This boy band can rightly call themselves a legend. It debuted in 2005, over 17 years ago, and has caused a stir from the start. Nowadays it is normal for K-pop groups to include 10, 12 or even more members, form subunits and have members from China or other countries. But who started it? Super Junior. The boy band set trends, paved the way for future generations and is still a fixture in the K-pop industry today.
We look back on an unparalleled career and summarize the most important facts, milestones and successes for you here!
- Pre-Debut
- The members
- 2005 - 2006: Debut + Han Geng's visa problems
- 2006 - 2011: The first subunits in K-Pop + Heechul's accident
- 2009: Sorry Sorry (breakthrough)
- 2009 - 2019: Line-up changes + military service & international successes
- 2019 - Today
Pre-Debut
The story began in 2000, when the first future members of Super Junior attended SM Entertainment auditions and were accepted as trainees: Han Geng, Leeteuk, Yesung and Eunhyuk. Eunhyuk had already attended an SM audition in 1999, but was not accepted. Luckily, he tried again!
The following year they were joined by Sungmin and Donghae, who together won a competition sponsored by SM. In the years that followed, everything happened quickly. In 2002 Heechul, Kangin and Kibum were added, in 2003 Siwon and in 2004 Shindong and Ryewook.
A few members were already active in the entertainment industry at the time. For example, Kibum has already starred in two dramas (April Kiss & Sharp 2). Heechul has also appeared in a drama (Sharp 2), hosted a music show and done commercials. Siwon appeared in a music video by Dana from The Grace as well as two dramas (Precious Family & Eighteen, Twenty-Nine) and Han Geng appeared in a few small Chinese films.
Did you know that Siwon was originally supposed to debut solo and SM Entertainment was planning a five-member boy band called “Smile” with Leeteuk and Donghae? Ultimately, these plans were scrapped and the 12 trainees made their debut together!
Before their debut, the trainees were often referred to as “juniors,” which eventually led to the boy band being christened Super Junior. Previously there were rumors that the group would be called O.V.E.R (Obey the Voice for Each Rhythm).
Super Junior 05
SM Entertainment originally wanted to introduce a rotation system. This means that the existing members should be replaced by new ones after a certain period of time so that the group stays young. That's why the 12 members who debuted in 2005 were originally called "Super Junior 05". This should be the title for the first generation of Super Junior. As you may know, this concept was abolished in 2006. More on that soon!
On September 11, 2005, Super Junior 05 held a showcase where they performed various hip-hop moves and danced to songs such as “Caught Up” by Usher.
The members
| Artist name | Real name | Birthday |
|---|---|---|
| Leeteuk | Park Jeongsu | 01.07.1983 |
| Heechul | Kim Heechul | 10.07.1983 |
| Yesung | Kim Kanghoon | 24.08.1984 |
| Shindong | Shin Donghee | 28.09.1985 |
| Eunhyuk | Lee Hyukjae | 04.04.1986 |
| Siwon | Choi Siwon | 07.04.1986 |
| Donghae | Lee Donghae | 15.10.1986 |
| Ryeowook | Kim Ryeowook | 21.06.1987 |
| Kyuhyun | Cho Kyuhyun | 03.02.1988 |
| Sungmin (inactive) | Lee Sungmin | 01.01.1986 |
If you've ever wondered why Shindong doesn't perform under his real name, you now have an answer. “Donghee” is too similar to “Donghae,” so the singer adopted the stage name “Shindong.”
Former members
| Artist name | Real name | Birthday |
|---|---|---|
| Han Geng | Han Geng | 09.02.1984 |
| Kibum | Kim Kibum | 21.08.1987 |
| Kangin | Kim Youngwoon | 17.01.1985 |
As you can see, three of the original members have since left Super Junior, while Kyuhyun joined in 2006. You can find out how this came about in this article!
2005 - 2006: Debut + Han Geng's visa problems
Super Junior 05 officially debuted on November 6, 2005 with a performance for the first single "Twins (Knock Out)". On November 8th, “Twins” and other songs like “You Are the One” were released digitally and on December 5th the album, which is called “Twins” like the single, was finally released. The single is a cover of the song “Knockout” by the British pop group Triple 8 from 2003.
