friend Sangyoon, saying "Let's love forever!!" This is maybe one of the only times I've ever seen Chanyeol acknowledge Jinho in public. Jinho is also one of the few people Chanyeol mentions there who isn't part of EXO's staff.
Now we are truly getting into the thick of it.
On May 16th, 2015, Chanyeol and Jinho go to Japan. Well, Sehun and his friend Hyunbin are there too but they're truly not important here. They leave Korea that day for Tokyo on a four day trip. As we get into this trip, I want to clarify that I am working this out mainly through reported fan sightings, Chanyeol and Jinho's instagram posts and what Jinho has actually said about the place. When I was looking into this, I did see a lot of fantaken pictures and videos that look like they're taken uncomfortably close so I will not be including those to respect their privacy.
There is one picture of them leaving on the 16th from Gimpo Airport. Sehun and Hyunbin supposedly left on the same day but from Incheon instead. (Note the glasses)
Fan sightings report that they were spotted at Minami Aoyama station near Shibuya & Harajuku, just outside Tokyo city center, on the 16th. I think they also run into Zico at a random cafe, there's a picture but again I'm not including it because it looks kind of invasive.
On the second day, the 17th, Chanyeol doesn't post any pictures on instagram but surprisingly Jinho does!
The narrative I'm constructing from these pictures is that they went shopping, saw that Luffy figurine (Chanyeol and Jinho are both fans of One Piece) and then had ramen that night. I also choose to believe Chanyeol took that picture of Jinho.
On the third day, May 18th, all four of them go to this amusement park outside Tokyo called Fuji-Q Highland. A few fans reported spotting Chanyeol there, I remember one of them said he was with a "manager" which I'm guessing is Jinho lol because as far as I know the trip was just the four of them and there was no manager. On the way there, they take a bus or some kind of transport where Jinho and Chanyeol listened to the song 言葉にできない (kotobani dekinai) and watched the music video and they sobbed. Yes this is a very specific detail but Jinho said it here and is it not important?
This is the music video (It's a still image so I have no idea if this is the right video but it's the original singer)
Here are some of the lyrics of this song:
Totally normal sad breakup song. Jinho really likes this song and he has sung it more than a handful of times over the years. The first time was around Pretty Pretty era, early 2017 but I can't find the video of it again. Jinho also sings this song for the third ever Magazineho and Shinwon plays the piano.
180304 In Tokyo
180317 Magazineho Mini Live
There are probably more, feel free to go look if you want!
Anyway so when they actually get to the amusement park, they take a lot of pictures and go on a few rides, one of them being the carousel.
This is posted by Chanyeol on instagram. He points the camera to Sehun but you can very clearly also see Jinho for a second. Missed it? Don't worry, I got you pal:
Chanyeol also posts a few pictures from Fuji-Q Highland:
Look at the last picture. It was taken by the person in front of Chanyeol, which if you refer to the screenshot above is Jinho. This is all purposely vague but I've seen a lot of pictures (invasive ones I came across in my research) from other angles and it is Jinho, trust me. There was nobody else on that trip other than him, Chanyeol, Sehun and Hyunbin.
Another video from Chanyeol, I guess while he was in line for another ride.
Well. All I'm saying is someone had to take those pictures. Fortunately, they were mostly left alone by fans who spotted them at the amusement park, but also I guess unfortunately we don't have any more pictures. Apparently they went to Ippudo Ramen again this night (fan sighting.)
They return to Korea on the 19th. If you've heard of Chanyeol and Jinho being friends and of this Japan trip and you've seen the pictures, here's a news flash for you. Those pictures aren't of them leaving for Japan, it's actually them coming back from Japan. (They wear the exact same clothing but Chanyeol isn't wearing glasses here and there are dozens more pictures out there but I only picked out the ones where you can see Jinho.)
There's something sad about these pictures... Chanyeol looks so tired (he was in the middle of working nonstop for the tour and the upcoming EXO repackage and being followed around even on vacation and he won't even have time in the next year to hang out with his beloved friend Jinho again.)
Well, this is where Chanyeol and Jinho part ways... for now. EXO goes on tour and basically are PACKED with concerts from the end of May 2015 to literally the end of March 2016.
Let's end on a lighter note. All of Chanyeol's instagram posts from this trip are posted on the 21st. Here's a few photos:
Left picture is posted by Sehun, also on the 21st. Right picture is from Chanyeol.
I'm convinced Jinho took these pictures too...
This picture and caption:
...
By 2016, Jinho is a trainee (again.) We'll get into it later but Jinho deletes his instagram when Pentagon Maker starts airing and then debuts in Pentagon in October. He never mentions EXO or any of the members specifically in the early years, though his introduction video in Pentagon Maker does highlight his run in SM.
When Jinho re-emerges as an idol, he did have several run-ins with EXO members throughout the years as well as with certain NCT members and Shinee and you know what, Kyuhyun too. But I'll create a whole section for that further down, let's just focus on EXO and Chanyeol specifically here.
September 8th, 2017. Music Bank. Pentagon is there for Like This promotions, EXO is there for Power promotions, both groups are standing there for the ending stage. Watch it yourself here:
Dear reader, there is no need to start squinting and replaying this clip in slow motion or looking frame by frame. I have already done all that for you!
You can see Jinho and Chen talking to each other from a distance here. Chanyeol has blue hair and standing further away. To my eternal frustration there is no other footage of this day BUT there are two fansite pictures of Chanyeol.
Perhaps through miracle, they managed to capture Jinho standing right behind Chanyeol and in the second pic even maybe looking at him.
To a casual fan it might just look like a normal picture of Chanyeol but you, reader, are no longer a casual fan. You're in this with me now and you know the weight of this image. The weight of an 8 year friendship and the strain idolhood has taken on it. That look in Jinho's eye, Chanyeol's forlorn expression.
We may never know how whether they talked that day. But we have these pictures and I think it's art really, in some way.
September 22nd, 2017. Kcon Australia.
Both EXO and Pentagon are there and on the ending stage and pass each other (but Chanyeol and Jinho don't bump paths.)
I had found a clear video of the ending stage where Baekhyun spots Jinho on the way out and goes to talk to him and slides a friendly arm over Jinho's shoulder as they disappear into the wings and backstage, but it has since been taken down. So make do with this timestamped video for a better look.
I get the urge to not believe me because yes this is all pretty blurry and unclear but I do encourage you to research it yourself if you have doubts because who knows! Maybe you'll find something I've never noticed. But if you're too lazy to do all this then just take my word for it lol.
