KPOP 1st generation · SM Entertainment
TVXQ!
TVXQ! / 동방신기
TVXQ! arrived at the end of 2003 and sits close to the source of everything the second generation became; the group now works as a duo of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin.
- 2003DebutDec 26, 2003
- 2Members
- 1thGeneration
- Cassiopeia / BigeastFandom
Last updated:
01
In 30 seconds: TVXQ!
The years as a five-piece and the years as a duo read as two different catalogues, with Hug and MIROTIC on one side and Catch Me, The Chance of Love and Rebel on the other.
Choose this if singing and long-running stage craft interest you more than a fast, recent entry point.
02
Key facts
- Group name
- TVXQ!
- Reading / Hangul
- TVXQ! / 동방신기
- Company
- SM Entertainment
- Debut date
- December 26, 2003
- Days active
- 8,345 days (22 years, 10 months)
- Debut song
- Hug
- Generation
- 1st generation
- Fandom name
- Cassiopeia / Bigeast(カシオペア / ビギスト)
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Member guide
Profile comparison
| Members | Birth date | Blood type | MBTI | Nationality | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ユノ・ユンホ | 1986-02-06 | 40 | 184cm | A | ENFJ | South Korea |
| マックス・チャンミン | 1988-02-18 | 38 | 186cm | B | ISFJ | South Korea |
| ヒーロー・ジェジュン | 1986-01-26 | 40 | 180cm | O | INFJ | South Korea |
| ミッキー・ユチョン | 1986-06-04 | 40 | 180cm | O | ENTP | South Korea |
| シア・ジュンス | 1986-12-15 | 39 | 177cm | B | ESTJ | 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.
Hug MVHug is where it all begins, and the vocal work already carries the early image of the group.
MIROTIC MVMIROTIC is the signature of the group's five-piece era, with a hook and a visual language that history books still stop at.
Rebel MVRebel, the title track of the twentieth-anniversary album, is the clearest picture of where the duo stands now.MVView in JapaneseDance PracticeView in JapanesePerformanceView in JapaneseLiveView in JapaneseStageView in Japanese
View all official videos →05
From debut to now
- 2004Hug was the debut, pushing the vocal strength of five members and an early idol image to the front.
- 2005Around Rising Sun the SMP-flavoured songs and the staging widened, and the early signature songs grew in number.
- 2008MIROTIC became a signature song that doubles as an entry point into K-pop history, and it is still the shortest route to knowing the group.
- 2011The group restarted as a duo of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin and rebuilt a hard-hitting performance direction.
- 2012Catch Me, official dance practice included, is a key song for reading the large choreography structures of the duo era.
- 2018As a grown-up duo they showed a refined sound and a settled stage presence.
- 2023The twentieth-anniversary album, carrying Down and Rebel, set out where the Korean work stands.
- 2024The Japanese album carrying SWEET SURRENDER and DEAREST opened the newest route in on the Japanese side.
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Achievements
Key milestones
Verified information
Verified English information is not yet available for this section.
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Official links
Official social accounts and platforms
Shopping guide
Verified English shopping links are not yet available.
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KPOP DISCOVER's TVXQ! note
What anchors this group is how close it sits to the source of the second generation, and the split between the five-member era and the duo era. It appeared at the end of 2003, near the origin of that generation, and now works as a duo of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin. Separating the signature songs of the five-member era from the duo-era releases makes the whole thing easier to read.
The way in is Hug, MIROTIC and Why? (Keep Your Head Down). Taking the early singing, the song that stands for the five-member era, and the hard performing after the duo restart in that order makes the size of the change clear. From there the duo era runs through Catch Me, Something and The Chance of Love, and the official dance practice for Catch Me is the video to check for physical expression.
The work in Japan carries its own weight. Following the twentieth-anniversary album ZONE from 2024, then SWEET SURRENDER and DEAREST, shows where two decades after the Japanese debut stands. MIROTIC, then Hug, then Catch Me runs from the symbol of the five-member era to the early days and the duo.
Editors' take MIROTIC / Hug / Catch Me — three songs run from the symbol of the five-member era to the hard performing of the duo, at the source of SM's second generation.
Trivia worth knowing
Name
TVXQ, DBSK and Tohoshinki are regional readings and spellings of one and the same name in Chinese characters.
Fandom
Cassiopeia is used in the Korean official context and Bigeast in the Japanese one, marking the two areas of activity.
Line-up
Hug, Rising Sun and MIROTIC come from the five-member era, while Why? and everything after it belongs to the duo era of Yunho and Changmin.
Japan
Japanese activity has run for a long time and is worth following on its own line, as far as Lime & Lemon and ZONE.
Videos
Setting the Catch Me dance practice, the Rebel performance and the Japanese music videos around the album ZONE next to each other shows the change.
Entry point
Hug and MIROTIC work as a way in through the history, while Rebel and SWEET SURRENDER show where the duo stands now.
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Japan activity score
KPOP DISCOVER original metric
No. 6/ 241 groups
No. 6 of 241 groups with recorded activity in Japan (top 2%)
- 13Japanese releases
- 87Japan-related tracks
- 0Members from Japan
- 0Official 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 2026-10-24).
How this score is calculated →View in JapaneseFrequently asked questions
What defines TVXQ!?
The years as a five-piece and the years as a duo read as two different catalogues, with Hug and MIROTIC on one side and Catch Me, The Chance of Love and Rebel on the other.
Why should a new listener start with TVXQ!?
Choose this if singing and long-running stage craft interest you more than a fast, recent entry point.
Which songs should a new listener try first?
Start with Hug, MIROTIC, Rebel, then continue to the official video index.