In K-pop, there’s no such thing as too many groups to root for. Looking for idols who have a soft spot for the Philippines? Meet Won Bin, the maknae of IST Entertainment’s upcoming boy group ATBO. And get this, the South Korean trainee can speak Filipino.
ATBO, which stands for “At the Beginning of Originality,” was formed on the survival show “The Origin–A, B, OR What?” which concluded on May 7. During the finale, the initial team name announced for the group was ABO. It was eventually renamed after international fans voiced concerns over how it’s spelled the same as a racial slur against Indigenous Australians and the acronym of wolf-kink erotica. A good call, TBH.
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It was only on June 17 when Won Bin officially became part of ATBO’s seven-member line-up along with Oh Junseok, Ryu Junmin, Bae Hyunjun, Seok Rakwon, Jeong Seunghwan, and Kim Yeonkyu. The announcement was made after IST shared that Yang Donghwa will no longer be part of the group after facing bullying allegations. Despite the controversies, the ATBO members are determined to work hard for their summer debut under the same label as Apink, The Boyz, and Weeekly.
But back to Won Bin. In a balance game video for “The Origin,” the 17-year old trainee surprised viewers when he spoke in Filipino. Won Bin shared that he can speak Korean, English, and Filipino because he studied in several international schools while living abroad. “I lived in the Philippines [for] more than 10 years. [Nandito ako] sa Korea kasi pangarap ko [ang] maging worldwide superstar,” he said. Pretty cute.
Will he endear himself to Filipino fans the same way other Korean stars who’ve lived here, like 2NE1’s Dara or the actor Hwang In-youp, have? We’ll have to wait and see. Maybe we’ll even get to see him interact with Lapillus’ Chanty.
If anyone’s dropping messages in Filipino on ATBO’s Weverse community, let us know if Won Bin replies.
Photo courtesy of IST Entertainment
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