The album topped Hanteo's Weekly Chart and reached number 3 on the Korean MIAK Chart. The latter probably doesn't mean anything to you because the chart was only published from 1998 to 2008. Although these chart positions were a good start, the album's true success only became clear over the years. For four years in a row (2005 to 2008) it was one of the 60 best-selling albums in South Korea, because after almost 50,000 copies were sold in 2005, 26,500 more copies followed in 2006 and 10,400 were sold in 2007.
With their debut, Super Junior have grabbed attention for many different reasons! One reason is of course their music, but the boy band also attracted a lot of attention because of the number of members.
Super Junior was the first K-pop group with 12 members! Until then, groups usually consisted of 3 to 6 members. Boy groups or girl groups of this size are no longer a rarity. Loona, IZ*ONE and Seventeen are just a few examples.
But that wasn't all. Super Junior was also the first K-pop group with a Chinese member. As the first Chinese K-pop idol, Han Geng had to face some difficulties.
At that time there was still a law in South Korea that said foreigners were only allowed to appear on three channels. There were also problems with Han Geng's visa. SM Entertainment was unaware of the problem because Han Geng was not only the first Chinese idol, but one of the first foreign idols overall, if not the first. The problem was temporarily solved by Han Geng wearing a mask on stage. Some people even thought he was a backup dancer because he always stayed in the background.
Han Geng wore a mask for 2 to 3 months until a legendary incident. At a concert, Han Geng's bandmate Heechul took off his mask and pushed him forward. He was fed up with Han Geng having to hide because he was suffering a lot because of it. Han Geng performed the rest of the concert without a mask and also performed without it afterwards. There is no footage of this moment; only those attending the concert saw him.
Thanks to this case, a few years later foreigners were allowed to appear freely on television.
The debut album was followed by a single album on December 15, 2005, which Super Junior 05 recorded together with TVXQ, another boy band from SM Entertainment. It reached number 1 on the MIAK Chart. From February 14, 2006, Super Junior 05 promoted "Miracle", a song from "Twins", topping the charts in Thailand. A music video for Miracle was also released at the end of February.
SM Entertainment then chose new members for the second generation of Super Junior, which was to be called “Super Junior 06”. It was also discussed which of the existing members would leave the group. But it didn't get that far. In May, Kyuhyun joined as the thirteenth member, but the rotation system was abolished. Since then, the boy band has no longer been known as Super Junior 05, but as Super Junior.
On May 25, 2006, the new single "U", the first to feature Kyuhyun, was released digitally. Fans could download it for free. A physical album was also released on June 6th, which sold over 81,000 copies. “U” was one of the most popular songs of the year in South Korea!
2006 - 2011: The first subunits in K-Pop + Heechul's accident
In 2006, Super Junior’s first subunit “Super Junior-K.R.Y” was founded. Super Junior changed the K-Pop scene again, because it is not only the first subunit of the boy band, but the first subunit of a K-Pop group ever!
K.R.Y are the initials of the three members Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung. The three debuted as a unit on November 5, 2006, with the song "The One I Love", which served as the soundtrack for the K-drama "Hyena". The unit focuses on R&B ballads.
The second subunit made its debut in February 2007: Super Junior-T consists of Leeteuk, Heechul, Kangin, Sungmin, Shindong and Eunhyuk. The T stands for “Trot,” a K-pop genre that emerged in the first half of the second century. The unit is releasing Trot songs, starting with the first single “Rokkugo” on February 23rd.
In September 2007, Super Junior released their second album together, “Don’t Don”, which topped the MIAK Chart and was the second best-selling album of 2007 with 164,000 copies sold, even though it was only released three months before the end of the year! Fans were happy to see Super Junior back on stage with all 13 members after over a year. In fact, “Don’t Don” was supposed to be released in November 2006.
However, the album was postponed after Heechul suffered a serious car accident on August 10th.
