Biography
Big Ocean, which made their debut on April 20, Korea’s Disability Day, is a 3-member K-pop boy group. All members of the group are hard of hearing, and they want to create their own genre called S-Pop (sign language pop), where they “sing” in Korean Sign Language (KSL), American Sign Language (ASL), and International Sign (IS).
Profile
- Group name: Big Ocean
- Debut date: April 20, 2024
- Company: PARASTAR Entertainment
- Total member: 3
- Members: Hyunjin, Chanyeon, Jiseok
- Twitter: @Big_O_Cean
- Instagram: @big_ocean.official
- YouTube: Kpop Idol “BIG OCEAN”
Discography
Mini albums
- Follow (2024)
Digital singles
- “Glow” (2024)
- “Blow” (2024)
- “Slow” (2024)
Facts & Career
Big Ocean is the first deaf idol group, with the mission to “break misunderstandings and prejudices toward disabled people”. All members of the group use medical devices like cochlear implants and hearing aids, with Jiseok being born deaf and Chanyeon and Hyunjin having hearing loss at age 11 and 3, respectively.
Before their debut, all 3 members had full time jobs, with Chanyeon working as an audiologic, Hyunjin being a TV personality and YouTuber, and Jiseok being a professional alpine skier.
The group’s name, “Big Ocean”, represents a place that helps people feel calm and peaceful. The group’s fandom name is “Pado” and their fan color is Turquoise Blue.
The group trained together for one and a half years before their debut, and is known to use an AI deep learning voice program for assistance during voice recording.
Additionally, they practice choreography in a noise-canceling space to better recognize the music’s beat, and utilize watches that vibrate on beat along with a visual metronome to keep themselves in sync.
Achievements
Big Ocean previously received the Hallyu Special Award at the 2024 Newsis K-EXPO Cultural Awards. They also recently received international recognition, having been featured in a special article on US media site Rolling Stone.
Source: Yonhap News