Feburary 2019. Fuji-Q Highland.
Jinho goes back to Fuji-Q Highland at this time while Pentagon are in Japan, in order to film his Feburary Magazineho. The song is Undecided by Chris Brown which um... Not Chris Brown...
But anyway so Jinho spends a day in Fuji-Q Highland filming this video. This is the behind the scenes vlog he filmed for this.
I'm so normal. Jinho mentions some of the roller coasters he was on "the last time" he was at Fuji-Q Highland and also at one point says he's trying to film this Magazineho with a "boyfriend concept" but he realized he's "not very good at those concepts." Oh look.
Great. It's the same carousel.
Anyway. This is sort of the end of the road with Chanyeol and Jinho. They've never even been in the same vicinity in public since 2017 and haven't talked about or acknowledged each other since Jinho debuted.
So what? Jinho and Chanyeol knew each other because they trained for a bit in SM together. No biggie.
But it is a pretty big deal. Think about it, the two of them became trainees around the same time and probably got really close that way, maybe even thought they could debut together. They stayed friends even through SM The Ballad debuting and EXO debuting and Jinho literally leaving SM. They had to be pretty good friends to stay friends even after Jinho left SM and was basically a normie. THEY WENT ON A VACATION TO JAPAN TOGETHER. Even during EXO's packed schedule, Chanyeol made the effort to run away to Japan with Jinho for a few days. If you're into other kpop groups, think about any other time two idols went on a vacation to Japan together by themselves. Yeah. Interesting connotations. The way Jinho sings 言葉にできない every time with such feeling. Something is happening there.
Not to get too deep into it but I do think Chanyeol is a pretty sentimental person. I think he really treasured Jinho's friendship because they go so far back, see the song Rodeo Station by EXO-SC that Chanyeol wrote about nostalgia of his trainee days. You know what's really funny? Chanyeol also wrote a song about having fun at an amusement park called Roller Coaster (also by EXO-SC) that specifically mentions a carousel too. If you look at the songs Chanyeol wrote for EXO-SC, they're pretty interesting.
To be honest? I don't think they even talk anymore, especially considering the fact Jinho has since interacted with other EXO members and NCT members even but not Chanyeol. Yeah, there could've been a big fight or falling out we'll never know about, but I think they just grew apart like the busy people they are, especially after Jinho debuted. I know it's silly but I still hope that maybe one day, I'd live to see a Chanyeol and Jinho interaction. Maybe just one day, one little glance.
Let's go back a little bit to 2014. This era of Jinho's life is not totally clear cut but personally, I think he left SM Entertainment by mid-2014, which is when he opened his instagram account. Whenever he talks about it, he seems to imply that he parted SM not on bad terms, mainly because whatever project plans they had for him fell apart and EXO debuted, leaving Jinho with nothing else to do.
So what does life after SM look like for Jinho? Well according to his instagram, he spends most of his time just chilling, going to concerts and posting the occasional selfie.
But he didn't stay jobless forever. I can't find an exact date but Jinho started working at a certain vocal academy as a vocal trainer. Hui apparently also attended this same vocal academy as a student. The story goes that the director of the academy met Jinho and really liked him and had connections at Cube Entertainment (This source says that the director was in Cube's rookie development team in 2016) so they got Jinho an audition at Cube and he passed. (According to the same source, the director also heard about Hongseok leaving YG and told him that Cube was cooking up a new boy group and recruited him too.)
This is as good a place to list every SM idol interaction Jinho has had since debut:
Kangta:
I am also surprised to find out KANGTA and Jinho had an interaction?? Kangta mentions SM The Ballad EXPLICITLY but also sounds like he's finding out for the first time what SM The Ballad even is
Super Junior:
It's fairly common to run into a SJ member as an idol because they're everywhere. I'm not going to link every time Pentagon appeared on Weekly Idol with Eunhyuk as co-host or that Japanese show (Idol vs Idol) hosted by Leeteuk and Yesung but I think the member of Super Junior Jinho was closest with was Kyuhyun.
As you will remember, Kyuhyun and Jinho were in SM The Ballad together right? They reunited in public when Kyuhyun hosted this show called run.wav and Pentagon made an appearance! There's no youtube video of it because of copyright I assume but here is a youtube shorts link and here is a twitter link!
Shinee:
Get ready for icon on icon action. Let's start with Onew. Onew and Jinho were both part of the musical Midnight Sun in 2022 and playing the same role so they spent some time interacting during rehearsals I think?! Onew also calls Jinho his dongsaeng on vlive and a few months later Jinho calls him "Jinki-hyung" while talking about Midnight Sun on vlive
We know Jonghyun and Jinho were both part of SM The Ballad but here is a video of Onew and Minho coming over to hug Jonghyun AND Jinho after a SMTB performance!
I have not seen Jinho and Key or Taemin interact but I get the feeling they hung out in different friend groups lol. We'll see!
I covered EXO in the Chanyeol section but Jinho has interacted with almost every member of EXO publicly. He was literally got into SM in the same contest as Xiumin, greeted Baekhyun at Kcon Australia, talked to Chen at Music Bank in 2017, went to Chanyeol's mom's restaurant with Kyungsoo, and hung out with Sehun in Japan. There's also his friendship with Chanyeol which took up a whole section of this post!
NCT:
Jinho watched over some of the early SM Rookies kids too, most prominently Mark and Johnny.
2016- Mark fanboying over Jinho's vocals
ISAC 2019- Jinho and Johnny hanging out, Jinho and Mark hanging out
Dream Concert 2022- Mark coming to hug Jinho
Jinho was a trainee at a very important time in SM Entertainment and befriended many core members of SM boy groups today. He was in the perfect position where he was doted on a bit by Shinee members and got close to EXO members and could even dote on some of NCT. But even when things changed and Jinho left SM, it's nice to see Jinho still talk to and interact with SM idols.
So Jinho worked for a little bit at the vocal academy as a vocal trainer until the director of the place told him to audition for cube and he got in! Jinho says here that he joined Cube in late 2014. I always thought he joined in 2015 after the Japan trip but he does clarify in that video he was there before the end of 2014. I guess this means all the 2015 Chanyeol and Jinho shenanigans were occurring simultaneously as Jinho was training at Cube.
Jinho went on Pentagon Maker in early 2016 with the other members of Pentagon. His intro for the show is ... Interesting.
