The Birth of the Gods of the East

“We’ll scream Dong Bang Shin Ki with everything we’ve got and we’ll wait, because we were separated to be reunited and we will continue to believe.” – Cassiopeia 

              DBSK or Dong Bang Shin Ki is a 5- member boy group which debuted in South Korea on December 26, 2003. They promote in China and also Japan. Their Chinese name is Tong Vhang Xien Qui and in Japan, their group name is Tohishinki. These names translate into “The Rising Gods of the East” and they really are Gods of the East. But before being the gods of Korean pop, there is a fun story on how they became as a group and how they got the name DBSK.

TVXQ performing their debut stage with their song Hug on December 26, 2003.

              DBSK’s members are Jung Yunho, Kim Jaejoong, Park Yoochun, Kim Junsu and Shim Changmin. While they were trainees in their agency, SM Entertainment, each of them had his own team. Yunho and Jaejoong were in a team together with (now Super Junior) Kim Heechul and Kangin. Junsu on the other hand was teamed with (now Super Junior) Eunhyuk and Sungmin. The remaining two members, Yoochun and Changmin, were the last two to enter the agency and were planned to debut as solo performers. One day, the agency’s president, Mr. Lee Soo Man, called each of them for a photoshoot. They thought that it will be for their corresponding teams or a shoot of all SM Ent trainees. When they arrived at the venue, they were shocked to see different faces.

               It was Yunho, Jaejoong, and, Junsu’s first time to see Changmin and Yoochun. And at that very moment, the president announced that they will be together in one group and will be debuting soon. For them, it was completely sudden and unexpected. Unlike the other groups who trained together for many years, they were formed in an instant and were said to debut as soon as possible. It was quite hard for them because for the short time they were given, they need to build teamwork and create harmony together. But nevertheless, after debuting as DBSK, they have become legends of Kpop. 

              After being formed, the president invited them and other SM Ent employees to make a name for their group. He wanted it to be a four-word name. Three suggestions were raised at that time: Jun Muk Go, Dong Bang Bool Pae and Oh Jang Yook Boo. The first suggestion, Jun Muk Go, stands for Junsureul Muko Saneun Gorae or a whale that lives on the legend. They thought it was kinda funny. The third suggestion Oh Jang Yook Boo means “the major organs of the body”. The name means that each member of the group is one of the important organs that a person can’t live without. The members said that the message of the name was good but it is also funny. The second suggestion was the origin of their current name. The president himself suggested the name Dong Bang Bool Pae. It is after the Chinese movie Dong Fang Bu Bai. The members said that the name was so overwhelming because of its meaning, “udefeated form the east “, but they noticed that “Bu Bai” when written in Korean doesn’t look nice. Someone from their agency suggested replacing “Bu Bai” by “Shin Ki”, forming the name Dong Bang Shin Ki. The members asked for its meaning. The person then said that Dong Bang Shin Ki means “the rising gods of the East.” The president asked them if they liked the name. They thought that the president was joking because he was talking about whales and organs on the earlier part of their meeting. So they said that it was great. Their meeting ended like that. During, their informal performance, they were shocked when they were introduced as DBSK. And that’s how they were called Dong Bang Shin Ki.