KPOP 1st generation · SM Entertainment / Shinhwa Company
Shinhwa
シンファ / 신화
Shinhwa never changed a member and ended up owning their own name, which no Korean group had managed before them.
- 1998DebutMar 24, 1998
- 6Members
- 1thGeneration
- Shinhwa ChangjoFandom
Last updated:
01
In 30 seconds: Shinhwa
Eric, Minwoo, Dongwan, Hyesung, Jun Jin and Andy left SM Entertainment, set up their own company and kept releasing under the same six names.
Start here for the longest unbroken line in Korean pop and the precedent every later group cites.
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Key facts
- Group name
- Shinhwa
- Reading / Hangul
- シンファ / 신화
- Company
- SM Entertainment / Shinhwa Company
- Debut date
- March 24, 1998
- Days active
- 10,448 days (28 years, 7 months)
- Debut song
- Resolver
- Generation
- 1st generation
- Fandom name
- Shinhwa Changjo(シンファチャンジョ)
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Member guide
Profile comparison
| Members | Birth date | Blood type | MBTI | Nationality | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| エリック | 1979-02-16 | 47 | 180cm | B | Not disclosed | South Korea |
| ミヌ | 1979-07-28 | 47 | 174cm | A | Not disclosed | South Korea |
| ドンワン | 1979-11-21 | 46 | 174cm | O | Not disclosed | South Korea |
| ヘソン | 1979-11-27 | 46 | 179cm | A | Not disclosed | South Korea |
| チョンジン | 1980-08-19 | 46 | 183cm | B | Not disclosed | South Korea |
| アンディ | 1981-01-21 | 45 | 175cm | O | Not disclosed | 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.
Shinhwa Twenty Special Album 'Heart'
Perfect Man MVPerfect Man is the performance signature and the song that carried furthest.
Brand New MVBrand New belongs to the mature period and is the best-arranged of the three.
This Love MVThis Love is the polished late single and shows six men entirely at ease.05
From debut to now
- 1998Arrived from SM Entertainment as six members and began working inside the competition among first-generation boy groups.
- 1999T.O.P pushed a hard concept and a dance song forward, widening the outline of the early Shinhwa.
- 2002Perfect Man became a signature song that later generations still refer to, and the reposted SMTOWN music video keeps it working as an entrance.
- 2004Around Brand New they strengthened the base for working after SM and left a firmer impression of a group that would carry on.
- 2012Venus, after the return, set out the performing of a long-running group in present tense.
- 2013This Love brought voguing into the choreography and the visuals, showing veterans who keep renewing themselves.
- 2015Sniper showed a grown-up tension and sorts out what Shinhwa's strengths are after a long run.
- 2017The music video and dance version for Touch trace the recent sound and the live playing from several angles.
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Achievements
Key milestones
08
Solo and unit activities
Unit activities
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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 Shinhwa note
What anchors Shinhwa is a long run with no change of line-up and running the group themselves. The six-piece debuted from SM Entertainment in 1998, and Eric, Minwoo, Dongwan, Hyesung, Jun Jin and Andy make lasting since the first generation their defining feature.
The way in is Perfect Man, Brand New and This Love. Taking the sharp performing, the matured dance song and the polished signature song of recent years in order shows why they lasted.
Keeping the group name after leaving SM and carrying on as Shinhwa Company matters for understanding contracts, trademarks and independent operation in K-pop. Venus in 2012, This Love in 2013 and Touch in 2017 also track veterans who keep renewing themselves. Perfect Man, then Brand New, then This Love covers the sharpness, the maturity and the recent polish.
Editors' take Perfect Man / Brand New / This Love — three songs cover a long run with no change of line-up and independent operation, from an SM six-piece.
Trivia worth knowing
Name
Shinhwa means myth, a name that has grown into the long shared career of its six members.
Fandom
Shinhwa Changjo and the colour orange are the way into a fan culture that has held together for decades.
Signature song
Perfect Man is known just as widely through covers by later idols, which makes it a strong first encounter.
Update
This Love is worth watching as a veteran act refreshing both its choreography and its visual language.
Company
The catalogue runs from the SM years into the Shinhwa Company years, so the music and the business behind it moved together.
Comparison
Lined up with H.O.T., Sechs Kies and g.o.d, the difference between carrying on and restarting among first-generation boy groups is easy to see.
Frequently asked questions
What defines Shinhwa?
Eric, Minwoo, Dongwan, Hyesung, Jun Jin and Andy left SM Entertainment, set up their own company and kept releasing under the same six names.
Why should a new listener start with Shinhwa?
Start here for the longest unbroken line in Korean pop and the precedent every later group cites.
Which songs should a new listener try first?
Start with Perfect Man, Brand New, This Love, then continue to the official video index.