By that I do mean devastating. Yes that is Jinho saying his friends all debuted before him as Growl plays on the TV. Here's the full video where SM idols and music is just blasting all over the place:
Anyway, Jinho made it into Pentagon and the rest is history. I won't cover everything that happened to Pentagon and Jinho because my specialty is Jinho's pre-cube history, but if you are interested in more pentagon information, my friend![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hwitaeks has just posted a very detailed primer on them!
Even within Cube Entertainment, Jinho holds a special role as a vocal trainer. He helps teach vocal classes to the Cube trainees, including (G)I-dle, Yoo Seonho, and other trainees. Here's an example: Lien from Mirae used to train at Cube Entertainment and credits Jinho with helping him become a better singer. Jinho thought highly of him as a trainee, and gave him an ipod for him to practice with. Here is Jinho and Lien together during Feelin' Like era, cute!
In conclusion, you can see just how Jinho's time at SM was extremely influential on his life, creating lasting friendships and connections in the industry but also as a valuable personal experience for him. I think Jinho had really high hopes for himself while at SM (and SM had big plans for him too) but due to reasons out of his control, he missed out on his chance to debut. I'm sure it must have been a really difficult time for him when he left SM, probably feeling like his dreams were crushed, but Jinho is someone with such undeniable talent that he got the opportunity to try again. I'm sure if Pentagon Maker didn't work out for him, he would've gone back to being a vocal trainer and given up the idol dream for good. But thankfully, he made it!
For a lot of Pentagon fans, Jinho definitely comes off as a very mature and wise person, mainly because he's the oldest member. But to me, his wisdom comes from a place of experience rather than age. He has known what it was like to be a trainee and to be denied his dream before finding his way back to it and he had several years in his twenties where he actually lived like an ordinary non-idol person after SM and before Cube, which is life experience that other Pentagon members, like maknae line who have been training their whole lives, don't have. I don't think even Hui or Hongseok had that kind of experience because those two were trainees from one place to another for their adult lives. So it gives Jinho a really interesting type of wisdom in comparison.
Anyway, I hope this post has been a good and fulfilling read and given everyone more context about Jinho's history and life before Pentagon. I did a lot of research into his friendship with Chanyeol specifically because it interested me and I just have to share all this fascinating information with potentially interested universes. Please give Jinho and Pentagon lots of love, he's a wonderful and talented guy, and I'll be back soon with another long post!
Many thanks to the universes out there who archive and reupload content everywhere and translator accounts who do the tedious work of translating everything from livestream content to full interviews. And thank you to my friendhwitaeks for encouraging the creation of this post to begin with and for lending me some code to format this post!
Feel free to leave a comment or reach out if something needs to be corrected/taken down or if you have any questions, I'm always happy to help!!
Table of Contents
Childhood
Entering SM Entertainment
SM The Ballad
Park Chanyeol
Post SM
Cube Entertainment
Childhood
Jo Jinho was born on April 17th, 1992. He was actually born in Bucheon and lived there until he was seven and his family moved to Daejeon, where they stayed until Jinho was in middle school. While Jinho was in middle school, they also moved to China (city unspecified) for a year and then finally settled in Seoul (by himself.) His dad apparently used to be an athlete at some point but not as a professional (I'm not sure what his actual job is, but it seemed to require their family to move around a few times during Jinho's childhood.) Jinho also has two younger sisters, age difference unspecified.
His mom is a teacher and actually had a part in Jinho's dream to become a musical actor. When Jinho was a kid, he was good at academics but wanted to be a singer and his mom stopped him. She told that Jinho should focus on school for now and go to a good university but if he still really wanted to be a singer after that, he should try. She also said that she dreamt of being a musical actor too when she was young and Jinho has said before that she also sings very well. Source, 220819 Jinho and Kino guest appearance on Youngjae's Close Friend Radio, subbed by 0026yoyo
I don't know if there's much to cover about Jinho's school life because he doesn't talk about it often. Well, the next section starts when Jinho is 16 anyway!
His childhood dream was supposedly to become a prosecutor, an occupation that seemed to be encouraged by his mom. Source, a 2022 Japanese interview translated by twitter user yutodaaaaaaaaaa
I don't have anywhere else to put this but here is a video of 2009 trainee Jinho performing at school!
Entering SM Entertainment
Here we go. This is it.
In 2008, Jinho joins the SM Everysing Contest. From what I've gathered, SM opened a karaoke place/business called Everysing in September 2008 and was trying hard to promote it, including having some TVXQ, SNSD and Shinee members at the opening. They also held this sponsored contest, the SM Everysing Contest, partly as a replacement for the "SM Best Youth Contest" that was a similar type of contest but for all talents that ran from 1999 to 2007. SM scouts for potential trainees through these contests, both current members of TVXQ, Donghae from Super Junior, Taeyeon from SNSD as some prominent examples from the SM Best Youth Contest.
The SM Everysing Contest in 2008 was the first one and focused on singing. The first round was selecting 100 out of 40,000 contestants, the second round was selecting 30 out of 100 contestants, the third round was selecting 10 out of 30 contestants. There was a televised final for the top 10 to decide the winner and runner up, both of whom would get a cash prize (1 million and 500 thousand won for the first place and a million won for the runner up) and an exclusive contract with SM Entertainment.
You'll never guess what happened.
That's right, Jo Jinho, at only 16 years old, won the 2008 Everysing Contest! He placed first! He got a million and 500 thousand won out of it! And an exclusive SM contract, I guess. Fun fact: Kim Minseok aka Xiumin from EXO was actually the runner-up and this was how he got into SM Entertainment!
Here's another picture:
So this is how Jinho found and joined SM Entertainment, simply by being the best singer out of 40,000 people. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any footage of the televised final, only these pictures. Now we begin Jinho's SM Entertainment era at the end of 2008/beginning of 2009.
SM The Ballad
Jinho starts training at SM Entertainment, but he doesn't have to train for long before he got his first taste of real idol life!
According to wikipedia, title track, Miss You, was originally recorded as a Shinee duet between Onew and Jonghyun for Shinee's 2008 debut album, but plans changed and they shelved it. Then SM decided to re-release the song with a new unit, Xia Junsu of TVXQ, Kyuhyun of Super Junior and Jonghyun of Shinee, but that was also complicated by the fact that Xia Junsu left SM two months before this EP was intended to come out (which suggests this was supposed to come out around late 2009.) (If you are unfamiliar with TVXQ/why Xia Junsu left, please refer here. Really important read and especially relevant in current kpop.)
