[Weekly Idol] Se7en

Former YG Entertainment soloist Se7en is back in the charts this week, with his new mini-album I am Se7en . Here’s seven things you should know about this week’s idol:

1. His real name is Choi Dong Wook. According a fan forum, his stage name comes from the time a YG rep was eating with him and noticed seven pieces of kimchi on the plate. Seven is also considered to be a lucky number in Korea.

2. He debuted in 2003 after four years as a YG trainee. His debut song was Come Back to Me, and his first album was called Just Listen.

3. He’s promoted and released singles in the US and Japan. His US release, Girls, featured Lil’ Kim.

4. Se7en completed his military service as an active-duty soldier from 2013-2015. He was part of a Celebrity Soldier Unit, who were often used in public relations material or entertainment events for the army. The concept has since been dropped by the Korean Ministry of Defence, mainly due to some dodgy goings-on during Se7en’s service time. Se7en was one of the soldiers alleged to have broken curfew and visited an illicit massage parlour while on duty. He later talked about this on his Instagram account, apologising to fans.

5. He’s officially dating actress Lee Da Hae and the Korean media are loving it. Dispatch snapped some pics of the couple in Thailand last month. In a telephone interview with Yonhap News, he asked the public to ‘look upon us warmly.’ His previous girlfriend of 12 years was also a popular actress, Park Han-byul.

6. He’s released six mini-albums prior to this one, making it the (lucky?) seventh. For the comeback track Give it to Me, he teamed up with production team The Stereo Types (who’ve worked with the likes of Chris Brown, Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber).

7. He’s got his own agency. His contract with YG Entertainment officially ended during his military service in 2015, and it was not renewed by mutual agreement. He set up his own agency, Eleven9 Entertainment, to release this album.

Recommended MVs:
Give it to Me – the comeback track