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As expected of music companies, Gold Star has crafted a specific image for Jinhwan. An image that has been carefully constructed and pieced together in order for Jin to put forth the best possible impression on the Korean public. Ever since Impulse’s debut, even before then during the survival show, they told him to act and behave in a certain way. They wanted to wanted him to be the strong leader, a tough guy, someone who people admire and respect. There are three categories in which Jin’s image can be broken down into.

The strong leader. The one that keeps the group together and out of trouble. It’s an image that’s been pushed ever since Who’s Next: Origin Story. Since he was the eldest member on Team B and was one of the trainees who had been there the longest, he was appointed as the unofficial leader for the time being. He was the one who looked over everyone, who spoke for the group when the time called for it, and he pretty much took the lead for everything leadership wise. That was when the public first started to like him. They liked how hard working he was and how well he took care of his team members. 

The funny man. The comic relief. His humor falls on the more subtle side of things. You have to pay close attention and thing a little outside of the box to catch his jokes, but they’re there and when they’re understood, they’re a hoot and a half. It’s easy for Jinhwan to fall into this role. He’s good with people, even though people weren’t good with him when he was younger. He loves to make people laugh to cover up the fact that he hasn’t truly laughed in a long time. He can go a little too far though, his jokes falling more so on the crude and inappropriate side of things, which makes him perfect for variety shows. He can go toe-to-toe with the hosts without missing a beat, which has made him quite well known in the variety world.

The lighthearted one. Nonchalant. He’s the jokester, but he’s relaxed at the same time. His lackadaisical, almost lazy smile and posture give off a sense of calm and relaxation. In a group filled with a wide range of personalities, he’s the mediator. The warm, middle ground between them all. A little of this, a little of that, but not too much of one thing. When they send a particular outgoing member on a variety show, they send him to balance out their extroverted side. When they send a more quiet member on a variety show, he’s sent to bring out their extroverted side. He’s good with bringing out the best in others, but can never bring out the best in himself.

He’s the middle child of five kids. He has two older brothers, a younger brother and a younger sister (if anyone’s looking for some familial connections wink wink) 

Being the middle child, he was overlooked by his parents a lot. His parents were business people and worked a lot, so of course they wouldn’t be able to give him and his siblings their full attention, but even then, he didn’t get as much as his siblings. 

Growing up, he had a lot of girl friends. Not romantically, just friendships. He felt more comfortable having girl friends because the guys his age were really rough and wrestled all the time and he was a pacifist as a kid, and now. 

He started getting teased for always hanging around girls, nothing too serious, just a few jokes here and there. 

It wasn’t until he was in middle school and kids became more cruel that he was bullied for “being gay”. At the time he wasn’t even thinking about his own sexuality, and he hadn’t done anything to make anyone think he was gay except for always hanging around girls or playing with “girls’ toys”.

The bullying sometimes became physical, but Jinhwan’s parents didn’t really do anything about it. They were homophobic themselves, so they figured that if Jinhwan was gay, his peers would change that with their treatment of him. 

Music was his saving grace at the time, and still is. He fell in love with it in his pre teens, and decided that he wanted to pursue it as a career when he grew up. 

It was really easy for his parents to agree to let him start auditioning at companies. Gold Star was one of the few that accepted him, and he decided to go with them because of who the CEO is. (He was a big fan of Adore as a kid) 

He was one of the first trainees that Gold Star accepted back in 2009. 

He trained for quite some time until the survival show came about. Jin was excited for it because he can be a pretty competitive guy and it was his opportunity to debut faster.

Unfortunately, his team didn’t win, but they ended up debuting anyway. 

Back in 2016, Jin had started to develop feelings for one of Impulse’s backup dancers. He and the backup dancer started dating in secret, but unbeknownst to Jin, Impulse’s managers had been watching him and the male backup dancer during practices and breaks and noticed how close they were. When Jin came back to the dorm late one night after visiting his at the time boyfriend, his managers were sitting there waiting for him. They told him that he needed to stop his relationship with the backup dancer or else. He reluctantly agreed. The backup dancer was fired, but paid well and referred to another company, but Jin still feels guilty about what happened. 

In 2017, Jin asked for a solo debut and Gold Star has pretty much been giving him the runaround ever since then. They won’t give him a straight answer, but they try to keep him satisfied by letting him write and produce for Impulse sometimes. As you can probably tell, it’s not satisfying him. 

As of late, he’s still working on getting a solo debut. 

Starting working out and getting buff because 1) he likes it and 2) he wanted a more “masculine” appearance because he’s still scarred from being bullied for being “girly”. 

⎪ VISUALS ⎪

⎪ MUSINGS ⎪

⎪ AESTHETIC ⎪

⎪ KKT ⎪

⎪ MEMES ⎪

⎪ ANSWERED ⎪

⎪ IMPULSE ⎪

⎪ SOLO ⎪

⎪ ARTICLE ⎪