So SM reorganized the project group to Kyuhyun of Super Junior, Jonghyun of Shinee, Jay of TRAX, and new trainee Jinho!! He officially debuts with SM The Ballad (may be referred to as SMTB from here) on November 28, 2010 with the title song Miss You, same name as the EP, under the stage name Jino.
This is the MV for their title track, Miss You:
And this is the MV for Hot Times: (Just between you and me, this is one of the best kpop songs ever created so you should listen to it. If not for the vocal perfection then to hear Jay of TRAX say the line "Hey! I'm gonna tell about this, this story about love... of men.")
This is not a SM The Ballad primer and there does not exist a SM The Ballad primer as far as I know, considering the fact that SMTB had one (1) release with this lineup 13 years ago. Actually no, I'm changing my mind as I type this, I'm making this into a SM The Ballad primer. Click here to skip to the next section.
SM The Ballad Primer Detour
This iteration of SM The Ballad is also referred to as "Volume 1" because in 2014, SM gave SM The Ballad a "comeback" with Breathe except they changed the lineup completely. (Side note: The link leads to the Jonghyun and Taeyeon version of the MV, there are a lot of versions of the MV and the song in different languages, it's a whole thing) They still used the name SM The Ballad though, so Volume 2 is used to refer to the 2014 lineup with TVXQ's Max Changmin, Super Junior's Yesung, Zhang Liyin, SNSD's Taeyeon, Super Junior-M's Zhou Mi, f(x)'s Krystal, EXO's Chen and original member Shinee's Jonghyun. Then I guess they scrapped this whole thing until they made SuperM in 2019, followed by GOT the Beat.
Anyway, I'll focus on SMTB Volume 1, the only legitimate SMTB in my mind!
Member profiles
Kim Kyunwoo (aka Jay aka Typhoon, yes, Typhoon):
-Born April 8, 1983
-Look I know nobody cares about Jay from TRAX but if I don't talk about Jay from TRAX who will?? So here is the most condensed version of the story of Jay from TRAX: He went by the stage name Typhoon and formed a rock group called The Trax in 2004 with a guy called Rose, a guy called Attack, and a guy called X-mas (yes this is real) then Rose and Attack left in 2006-2007 so Typhoon and X-mas rebranded to TRAX in 2010 and then went to the military and when they came back they added a DJ to their group and got into EDM for some reason and also changed their name to TraxX but only dropped one English song in 2018 before unofficially disbanding. A 14 year history in a sentence.
-He's an actor/singer/vocal trainer now and free from SM since 2019. It's SO funny he became a vocal trainer lol.
(Cr: Dailyvita.net)Cho Kyuhyun:
-Born February 3, 1988
-Debuted in Super Junior in 2006, also part of Super Junior-M and Super Junior- K.R.Y.
-Maknae of Super Junior and acts like it for sure
-Still part of Super Junior and active in the idol industry, you'll definitely see him around. The average 3rd/4th gen kpop fan may know him as a host on Singles' Inferno or on various random variety shows. He's also supposed to be a judge on the upcoming JTBC survival show for nugu bgs called Peak Time. Unfortunately I have to be tuning in because BDC and BAE173 are on it.
(Cr: The Bling)Kim Jonghyun:
-Born April 8, 1990
-Debuted in Shinee in 2008 and as a soloist in 2015
-He was the shortest member of Shinee but still taller than Jinho lol
-Not only was he an amazing singer but also a great songwriter, dancer and radio host. I recommend checking out his solo discography!
-I know all four of them were literally the best of the best vocalists SM have to offer but hearing Jonghyun in SMTB songs just gives me chills, he was just born to perform
Jo Jinho:
-We just covered his entire life up to this point lol
-Wow I'm now realizing there's a 9 year gap between him and Jay that does explain a lot
Music and Performances
Their first Miss You performance is on Inkigayo, November 28th, 2010:
Here are more Miss You performances:
M-wave. IDK what date but there is no Jay
Inkigayo, mistaken labled with the debut date but this is from 101205, no Jay
Music Bank, 101210, no Jay
ByulBam Radio, 101213. no Jay
Where the hell is Jay?:
Ok I should probably explain why there is no Jay for all of these performances. Basically, Jay got casted in a drama and had to start filming in the middle of Miss You promotions for some reason so there are a lot of performances/appearances where it's just Kyuhyun, Jonghyun and Jinho. Not to get too into member dynamics but given the age differences and also just lifestyle differences the three probably got along better as a trio. Also when Jay isn't there, sometimes they skip his part but sometimes Jinho covers his part.
In addition to the title track Miss You, their EP also featured the songs Hot Times (which they promoted), Love Again, Don't Lie (ft. Henry, yes Henry Lau), and Another Day. In my humble opinion Hot Times is the best song ever made by man and everyone should listen to it. Unfortunately, this album is not on any streaming services so...
Hot Times is also just SOOOOOOO much more satisfying to hear live, each performance is literally them trying to outdo each other and it's just vocal perfection. It's beautiful. Here are some:
Music Core, 101204, JAY IS HERE THIS TIME (IMO best Hot Times performance)
Music Core again, 101211, no Jay
Inkigayo, 101212, no Jay
ByulBam Radio, 101213, no Jay and Jinho covers his rap lol
No date, no Jay ok wait I have no idea what event this is but it's not a music show it looks like some sort of private event? I genuinely don't know what this is but I'm leaving it here
This is a behind the scenes video/interview with SMTB for the Miss You MV: (it's not subbed and it's potato quality but hey! That's what being a kpop stan in 2010 was like!)
Album/MV photoshoots (of which there were 3)
A colorful one, the group picture I included above and I used for Jay's profile
A rooftop shoot that they used for the album cover
A... indoor... tweed? themed? shoot? Jinho has long hair. It's a lot.
Link to a whole load of pictures from these shoots that I can't be bothered to download and reformat here. There's a lot more high quality pictures there, I'm just lazy.
They also did a photoshoot for Nylon magazine that's really cute! Here are some of the pictures:
(For some reason they would make the Kyuhyun, Jonghyun and Jinho take pictures together but Jay would have solo pictures. I'm guessing it's supposed to make Jay look/feel more important?)
This is the behind the scenes video for the Nylon shoot, JUST LOOK AT HOW CUTE JINHO IS
This is literally one of the best Jinho looks ever tbh
There is also this bizarre skit that Kyuhyun and Eunhyuk do in 2011 where Kyuhyun pretends to teach Eunhyuk how to sing Hot Times but neither of them nor the cameraman can hold in their laughing:
(also before you judge Eunhyuk please remember he is the main rapper and dancer of SJ)
Unfortunately, SM The Ballad Vol. 1 never got a comeback. I wonder if there was supposed to be one or if SM just wanted to launch them as a one-off unit. After their promotion period, SM The Ballad never performed Miss You or Hot Times ever again. I think that's why this little era was so special to look back on, knowing you'll never have a collaboration like this again.
