KPOP 2nd generation · Around US Entertainment
HIGHLIGHT
ハイライト / 하이라이트
HIGHLIGHT began as BEAST in 2009, left Cube Entertainment in 2016, and restarted under a new name while keeping the same four members.
- 2009DebutOct 16, 2009
- 4Members
- 2thGeneration
- LIGHTFandom
Last updated:
01
In 30 seconds: HIGHLIGHT
Bad Girl, Shock, Fiction, Beautiful Night and 12:30 belong to the first name; Can You Feel It? and Plz Don't Be Sad open the second.
Start here for a group that kept its audience through a change of name, label and ownership.
02
Key facts
- Group name
- HIGHLIGHT
- Reading / Hangul
- ハイライト / 하이라이트
- Company
- Around US Entertainment
- Debut date
- October 16, 2009
- Days active
- 6,224 days (17 years, 0 months)
- Debut song
- Bad Girl
- Generation
- 2nd generation
- Fandom name
- LIGHT
03
Member guide
ヒョンスン현승 · HyunseungView in JapaneseProfile comparison
| Members | Birth date | Blood type | MBTI | Nationality | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ドゥジュン | 1989-07-04 | 37 | 178cm | A | Not disclosed | South Korea |
| ヨソプ | 1990-01-05 | 36 | 168cm | B | Not disclosed | South Korea |
| ギグァン | 1990-03-30 | 36 | 172cm | A | Not disclosed | South Korea |
| ドンウン | 1991-06-06 | 35 | 181cm | A | Not disclosed | South Korea |
| ヒョンスン | 1989-09-03 | 37 | 174cm | B | INFP | South Korea |
Ages are as of 2026-10-31.
Selected releases
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Start here
Follow a few songs from the starting point to the group's current sound.
HIGHLIGHT 〈RIDE OR DIE〉 (Live 2025)
Fiction MVFiction is the song people remember, melody and routine together.
Plz Don't Be Sad MVPlz Don't Be Sad is the restart and proof the group could carry a new name.
Chains MVChains is the recent one and shows how little the quality slipped.MVView in JapaneseDance PracticeView in JapanesePerformanceView in JapaneseLiveView in JapaneseStageView in Japanese
View all official videos →05
From debut to now
- 2009The debut came from Cube Entertainment as BEAST, and Bad Girl began their run as a 2nd generation boy group.
- 2010Shock and Soom sharpened the impression of the sound and the choreography, building the early signature route.
- 2011Fiction, from Fiction and Fact, became a large way in, and its aching melody and choreography made a signature song still talked about now.
- 2012Beautiful Night showed an openness unlike the heavy dance songs and widened the range of the catalogue.
- 2014Good Luck and 12:30 set hard performing beside ballad-leaning feeling and settled the axis of later BEAST.
- 2017A fresh start came at Around US Entertainment as HIGHLIGHT, and Plz Don't Be Sad opened a bright way in under the new name.
- 2021Not The End, from The Blowing, brought them back to group activity and showed the staying power of a long-running act.
- 2024BODY, from Switch On, set out the light dance pop of the current 4-member lineup.
- 2025Chains from From Real to Surreal and RIDE OR DIE Live brought the new song and the live footage together as of 2025.
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Achievements
Key milestones
Music show wins
Records
3 recordsMost recent broadcast first
Program / edition
| Music Bank | Chains | KBS | |
| Music Bank | Body | KBS | |
| The Show | SBS Medianet |
Each record is checked against its source. These are within the collected period, not lifetime totals.
Verified information
Verified English information is not yet available for this section.
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Official links
Official site
Official social accounts and platforms
Shopping guide
Verified English shopping links are not yet available.
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KPOP DISCOVER's HIGHLIGHT note
What anchors HIGHLIGHT is a line of 2nd generation signature songs running from the BEAST years to the present name. Starting as BEAST and now working at Around US Entertainment as a 4-piece boy group, they stacked up the standards of their era with Bad Girl, Shock, Fiction and 12:30. Fiction in particular is remembered as melody and choreography together.
They left Cube Entertainment in 2016 and set out again in 2017 as HIGHLIGHT with Can You Feel It? and Plz Don't Be Sad. The strength is not the popularity carried over from the old name alone but that music shows and concerts have kept running under the current one.
The standard lineup now is Doojoon, Yoseob, Gikwang and Dongwoon, four members, with the BEAST years handled as working history. The newest releases run unbroken up to Chains in 2025. Fiction, then Plz Don't Be Sad, then Not The End covers the old name, the restart and the current one.
Editors' take Fiction / Plz Don't Be Sad / Not The End — a 4-piece whose 2nd generation standards run from the BEAST years to the present name across three tracks.
Trivia worth knowing
Name
The name HIGHLIGHT also points back to the final album title of the BEAST years, bridging the old name and the new one.
Fandom
LIGHT can be read as a piece of HIGHLIGHT, which ties the fandom name tightly to the group name.
Former name
The BEAST releases are an important way into HIGHLIGHT, and the two periods are treated as one continuous career rather than two.
Singing
Yoseob anchors the vocals, and the strength of the singing carries through on ballads and dance tracks alike.
Self-management
Working under Around US Entertainment is worth noting as a case of members steering their own group forward.
Video
Beyond the music videos, official live sessions on STUDIO CHOOM, it's Live and dingo give a sense of how the group works today.
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Japan activity score
KPOP DISCOVER original metric
No. 194/ 241 groups
No. 194 of 241 groups with recorded activity in Japan (top 80%)
- 0Japanese releases
- 0Japan-related tracks
- 0Members from Japan
- 2Official Japanese accounts
The denominator is the 241 groups, out of 564 covered by KPOP DISCOVER, whose raw score reaches at least one point. The score adds 10 points per Japanese-market release, 3 per Japan-related track, 12 per member from Japan, and 8 per official Japanese account. Japanese-market releases carry the most weight because they are the most direct evidence of activity; related tracks add track-level detail; members from Japan stand for Japanese-language communication and continuity; official accounts stand for a permanent point of contact. The weights are an editorial judgement, not a statistical optimisation, and the ranking tracks release volume in Japan closely. Source: releases, tracks, members, and official links recorded by KPOP DISCOVER (updated 2026-10-27).
How this score is calculated →View in JapaneseFrequently asked questions
What defines HIGHLIGHT?
Bad Girl, Shock, Fiction, Beautiful Night and 12:30 belong to the first name; Can You Feel It? and Plz Don't Be Sad open the second.
Why should a new listener start with HIGHLIGHT?
Start here for a group that kept its audience through a change of name, label and ownership.
Which songs should a new listener try first?
Start with Fiction, Plz Don't Be Sad, Chains, then continue to the official video index.