SEVENTEEN: These 5 Members Were Randomly Discovered by Pledis Entertainment on the Street

K-pop idols all have different paths that led them to the industry. While some people knew they wanted to be performers from a young age, others took a longer time to realize this career path.

In SEVENTEEN, there are three members who came to Pledis Entertainment via street casting. That is, they became idols after being randomly scouted on the street by agents.

SEVENTEEN | Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images Which 5 members of SEVENTEEN were discovered on the street?

Street casting usually involves agents identifying people with striking looks who can attract attention for their visuals as idols. Five SEVENTEEN members caught the eye of Pledis employees just by being in the right place at the right time. They were S.Coups, Jeonghan, Mingyu, Jun and Vernon.

According to Koreaboo, S.Coups and Jeonghan were both discovered while they were out shopping. Meanwhile, Mingyu caught the attention of Pledis staff one day when he was going home from school. Finally, Vernon was discovered outside a subway station, and Jun was discovered outside a convenience store in China.

Both S.Coups and Vernon initially trained to be vocalists, but they later switched to rapping instead. Today, S.Coups, Vernon, and Mingyu are a part of SEVENTEEN’s talented hip-hop unit. Jeonghan is a singer in the group’s vocal unit. Jun, who was already interested in K-pop and did some acting, decided to train with Pledis and become a part of SEVENTEEN’s performance unit.

Only 3 members actually auditioned for Pledis Entertainment

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A lot of young hopefuls can join K-pop companies by attending open auditions. Among the 13 members of SEVENTEEN, only three actually joined Pledis this way: Wonwoo, Woozi, and DK.

According to Channel Korea, Wonwoo auditioned initially to get some experience, but he ended up being accepted. At first, he trained to become a singer, though like S.Coups and Vernon, he switched to rapping later on.

Meanwhile, Woozi and DK had some experience with music. Woozi had learned to play various musical instruments and was studying classical music. DK was also taking vocal lessons before he decided to audition. Both Woozi and DK are now a part of SEVENTEEN’s vocal unit, and Woozi also writes many songs for the group.

How SEVENTEEN functions with 13 members

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SEVENTEEN has members from different places and who joined the group with varying life experiences. It can be tough to have a cohesive team of 13 people, but SEVENTEEN has managed to do it for years now.

For example, communication is a big thing in the group. On an episode of the Korean show Knowing Bros, they described an incident in which S.Coups talked to Pledis’ vice director about a discussion his members had without their knowledge. When the vice director asked the members about it, they denied having the conversation, leading S.Coups to get scolded. The group revealed that, from then on, they learned the importance of getting things straight with each other.

Additionally, SEVENTEEN’s managers also work hard to make sure everything runs smoothly for the members. The show The Manager once followed a SEVENTEEN manager around and saw how much coordination is needed to keep the group in check during a busy day. There are systems for taking roll calls, ordering lunch, and driving the members from one place to another.