Personally, I think it's actually pure coincidence that Jinho ended up in SM The Ballad. Originally it was supposed to be Kyuhyun and Jonghyun with Xia Junsu, right, but then they had to replace Xia Junsu with someone else. I think they probably wanted to only put Jay in but Jay had his drama filming schedule and would have to miss out on some schedules so they added a fourth person: Jinho. This is mostly my theorizing but I think it's entirely possible that it's all coincidence that Jinho ended up in SMTB. But a good coincidence!
Miscellaneous pictures from their radio appearances/other things
Jay is actually in this one
OT3 picutres
My personal favorite
Jinho rarely talks about SMTB but during Pentagon's early days, he did sing a line of Miss You once, which I'll use to close off this era of his life. It's beautiful yet haunting and wow Jinho is just such a good singer??? Also look at Changgu's expressions lol
Park Chanyeol
Ok. Welcome to the whole reason I started writing this post.
Who is Park Chanyeol?
Park Chanyeol was born on November 27th, 1992 in Seoul. He's 186cm tall, an ENFJ, has an older sister, he's the main rapper of EXO and one half of the subunit EXO-SC. But this isn't about Chanyeol. You can google Chanyeol and get a few dozen sites with thorough profiles about him written by expert Chanyeologists. This is about Chanyeol AND Jinho. You won't get this scoop anywhere else, I swear. A princesshakky exclusive.
Entering SM
Park Chanyeol actually didn't want to be an idol or musician initially. He enrolled in an acting academy when he was 16 (2008) and then joined the Smart Model Contest in the same year where he placed second. Fun fact: Seolhyun from AOA was also at this same contest!
There's a video of the event here where Chanyeol also plays the guitar:
I tried to dig as far as I could to find out exactly how Chanyeol actually got into SM Entertainment but I'm not a chanyeologist so my understanding from reading various sources is that he auditioned through the regular SM auditions, also known as the "SM Casting System," which probably led to a lot of confusion over whether he auditioned or was casted. I think he auditioned and passed, probably with the help of the Smart Model Contest runner-up boost in his resume.
So that was how he entered SM Entertainment. He supposedly wanted to be a part of a rock band just like TRAX (lmao) which is why he agreed to become an idol trainee but then realized SM wasn't planning to make another TRAX. Not that that really panned out the first time.
He also briefly appeared in a random k-drama called High Kick (2008):
Watch a clip of it here:
Pre-EXO (2008-2011)
It was during this time that Chanyeol and Jinho meet, roughly around 2009. Their entire history together is a little fuzzy and especially this part but I have tracked down two pictures I think are from this time:
There used to be a popular social media called Cyworld in Korea, similar to Myspace, where you can customize your own profile and webpage and it was a trend to create matching profiles with your friends. This is a picture of Jinho and Chanyeol's matching Cyworld profiles, undated but I'm assuming before 2010. (A glance into the Cyworld wikipedia page suggests that Cyworld usage in Korea peaked in 2007 but started dropping in 2009 when Facebook was gaining popularity.)
This is supposedly a picture of Jinho and Chanyeol going shopping in Myeongdong. Could be. Could be two other random guys. It's super hard to tell.
In 2010, as we just covered, Jinho debuts with SM The Ballad. A few members of EXO haven't even signed on as SM trainees yet at this point! I guess while Jinho was preparing for SMTB, Chanyeol appeared in SNSD's Genie MV (2009) for a quick second, as well as SNSD-TTS' Twinkle MV (2010):
In January 2011, SM announces plans to debut a new boy group. EXO! Right? You, a person who is now caught up on Jo Jinho's life so far, must be thinking, wow, Jinho got so much predebut clout and now it's time for SM to properly debut him in EXO!
YOU'RE WRONG!
JO JINHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE IN EXO!
Shocker! What! Wow!!!
As an expert Jinhologist it frustrates me to no end every time I see someone say "hey did you know that Jinho from Pentagon was supposed to be in EXO" because it's not true. I know. It's shocking. I'm sure it's frustrating for JINHO HIMSELF as well because he finally got the chance to clarify it in an interview he did before enlisting in 2020.
Watch the video yourself here, where Jinho gives a pretty in depth interview about... well everything in his life. The EXO conversation happens at the 4:32 mark.
Well. There you have it. Jinho was never supposed to be in EXO, but in some other mysterious non-EXO group that was supposed to happen after SM The Ballad yet never materialized. This is a good a place as any to discuss my theories!
1. It was supposed to be a kpop group with some of/the same members as EXO but it had a different concept/image. (Maybe pre-debut EXO was split into three, EXO-M, EXO-K and another group?) For some reason plans changed, Jinho left the lineup and SM changed the concept and remade the group into EXO.
2. It was not a kpop group at all but more like a ballad/singing group like a male CSJH/The Grace (if you don't know who they are, refer here) with a completely different lineup from EXO. But again for some reason plans changed and the entire project fell apart.
Honestly I have no idea but from the way Jinho talks about it, it seems like the second one is more likely.
Now I'm going to let you in on a little secret. There is a picture out there of Jinho with EXO. I can't find the exact source or time for this but one of the reposts of this image says that it was a leaked photo of EXO at a SM party/function of some kind. The first time I saw the picture I did think it was a leaked test photoshoot for MAMA or something but I think this is just how idols dressed in (roughly) 2011.
Here's a zoomed in version:
I've seen one iteration of everyone from left to right: Kris Wu, Chen, Xiumin, Lay, Tao, Luhan, Kai, Sehun, Chanyeol, Jinho, D.O., Suho. I used to be a little bit of an EXO-L so although I'm not an expert, my opinion is that this is a pretty accurate ID of all these people. That guy in silver who is supposed to look like Jinho REALLY does look like Jinho, which is the main thing. Interestingly, you'll notice that Baekhyun isn't in this lineup while Chen is. Baekhyun and Chen officially joined SM around the same time, Chen 3 days after Baekhyun. For some reason there are differing sources on how long/when Baekhyun officially joined SM but it was definitely under a year, meaning that he joined in 2011.
Now what does this mean? I have no idea. But I do have guesses.
