5 things to know about NCT's Doyoung: he's K-drama star Gong Myung's brother and is inspired by Shinee and IU – even covering her song from Crash Landing on You's OST

Doyoung, the main vocalist of award-winning K-pop group NCT, turns 26 on February 1, with his birthday celebration coming hot on the heels of subunit NCT 127 winning the grand prize at the 31st Seoul Music Awards held on January 23.

Everyone knows that Doyoung is the brother of Be Melodramatic star Gong Myung and that he made his debut in 2016, but how well do you really know the K-pop superstar?

Here we highlight five things that you need to know about the NCT singer, actor and television personality.

Doyoung turns 26 on February 1. Photo: @nct127/Instagram

1. His role model was Shinee – and he is a huge fan of IU

We all know that most K-pop stars have their own role models who sparked their dreams of becoming idols – just like Suga from BTS dreamt of becoming a rapper after listening to Epik High’s single Fly.

Doyoung is no different. Like his fellow A-listers, he was inspired by other artists, in his case by watching the performances of Shinee. He has literally followed in the group’s footsteps, as Doyoung and Shinee are both signed to SM Entertainment.

Doyoung went from a fanboy to a star who regularly hangs out with his celebrity friends. Photo: @dailynct127_/Twitter

When he appeared on MBC’s Show Champion as an MC, he said that he is such a fan of Shinee that he has listened to every single song released by the group.

Doyoung also opened up about how he used to think that singing was the only way of expressing a song, but then he realised that performance is another crucial way to communicate after seeing Shinee’s performance of Dream Girl.

Doyoung is also known to be a fan of K-pop diva IU, and he has even covered some of her songs including I Give You My Heart from the OST of hit K-drama series Crash Landing on You.

He sometimes calls IU seonsaengnim, which means teacher in Korean, to express his gratitude and respect. Fans have also given Doyoung the title, “the real UAENA approved by UAENA”, which is the name of IU’s fan base.

2. He hid that he was a K-pop trainee from his friends

NCT’s Doyoung dropped out of school to become a K-pop trainee. Photo: @do0_nct/Instagram

Before he joined SM Entertainment as a trainee in 2013, Doyoung attended a singing contest and was scouted by the company, according to Newsen.

NCT’s Doyoung performing on stage. Photo: @MnetMcountdown/Twitter

Doyoung decided to drop out of high school to take the opportunity as a trainee, but he told his friends the reason was that he was moving abroad, according to Koreaboo. Later, once he was seen in videos of SM Rookies – the agency’s new trainees – in 2015, some of his old friends commented about how surprised they were when they first discovered Doyoung there.

3. He has good chemistry with his brother Gong Myung

Doyoung and his older brother, Gong Myung. Photo: @do0_nct/Instagram

In the K-pop world, it’s not unusual for fame to run in the family. Just like K-pop idol siblings Krystal and Jessica Jung, Doyoung has a brother named Gong Myung who is a famous actor in dramas including Be Melodramatic, Extreme Job and The Bride of Habaek.

Not only are the boys star siblings, they are also known to have very good chemistry. Born with the similar names of Kim Dong-young and Dong-hyun, the brothers have never fought, according to Gong Myung, who said as much to an SBS radio show in 2019.

Just like Doyoung is the main vocalist of his band, his brother Gong Myung is also known to be a talented singer. He used to be part of 5urprise, a five-piece group comprised of actors that debuted in 2014 with the single From My Heart.

4. He truly loves to sing and has the most cover songs among NCT members

NCT’s Doyoung loves singing. Photo: @do0_nct/Instagram

Doyoung said he wants to be remembered as a singer who always sings sincerely and for his voice to be instantly recognisable, he told L’Officiel Hommes in 2018.

In fact, he loves singing so much that NCT fans have even observed him mouthing along to the other singers’ parts of their songs.

Doyoung also shares videos of cover songs with his fans. Apart from his cover song of IU’s I Give You My Heart, he has also covered Lay Me Down by Sam Smith.

5. He is smart and passed the grade 2 level for his Korean history proficiency test

NCT’s Doyoung has inspired fans. Photo: @do0_nct/Instagram

Doyoung might have dropped out of high school, but he definitely paid attention during the time that he was there. He was a star student and was even the class vice-president, according to AllKpop.

Though he hasn’t decided to attend university yet, as he is quite busy being a K-pop star, he has not let his smarts go to waste.

Last June, he celebrated passing the grade 2 level for his Korean history proficiency exam by posting a photo of the certificate on his Instagram story.

“NCTzens told me to boast about these things,” he wrote along with the photo, according to AllKpop, with many fans impressed that he found the time to study and others vowing to follow his lead.

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