He was on his way back from Donghae’s father’s funeral. He required stitches and several iron rods were inserted into his leg. He spent a month in the hospital and did not return to activities until several weeks after his discharge. The last iron bars were removed in 2008. As a result of the accident, Heechul is still missing from most live performances to this day because he can no longer dance properly because of his leg. Nevertheless, he is always involved in the recording of the albums and can be seen regularly on variety shows.
In 2008 things continued quickly with the debut of two more subunits!
On April 8th, the third subunit Super Junior-M made its debut with a Chinese version of “U”. The first album “Me” was released on April 23rd. The “M” stands for Mandopop (Chinese pop). It is a Chinese unit. It became Super Junior's most successful unit, regularly topping the charts, especially in China. In addition to Han Geng, Siwon, Donghae, Kyuhyun and Ryeowook, the members include two new members: the two Chinese Henry and Zhou Mi.
When the new members were announced, some fans led protests. They feared that SM Entertainment would resume the originally planned concept and replace some of the older members with the new ones. However, that wasn't the case. In fact, Henry and Zhou Mi are only members of Super Junior-M, not Super Junior. In 2011, Sungmin and Eunhyuk were added to the unit after Han Geng left Super Junior and the unit in 2009.
The fourth unit Super Junior-H (the H stands for Happy) was founded the following month. The members are Leeteuk, Yesung, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk and Kangin. Their debut album “Cooking? Cooking!” appeared on June 5th.
The fifth and so far last subunit Super Junior D&E joined in 2011. Like K.R.Y, the name is made up of the members' initials: Donghae and Eunhyuk. The duo released the first single “Oppa, Oppa” on December 16th.
Since then, countless other K-pop bands have also founded their own subunits. WJSN Chocome, Moonbin & Sanha (Astro) or Orange Caramel (After School) are just a few examples. Of course, many other SM Entertainment groups now have one or more units such as Girls' Generation Oh!GG, EXO-CBX, Irene & Seulgi (Red Velvet) and of course NCT Dream, NCT 127 and more!
As you can see, Super Junior has had a huge impact on the K-Pop scene in the first two-three years of their career and can rightly call themselves a legend!
2009: Sorry Sorry (breakthrough)
On March 12, 2009, the third studio album “Sorry, Sorry” was released with the title song of the same name. It is still Super Junior's best-known song to this day and represented a breakthrough for the boy band. Although the boy band was already very successful at the time, the new album exceeded previous records:
The album debuted at number 1 on the Hanteo charts and sold 29,000 copies on the first day. After just one month, it was already considered the best-selling album of the year in South Korea! But not just there. It also became the best-selling K-Pop album of 2009 in Taiwan, Thailand, China and the Philippines!
The title track stayed at the top of the Korean charts for a full ten weeks and broke records in Taiwan. There, Sorry, Sorry occupied number 1 in the charts for no less than 37 weeks! Of course, Super Junior also received some awards for the song. A number of professional Korean athletes danced to Sorry, Sorry at award shows after winning championships, and even the Korean Air Force covered the famous moves.
Especially at a time when Instagram didn't yet exist and other social media like Twitter and YouTube were only three to four years old, it was even more impressive how Super Junior took the whole of Asia by storm and aroused the interest of fans even beyond that.
In July 2009, four months after the album's release, Super Junior embarked on their second Asian tour “Super Show 2”. The first took place in the first half of 2008.
Before 2009 ended, Han Geng left the group. And that wasn't the last change in the line-up that Super Junior and their fans had to deal with.
2009 - 2019: Line-up changes + military service & international successes
On December 21st, Han Geng requested that his contract with SM Entertainment be terminated. At the same time, he ended all his activities with Super Junior. The reason he gave was that the terms of the contract violated the law and his rights. In July 2012 he released his first solo album.
Kibum did not take part in “Super Show 2” in 2009. On the one hand, he had suffered a foot injury that took several weeks to heal, and on top of that, he wanted to concentrate on his acting career for the time being. In fact, he never returned to his activities with Super Junior. But it wasn't until 2015 that he officially left the boy band when his contract with SM Entertainment ended.