1. Jinho was supposed to be in EXO/an EXO like group with the same members as EXO, instead of Baekhyun. But then plans changed, maybe SM found Baekhyun and decided to swap the two of them? Or maybe started a different project group they wanted Jinho to be in, and removed Jinho from the EXO lineup.
2. Jinho wasn't supposed to be in EXO/this EXO like group, he either was just standing in for a test shoot or was grouped together with the EXO trainees for this particular event/photo.
Either way, very very interesting to consider. I find the first theory very juicy personally but I want to believe Jinho when he says he was never supposed to be part of EXO and I would push the second theory, which also would be in line with the theory that Jinho was supposed to be in a different ballad group. But who knows!
EXO era (2012-2014)
We are finally at the EXO era. Remember that SM announced they would debut a boy group in Jan 2011? They announce EXO as the boy group and start introducing them to the public in Dec 2011, and EXO would debut on April 8th, 2012 with the song MAMA.
Their debut showcase in Korea was actually on March 31st, 2012. The debut showcase is recorded and posted on youtube if you want to see it.
There was a very special guest in the audience that day.
Yep. Jinho was there to support his besties!
After this it seems like EXO were probably too busy to hang out, you know, given their fame and widespread success. I have no idea what Jinho does for the next year but I don't have him doing anything for the entirety of 2013. My guess is that he was just waiting around in SM's basement for something to happen.
I will get into this more in the next section but Jinho leaves SM Entertainment in 2014 and opens an instagram account around June 2014. Chanyeol opened his instagram account a bit earlier in May 2014 and when Jinho opens his instagram account, they start following each other.
Jinho posted fairly often on his instagram, mostly random stuff like screenshots of candy crush or random plants or memes. He sometimes posted pictures and selfies too. Here is a twitter thread archive of Jinho's old instagram posts, most of them are pretty random but I will highlight the important ones in this post.
I don't have an exact date but some time in 2014, Jinho, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo (D.O.) went to Vivapolo (Chanyeol's mom's Italian restaurant) together. We know this because they left their signatures on what seems to be the wall.
Chanyeol's signature on the left says "my mom's shop is the best! Eat the kimchi arrabiata, eat it twice." Jinho's signature in the middle says "guess who this is" with an arrow pointing to a little face saying "it's good!" Kyungsoo's signature on the right says "eat deliciously ♡ heart ♡"
So obviously they came together. Interestingly, Jinho leaves a signature as "Jino" or the name he went with during his time in SMTB.
It seems like Jinho came back at least one other time, because there's a second signature from Jinho on a piece of paper this time, hung up amongst the massive wall of Chanyeol and EXO merch.
It's addressed to the owner of Vivapolo but I can't figure out what the rest says. My guess is "Give this restaurant lots of love! It's the best!" It's also signed as Jino.
I'm having a great time imagining Jinho and his besties Chanyeol and Kyungsoo coming to the restaurant to hang. Unfortunately Vivapolo closed down in 2019.
2015
Ok if you're thinking "wow this is pretty neat stuff but you spent most of this section rambling about how Jinho isn't supposed to be in EXO and talking about insane conspiracy theories this isn't the juicy scoop I was promised," THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR. THIS IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD.
On March 9th, 2015, Jinho posts this on instagram.
Caption: It was fun, it was cool~~
You and I both see that's an EXO concert lightstick right? EXO just started their second tour in the aftermath of the two lawsuits going on. I'm guessing Jinho went to the March 8th date in Seoul, but the tour continues throughout Asia and even some of North America up to early 2016.
Later that month, EXO releases their second studio album, EXODUS, on March 31st 2015.
Chanyeol shouts out Jinho and his other actor friend Sangyoon, saying "Let's love forever!!" This is maybe one of the only times I've ever seen Chanyeol acknowledge Jinho in public. Jinho is also one of the few people Chanyeol mentions there who isn't part of EXO's staff.
Now we are truly getting into the thick of it.
On May 16th, 2015, Chanyeol and Jinho go to Japan. Well, Sehun and his friend Hyunbin are there too but they're truly not important here. They leave Korea that day for Tokyo on a four day trip. As we get into this trip, I want to clarify that I am working this out mainly through reported fan sightings, Chanyeol and Jinho's instagram posts and what Jinho has actually said about the place. When I was looking into this, I did see a lot of fantaken pictures and videos that look like they're taken uncomfortably close so I will not be including those to respect their privacy.
There is one picture of them leaving on the 16th from Gimpo Airport. Sehun and Hyunbin supposedly left on the same day but from Incheon instead. (Note the glasses)
Fan sightings report that they were spotted at Minami Aoyama station near Shibuya & Harajuku, just outside Tokyo city center, on the 16th. I think they also run into Zico at a random cafe, there's a picture but again I'm not including it because it looks kind of invasive.
On the second day, the 17th, Chanyeol doesn't post any pictures on instagram but surprisingly Jinho does!
The narrative I'm constructing from these pictures is that they went shopping, saw that Luffy figurine (Chanyeol and Jinho are both fans of One Piece) and then had ramen that night. I also choose to believe Chanyeol took that picture of Jinho.
On the third day, May 18th, all four of them go to this amusement park outside Tokyo called Fuji-Q Highland. A few fans reported spotting Chanyeol there, I remember one of them said he was with a "manager" which I'm guessing is Jinho lol because as far as I know the trip was just the four of them and there was no manager. On the way there, they take a bus or some kind of transport where Jinho and Chanyeol listened to the song 言葉にできない (kotobani dekinai) and watched the music video and they sobbed. Yes this is a very specific detail but Jinho said it here and is it not important?
This is the music video (It's a still image so I have no idea if this is the right video but it's the original singer)
Here are some of the lyrics of this song:
A love that should have no end has come to an end
Akin to a life that has been exhausted
You are wrong, you must be wrong - my heart is crying
When I met you, it was truly fortunate
I was happy, so very happy that words cannot describe
To have been able to meet you
Words cannot describe
To have been able to meet you...
Totally normal sad breakup song. Jinho really likes this song and he has sung it more than a handful of times over the years. The first time was around Pretty Pretty era, early 2017 but I can't find the video of it again. Jinho also sings this song for the third ever Magazineho and Shinwon plays the piano.
180304 In Tokyo
180317 Magazineho Mini Live
There are probably more, feel free to go look if you want!
Anyway so when they actually get to the amusement park, they take a lot of pictures and go on a few rides, one of them being the carousel.
