ENHYPHEN is the ultimate boy group created through the survival reality show "I-LAND."
I-Land is a South Korean survival observational reality show organized by Belift Lab (BE:LIFT), which is a joint venture between the entertainment companies CJ E&M and Big Hit Entertainment. Over 20 trainees worldwide were brought in and, with active training, molded to select and form a debut group. The competition was incredible, with talent worldwide, and the prize could not have been more alluring.
In the show's finale on September 18, 2020, which was broadcast live, the show announced the final seven members who would debut as ENHYPHEN. The name ENHYPEN means connection, discovery, and growth. Like how a hyphen connects words to discover a new meaning, ENHYPEN refers to how the members discovered each other, are connected and will continue to grow together.
Winning contestants include Yang Jungwon, Lee Heeseung, Ni-ki, Jake, Jay, Park Sung-hoon, and Kim Sun-oo. The six members were decided by the global ranking and the last member by the producer's choice.
BELIF+ confirmed that ENHYPEN is preparing and working towards debut before the end of 2020. On the 30th of September, BELIF+ released a pre-debut promotion schedule for October, lining out the events that fans could look forward to in October. It was announced that ENHYPHEN would reveal their fan club's official name on the 9th of October.
The day has come, and ENHYPHEN has excitedly announced their fandom name! Back in September, the group asked fans to submit suggestions for their fandom name via Weverse. Finally, the winning name was decided upon and revealed today to be 'ENGENE.' The unique name carries two different meanings for the group. First of all, as it sounds phonetical, ENGENE stands for "engine" or a source of fuel and energy for ENHYPHEN through which they can keep going as it is only with the love of the fans that they have been able to debut in the first place. Secondly, the name is a combination of "EN" taken from the first half of the group's name "ENHYPHEN" AND "GENE" suggesting a thread of innate connection between the group and their fans.
Fans love their name so far and are already claiming it as one of the best names they could have gotten!