In October 2009, Kangin was charged with being caught driving under the influence of alcohol and then committing a hit-and-run. He had gotten into a taxi with three passengers. Because of the incident, Kangin withdrew from his activities and only returned in July 2012 for the album “Sexy, Free & Single”. In 2015 he was sued again for drunk driving and has not been active as a member of Super Junior since then. He officially left the group in July 2019.
Sungmin is still officially a member of Super Junior, but he has not been active with the boy band since 2015. He began his military service in 2015 and then focused on his solo career. He released his own albums and starred in series and musicals. He also married actor Kim Saeun in December 2014! This makes him currently the only married member of Super Junior.
Without Han Geng, Kibum and Kangin, the remaining ten members released two albums in 2010 and 2011: Bonamana (May 2010) and Mr. Simple (August 2011).
Even with the changed lineup, Super Junior broke records again! Bonamana sold more than 36,000 copies on its first day and stayed at the top of the Taiwanese charts for 61 weeks! This even surpassed Sorry, Sorry! Mr. Simple couldn't quite keep up, but was also considered a huge success, selling 441,000 copies in two months.
Military service
In September 2011, just a month after the release of Mr. Simple, Heechul began his military service. Military service is compulsory for men in South Korea and today lasts 18 to 22 months, depending on which branch they are serving in. But before 2021, the service still lasted 21 to 24 months, so Heechul and the other members of Super Junior were all in the military for just under two years.
Heechul was the first, but in the years that followed, one by one his bandmates also began their service. In May 2019, Kyuhyun was the last to end his service. Of course, the boy band released more albums and performed concerts over the eight years, but the lineup constantly changed depending on who was in the military and who wasn't. Since the services overlapped, several members were often missing. Of course, some people left the group or took a break.
International successes
In these eight years, the albums Sexy, Free & Single, Hero (Japanese) Spy, Mamacita, This is Love, Devil, Magic , Play, Replay and One More Time were released. They all stormed the charts in South Korea and Asia and brought the boy group countless awards! But groundbreaking international successes are also part of the long list of Super Junior's achievements. Here are a few examples:
- 2012: Super Junior wins “Best Asian Act” (MTV Europe Music Awards) & “Teen Style Icon” (Style Icon Awards)
- 2013: On November 10th, Eunhyuk, Kangin, Siwon and Kyuhyun gave a talk at Oxford University. The talk was titled “Super Junior: The Last Man Standing.”
- 2014: Mamacita tops Billboard's World Albums Chart! (Previously, “Sexy, Free & Single” reached No. 3.)
- 2015: Super Junior wins “International Artists” & “Best Fandom” at the Teen Choice Awards.
- 2018: “Lo Siento” from the album “Replay” debuts at number 13 on Billboard’s Latin Digital Song Sales Chart. This makes them the first K-Pop artist to ever land on the chart.
Since 2015, Super Junior have also had their own label: Label SJ.
SM Entertainment founded the label on November 6th to mark the boy band's tenth anniversary. The new label belongs to SM Entertainment, but operates independently and is exclusively responsible for the management of Super Junior, all units and also the members' solo activities. Zhou Mi, who belongs to the Super Junior-M unit but not to Super Junior, is also looked after by Label SJ.
2019 - Today
Since Kangin left the group in July 2019, Super Junior is officially a ten-piece. Since Sungmin is only active solo and not as a member of the boy band, “only” nine members are involved in all of the following albums: Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun.
These nine have released eight albums together from 2019 to date:
- 2019: Time Slip
- 2020: Timeless, I Think U (Japanese)
- 2021: The Renaissance , Star (Japanese)
- 2022: The Road: Winter for Spring & The Road: Keep On Going & The Road: Celebration
- 2023: The Road (compilation of all The Road albums from 2022)
Almost all of these albums topped the South Korean Circle Album Chart (formerly Gaon) and also achieved high chart positions in Japan. Time Slip also won the main prize at the Seoul Music Awards and Super Junior has also won a lot of awards at The Fact Music Awards in recent years.
Super Junior have captured the hearts of countless fans around the world over the years and are still defending their place at the top even after more than 17 years. Of course, all members have now also built a solo career. They release solo albums, appear in series and are guests on variety shows! We look forward to many more years with this legendary boy band!