This is posted by Chanyeol on instagram. He points the camera to Sehun but you can very clearly also see Jinho for a second. Missed it? Don't worry, I got you pal:
Chanyeol also posts a few pictures from Fuji-Q Highland:
Look at the last picture. It was taken by the person in front of Chanyeol, which if you refer to the screenshot above is Jinho. This is all purposely vague but I've seen a lot of pictures (invasive ones I came across in my research) from other angles and it is Jinho, trust me. There was nobody else on that trip other than him, Chanyeol, Sehun and Hyunbin.
Another video from Chanyeol, I guess while he was in line for another ride.
Well. All I'm saying is someone had to take those pictures. Fortunately, they were mostly left alone by fans who spotted them at the amusement park, but also I guess unfortunately we don't have any more pictures. Apparently they went to Ippudo Ramen again this night (fan sighting.)
They return to Korea on the 19th. If you've heard of Chanyeol and Jinho being friends and of this Japan trip and you've seen the pictures, here's a news flash for you. Those pictures aren't of them leaving for Japan, it's actually them coming back from Japan. (They wear the exact same clothing but Chanyeol isn't wearing glasses here and there are dozens more pictures out there but I only picked out the ones where you can see Jinho.)
There's something sad about these pictures... Chanyeol looks so tired (he was in the middle of working nonstop for the tour and the upcoming EXO repackage and being followed around even on vacation and he won't even have time in the next year to hang out with his beloved friend Jinho again.)
Well, this is where Chanyeol and Jinho part ways... for now. EXO goes on tour and basically are PACKED with concerts from the end of May 2015 to literally the end of March 2016.
Let's end on a lighter note. All of Chanyeol's instagram posts from this trip are posted on the 21st. Here's a few photos:
Left picture is posted by Sehun, also on the 21st. Right picture is from Chanyeol.
I'm convinced Jinho took these pictures too...
This picture and caption:
...
post-2015
By 2016, Jinho is a trainee (again.) We'll get into it later but Jinho deletes his instagram when Pentagon Maker starts airing and then debuts in Pentagon in October. He never mentions EXO or any of the members specifically in the early years, though his introduction video in Pentagon Maker does highlight his run in SM.
When Jinho re-emerges as an idol, he did have several run-ins with EXO members throughout the years as well as with certain NCT members and Shinee and you know what, Kyuhyun too. But I'll create a whole section for that further down, let's just focus on EXO and Chanyeol specifically here.
September 8th, 2017. Music Bank. Pentagon is there for Like This promotions, EXO is there for Power promotions, both groups are standing there for the ending stage. Watch it yourself here:
Dear reader, there is no need to start squinting and replaying this clip in slow motion or looking frame by frame. I have already done all that for you!
You can see Jinho and Chen talking to each other from a distance here. Chanyeol has blue hair and standing further away. To my eternal frustration there is no other footage of this day BUT there are two fansite pictures of Chanyeol.
Perhaps through miracle, they managed to capture Jinho standing right behind Chanyeol and in the second pic even maybe looking at him.
To a casual fan it might just look like a normal picture of Chanyeol but you, reader, are no longer a casual fan. You're in this with me now and you know the weight of this image. The weight of an 8 year friendship and the strain idolhood has taken on it. That look in Jinho's eye, Chanyeol's forlorn expression.
We may never know how whether they talked that day. But we have these pictures and I think it's art really, in some way.
September 22nd, 2017. Kcon Australia.
Both EXO and Pentagon are there and on the ending stage and pass each other (but Chanyeol and Jinho don't bump paths.)
I had found a clear video of the ending stage where Baekhyun spots Jinho on the way out and goes to talk to him and slides a friendly arm over Jinho's shoulder as they disappear into the wings and backstage, but it has since been taken down. So make do with this timestamped video for a better look.
I get the urge to not believe me because yes this is all pretty blurry and unclear but I do encourage you to research it yourself if you have doubts because who knows! Maybe you'll find something I've never noticed. But if you're too lazy to do all this then just take my word for it lol.
Feburary 2019. Fuji-Q Highland.
Jinho goes back to Fuji-Q Highland at this time while Pentagon are in Japan, in order to film his Feburary Magazineho. The song is Undecided by Chris Brown which um... Not Chris Brown...
But anyway so Jinho spends a day in Fuji-Q Highland filming this video. This is the behind the scenes vlog he filmed for this.
I'm so normal. Jinho mentions some of the roller coasters he was on "the last time" he was at Fuji-Q Highland and also at one point says he's trying to film this Magazineho with a "boyfriend concept" but he realized he's "not very good at those concepts." Oh look.
Great. It's the same carousel.
Anyway. This is sort of the end of the road with Chanyeol and Jinho. They've never even been in the same vicinity in public since 2017 and haven't talked about or acknowledged each other since Jinho debuted.
So what? Jinho and Chanyeol knew each other because they trained for a bit in SM together. No biggie.
But it is a pretty big deal. Think about it, the two of them became trainees around the same time and probably got really close that way, maybe even thought they could debut together. They stayed friends even through SM The Ballad debuting and EXO debuting and Jinho literally leaving SM. They had to be pretty good friends to stay friends even after Jinho left SM and was basically a normie. THEY WENT ON A VACATION TO JAPAN TOGETHER. Even during EXO's packed schedule, Chanyeol made the effort to run away to Japan with Jinho for a few days. If you're into other kpop groups, think about any other time two idols went on a vacation to Japan together by themselves. Yeah. Interesting connotations. The way Jinho sings 言葉にできない every time with such feeling. Something is happening there.
Not to get too deep into it but I do think Chanyeol is a pretty sentimental person. I think he really treasured Jinho's friendship because they go so far back, see the song Rodeo Station by EXO-SC that Chanyeol wrote about nostalgia of his trainee days. You know what's really funny? Chanyeol also wrote a song about having fun at an amusement park called Roller Coaster (also by EXO-SC) that specifically mentions a carousel too. If you look at the songs Chanyeol wrote for EXO-SC, they're pretty interesting.
To be honest? I don't think they even talk anymore, especially considering the fact Jinho has since interacted with other EXO members and NCT members even but not Chanyeol. Yeah, there could've been a big fight or falling out we'll never know about, but I think they just grew apart like the busy people they are, especially after Jinho debuted. I know it's silly but I still hope that maybe one day, I'd live to see a Chanyeol and Jinho interaction. Maybe just one day, one little glance.
