1VERSE Unites Global Voices on Reflective Debut The 1st Verse

Five stories. One voice. One moment that changed everything.

With their debut single The 1st Verse, 1VERSE doesn’t just introduce themselves — they start something we’ve never seen before: a North–South, East–West fusion that turns pain into melody, and difference into unity.

“We were just verses. Now we are a song.”

That’s how 1VERSE introduces themselves to the world — not just with a debut, but with a message that feels more like a heartbeat than a headline. A song that stitches together five different stories, five different worlds, and one unshakable bond.

For Hyuk and Seok, music wasn't always the dream. Survival was. Growing up in North Korea, both had little access to sound, let alone pop culture. “I lived so busily, just trying to get by, I don’t even remember if I ever had time to really listen to music,” said Hyuk in an interview with APNews. But now, that silence has turned into melody — into The 1st Verse, 1VERSE’s debut single album released on July 18, 2025.

The story behind the group is already making headlines. Hyuk and Seok are the first North Korean defectors to debut officially in a K-pop group, joined by Nathan (Arkansas), Kenny (Los Angeles), and Aito (Chiba, Japan). But 1VERSE isn’t looking for pity, or praise. They’re looking for connection.

“With members from different countries all coming together as 1VERSE, I just thought, we can do this regardless of background,” said Aito (APNews). “That’s the energy we want to share.”

Their pre-release track “Multiverse” does just that. Shimmering with cinematic synths and layered with atmospheric bass, the song builds a soundscape that feels vast, yet personal. It’s an ode to every version of ourselves we’ve had to be — and the unexpected harmony that happens when those versions collide. “Lost in the feeling, sky with no ceiling,” they sing, as if reminding us that no matter how far apart we feel, we’re always searching for the same spark.

But it’s “Shattered” that delivers the emotional knockout. Available in both Korean and English versions, the title track digs deeper — into grief, into trauma, into the parts of us we’re told to hide. Hyuk, who co-wrote the song with Kenny, drew on his own experience of losing his father before his defection. “Back at the beginning, when you run out of luck,” he raps — not with bravado, but with truth. The Korean version is raw and stripped back, guided by minimal piano and glitch textures, while the English version leans into K-R&B vocal layering to universalize its pain.

“The day I filmed that diary video, I was feeling really emotional. I uploaded it without thinking too much,” Seok told APNews. “And when I read the first comment, I started crying. It meant so much to feel seen.”

That’s the magic of 1VERSE. They’re not polished to perfection, and that’s exactly the point. Their charm lies in their sincerity — in the way they speak directly to fans, in every language, every lyric, every small vulnerability. From Aito’s quiet determination to Nathan’s late-night discovery of EXO’s “Growl,” every member brings something entirely their own.

And still, they speak as one.

“We want to create music that feels like youth,” said Nathan (APNews). “Something people can look back on and remember clearly — a song, a moment, a memory.”

With their mix of stripped-back ballads, cinematic production, and real-life storytelling, 1VERSE offers something rare in K-pop: music that resonates across generations — not just for fans their age, but for anyone who's ever longed, lost, or dared to hope. It’s music for the kids just starting out, and for the adults who never stopped searching.

Even before debut, 1VERSE had built a strong online following — nearly a million fans drawn to their honesty, resilience, and the feeling that maybe, this music was meant for them too. According to their label, their community already spanned across platforms under the fandom name 5TARZ — a name that, fittingly, reminds us: “In our universe, YOU are the stars.”

The 1st Verse isn’t just their story — it might be yours too.

A reminder that even in a world fractured by borders and silence, five voices can come together and sing something we all understand: what it means to begin.