a helpful guide to nct’s subunits
hello there new nctzens (or old ones too) !! i’ve seen a LOT of people talk about their confusion around nct subunits and how they work. even fans like myself, who have been into nct for about six months, only recently figured out how all of the subunits actually work. i think the main reason people have confusion about nct’s subunits is because there is no official place where you can find out how all the subunits work; there is misinformation and assumptions everywhere, therefore making it really hard to really understand the subunits. with that being said, i am 99.9 percent sure this is an accurate guide to nct’s subunits, however, i could be wrong about small details. even if i am, though, this should be a pretty helpful guide and a good place to start. i put more details under the cut because i know this guide is SUPER lengthy, but it’s lengthy because i wanted to make sure everyone understood.
NCT AS A WHOLE AND IT’S GOALS FOR THE FUTURE
nct as a whole is an infinite group of members. this year they had 18 members, next year they could have 20, the year after that they could have 17, the year after that they could go back to 20, there are essentially no boundaries or solid promises to members. some people have expressed that they do not like this idea because it is an easy out for SM (smtown is the company that owns nct; we call them SM for short) to get rid of members they suddenly don’t like. using exo-k and exo-m as examples, (two subgroups of exo, k being based in korea and m being based in china before exo became one whole group) people who don’t like the idea of infinite members point out that 3 members left exo-m and therefore made SM have to figure something new out for the group exo. they claim that SM has made the nct infinite members idea because it will mean there is no grudges anyone can hold against them if they get rid of members, and, if an nct member tries to leave, SM can let them because nct has the infinite members excuse. (a personal opinion of mine: the infinite members idea is a good one because if a member IS being mistreated by SM and ‘acts up’, they will be able to leave and not be stuck or trapped in SM’s grasp like most other idols) another note about nct as a whole: they are essentially trying to take over the world. currently they have 3 subunits; nct u, nct 127, and nct dream (with one more subunit on the way and one that is not a subunit but is still umbrella-ed under the overall nct brand). nct 127 has the name 127 because 127 is the longitude of seoul and that subunit represents korea. before the end of 2019 there will be a new subunit of nct that is based in china. there have also been rumored plans that nct has hopes to have one subunit in japan as well, so if you’re following the pattern, you’d notice what they’re trying to do. eventually sm wants to have at least one nct subunit based and appealing to every country.
NCT DREAM
nct dream is the simplest of subunits to explain because there is one rule that defines whether or not you are qualified to be in nct dream. you muse be a teenager, which in korea, is 19 years old or less. if you join nct underage, it has not been officially said that you MUST be a part of nct dream, but so far every new member 19 or under has been a part of nct dream. however, there was a member named lucas who joined nct in the beginning of 2018 (february) who was 19 years old and he did not join nct dream even though he wanted to. this is likely because he was going to turn 20 soon, so it would be tedious to let him join nct dream and then make him leave the group immediately. this could be evidence showing that not all nct members under 19 MUST join nct dream, however, lucas’s situation was also a special one. only time will tell !! what happens when a member who is currently a part of nct dream grows up and turns 20 ?? let me tell ya !! when a member of nct dream is no longer a teenager, they graduate (’graduate’ could just mean that they leave the subunit, or perhaps SM has a bigger plan in the future for nct dream graduates and therefore does not want to verbally say that they left the subunit) from the subunit nct dream. if a member of nct dream is in another subunit of nct, they will likely just graduate from nct dream and focus only in the other subunit. however, if a member of nct dream is not already in another subunit, they will just graduate from nct dream and go right into a new subunit.
NCT 127
nct 127 is called nct 127 because 127 is the longitude coordinate of the city seoul, which is located in korea, and where k-pop started. this subunit (as it is in my prediction) will be the longest lasting subunit of the currently existing 3. when nct china and nct *insert another country here* make their debuts, nct 127 will be the team that represents the korean fraction of nct. there are nct members within 127 who are korean, but there is also a chinese member, a japanese member, an american member, and a canadian member. with the new releases of nct subunits like nct china, chinese members may leave nct 127 or they may be working for the korean nct group and the chinese nct group at the same time. anyone who is in nct at all can be eligible for becoming a part of nct 127, but once you are a part of nct 127 there is usually no turning back. nct 127 is a semi-fixed subunit, meaning, that if you are a part of nct 127 when an nct 127 album comes out, you must be in that album. SM is able to make people come and leave from the subunit 127, but if you are put there, you must perform there, unlike the subunit nct u.
NCT CHINA (possible name: nct 116)
since this subunit has not debuted at the time of me writing this, it is unknown how this subunit will work. my prediction, though, is that it is going to function exactly like nct 127 but it will be located and based in china.
NCT U
nct u is the most free subunit and explains the overall idea of nct the best. there are members who are a part of nct u and members who are not. of course, SM can make members be added to and removed from nct u as they please since no nct subunit is a permanent subunit, but there is even more fluidity of members right down to the songs. in every song there is, generally, a different amount or mixture of members. one nct u song can have members x and y in them, while a different nct u song can have members a, b, and c in them. both are ‘by’ nct u. there is a song called boss that has seven members in it, and it is made by nct u. there is also another song called baby don’t stop that only has two nct u members in it. across boss and baby don’t stop there is only one member who is in both songs. this shows you the fluidity of every single nct u song. i have seen people say in the past that once an nct u song is made with a set group of members, such as member x and member y, that that group can not make another song again. so if a, b, and c make a song together, then a, b, and c can no longer be able to make another nct u song with just the three of them. this rumor is not true. in the nct 2018 (this subunit is explained below) album, there are two songs by nct u that are performed by the same 3 members. this disproves the previously stated rumor.
NCT 2018 (and other upcoming years)
nct 2018 is all the nct members that there are at the beginning of 2018. there will likely be an nct 2019 come the beginning of next year as well. nct 2019 will include new members that came during the year 2018 and the members that left during the year 2018. essentially it is a new peek into what the upcoming year is going to be. (there is no guarantee that there will be an nct 2019, i was simply using next year as an example to explain what this year’s nct 2018 was and why it was important)
THE END
and that’s it !! that is all you need to know about nct and their subunits !! i hope this helped a lot of people out and i hope you all have a better understanding of how each individual subunit works, as well as how each subunit relates to the company, the members, and other subunits. if anyone reading this has more questions about a specific subunit or even things like how one would begin to get into nct, please feel free to message me !! my inbox and messenger are always open for those who have that little bit of excess curiosity.