Life after SM
Let's go back a little bit to 2014. This era of Jinho's life is not totally clear cut but personally, I think he left SM Entertainment by mid-2014, which is when he opened his instagram account. Whenever he talks about it, he seems to imply that he parted SM not on bad terms, mainly because whatever project plans they had for him fell apart and EXO debuted, leaving Jinho with nothing else to do.
So what does life after SM look like for Jinho? Well according to his instagram, he spends most of his time just chilling, going to concerts and posting the occasional selfie.
But he didn't stay jobless forever. I can't find an exact date but Jinho started working at a certain vocal academy as a vocal trainer. Hui apparently also attended this same vocal academy as a student. The story goes that the director of the academy met Jinho and really liked him and had connections at Cube Entertainment (This source says that the director was in Cube's rookie development team in 2016) so they got Jinho an audition at Cube and he passed. (According to the same source, the director also heard about Hongseok leaving YG and told him that Cube was cooking up a new boy group and recruited him too.)
This is as good a place to list every SM idol interaction Jinho has had since debut:
Kangta:
I am also surprised to find out KANGTA and Jinho had an interaction?? Kangta mentions SM The Ballad EXPLICITLY but also sounds like he's finding out for the first time what SM The Ballad even is
Super Junior:
It's fairly common to run into a SJ member as an idol because they're everywhere. I'm not going to link every time Pentagon appeared on Weekly Idol with Eunhyuk as co-host or that Japanese show (Idol vs Idol) hosted by Leeteuk and Yesung but I think the member of Super Junior Jinho was closest with was Kyuhyun.
As you will remember, Kyuhyun and Jinho were in SM The Ballad together right? They reunited in public when Kyuhyun hosted this show called run.wav and Pentagon made an appearance! There's no youtube video of it because of copyright I assume but here is a youtube shorts link and here is a twitter link!
Shinee:
Get ready for icon on icon action. Let's start with Onew. Onew and Jinho were both part of the musical Midnight Sun in 2022 and playing the same role so they spent some time interacting during rehearsals I think?! Onew also calls Jinho his dongsaeng on vlive and a few months later Jinho calls him "Jinki-hyung" while talking about Midnight Sun on vlive
We know Jonghyun and Jinho were both part of SM The Ballad but here is a video of Onew and Minho coming over to hug Jonghyun AND Jinho after a SMTB performance!
I have not seen Jinho and Key or Taemin interact but I get the feeling they hung out in different friend groups lol. We'll see!
I covered EXO in the Chanyeol section but Jinho has interacted with almost every member of EXO publicly. He was literally got into SM in the same contest as Xiumin, greeted Baekhyun at Kcon Australia, talked to Chen at Music Bank in 2017, went to Chanyeol's mom's restaurant with Kyungsoo, and hung out with Sehun in Japan. There's also his friendship with Chanyeol which took up a whole section of this post!
NCT:
Jinho watched over some of the early SM Rookies kids too, most prominently Mark and Johnny.
2016- Mark fanboying over Jinho's vocals
ISAC 2019- Jinho and Johnny hanging out, Jinho and Mark hanging out
Dream Concert 2022- Mark coming to hug Jinho
Jinho was a trainee at a very important time in SM Entertainment and befriended many core members of SM boy groups today. He was in the perfect position where he was doted on a bit by Shinee members and got close to EXO members and could even dote on some of NCT. But even when things changed and Jinho left SM, it's nice to see Jinho still talk to and interact with SM idols.
Cube Entertainment
So Jinho worked for a little bit at the vocal academy as a vocal trainer until the director of the place told him to audition for cube and he got in! Jinho says here that he joined Cube in late 2014. I always thought he joined in 2015 after the Japan trip but he does clarify in that video he was there before the end of 2014. I guess this means all the 2015 Chanyeol and Jinho shenanigans were occurring simultaneously as Jinho was training at Cube.
Jinho went on Pentagon Maker in early 2016 with the other members of Pentagon. His intro for the show is ... Interesting.
By that I do mean devastating. Yes that is Jinho saying his friends all debuted before him as Growl plays on the TV. Here's the full video where SM idols and music is just blasting all over the place:
Anyway, Jinho made it into Pentagon and the rest is history. I won't cover everything that happened to Pentagon and Jinho because my specialty is Jinho's pre-cube history, but if you are interested in more pentagon information, my friend
hwitaeks has just posted a very detailed primer on them! Even within Cube Entertainment, Jinho holds a special role as a vocal trainer. He helps teach vocal classes to the Cube trainees, including (G)I-dle, Yoo Seonho, and other trainees. Here's an example: Lien from Mirae used to train at Cube Entertainment and credits Jinho with helping him become a better singer. Jinho thought highly of him as a trainee, and gave him an ipod for him to practice with. Here is Jinho and Lien together during Feelin' Like era, cute!
In conclusion, you can see just how Jinho's time at SM was extremely influential on his life, creating lasting friendships and connections in the industry but also as a valuable personal experience for him. I think Jinho had really high hopes for himself while at SM (and SM had big plans for him too) but due to reasons out of his control, he missed out on his chance to debut. I'm sure it must have been a really difficult time for him when he left SM, probably feeling like his dreams were crushed, but Jinho is someone with such undeniable talent that he got the opportunity to try again. I'm sure if Pentagon Maker didn't work out for him, he would've gone back to being a vocal trainer and given up the idol dream for good. But thankfully, he made it!
For a lot of Pentagon fans, Jinho definitely comes off as a very mature and wise person, mainly because he's the oldest member. But to me, his wisdom comes from a place of experience rather than age. He has known what it was like to be a trainee and to be denied his dream before finding his way back to it and he had several years in his twenties where he actually lived like an ordinary non-idol person after SM and before Cube, which is life experience that other Pentagon members, like maknae line who have been training their whole lives, don't have. I don't think even Hui or Hongseok had that kind of experience because those two were trainees from one place to another for their adult lives. So it gives Jinho a really interesting type of wisdom in comparison.
Anyway, I hope this post has been a good and fulfilling read and given everyone more context about Jinho's history and life before Pentagon. I did a lot of research into his friendship with Chanyeol specifically because it interested me and I just have to share all this fascinating information with potentially interested universes. Please give Jinho and Pentagon lots of love, he's a wonderful and talented guy, and I'll be back soon with another long post!
Many thanks to the universes out there who archive and reupload content everywhere and translator accounts who do the tedious work of translating everything from livestream content to full interviews. And thank you to my friend
hwitaeks for encouraging the creation of this post to begin with and for lending me some code to format this post!Feel free to leave a comment or reach out if something needs to be corrected/taken down or if you have any questions, I'm always happy to help!!