K-pop Stage Names: Where They Came From

Most idols use their Korean names as their stage names, but once in awhile an agency will give random members a name that makes you wonder where it came from. Here's a lesson on where some of these K-pop stage names derived from!

B.A.P's maknae, Zelo, has the only stage name in the group. His real name is Choi Junhong but the lead rapper and dancer was given the name Zelo which derives from Greek and Roman God mythology. The god of rivalry was named "Zelus," and from that, Zelo was born.

Solo superstar Rain's real name is Jung Hi Joon which he uses as his actor name. Apparently Ji Hoon went for the name "Rain" when some people noted that he danced with a certain sad charisma. The chinese word "bei" translated to sadness and Koreans use the word "bi" to pronounce "bei," which means "rain" in Korean. Did that confuse you? It's simpler than it sounds. All you need to know is that his name comes from sadness.

Se7en got his name from the stupidest incident ever but good for him that it ended up being a cool name even though the background of it is downright lame. According to a fan forum, YG couldn't decide what stage name to knight Choi Dong Wook with. It wasn't until they were eating at a restaurant and they looked down at a plate with 7 pieces of kimchi on it that they confirmed Se7en would be the name associated with him for the rest of his life-all because of 7 pieces of kimchi. Seven is also the lucky number in Korea so Se7en wanted to spread luck through his music. I could totally make a distasteful joke out of that last sentence but I'll be a big girl and step away.

Big Bang's TOP got his name in the lamest way possible. Before he was given the name TOP, for no apparent reason, his boss, Yang Hyunsuk named him Mark because it was the name of his favorite guitarist. When TOP realized being a rapper and named Mark was more terrible than clogging a toilet at a friend's party, he went up to his higher-ups and asked for a different name. His sunbae, Se7en came out of nowhere and told him his name would be TOP and that is how he got his stage name.

Boa's real name is Kwon Bo Ah and officially named herself Boa. Fans spiced it up by giving it something stand for: Beat of Angel and Beat of Asia. That's such a better story than being born with the name Boa.

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