The South Korean entertainment industry has many ways to recruit new idols. The companies hold auditions within the country. The big ones even hold global auditions. Some companies after recruiting trainees, make their pitch against one another and make them enter survival shows with the prospect of debuting in a group. A lot of survival shows have produced us the famous idols whom we know now. NO.MERCY was one of the shows. The show aired on Mnet.
Mnet and many entertainment companies have joined hands to make these survival shows. Twice, Stray Kids and Enhypen are all groups formed out of these competitive reality shows. NO. MERCY was Starship Entertainment’s creation. The winners out of the NO MERCY contestants debuted in the group MONSTA X.
13 trainees went against each other to secure their place in the K-Pop group that would be formed. We know the seven members of MONSTA X, Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Joohoney, and I.M. But Wonho left the group in 2019, so that makes them 6 members now. MONSTA X is highly successful and with their English solo releases, they have their global appeal.
Apart from them, 6 more participants were there. The show ended 7 years ago, so you must be curious about what they might be doing now. I’ll take you through the list of the rest of the participants and where they are now.
NO.MERCY Contestants
Seokwon
Choi Seokwon was eliminated from the show in the last episode. He enlisted in the military after his elimination. Though, Seokwon’s hard work didn’t go in vain. In 2021, he was able to debut in the boy group CIIPHER, which is under the R.A.I.N. Company. As the name suggests, singer Rain (Jeong Ji Hoon) owns the company. Seokwon goes by the stage name Tan and is the lead vocalist.
#GUN
After Song Gunhee was eliminated from the show, he appeared in another survival show, ‘Show me your money’ in 2016. He went on to release his single soon after. Now he is a rapper under the label Starship X, which is a subdivision of Starship Entertainment.
Yoonho
Yoonho, who changed his stage name to Ayno, is now a member of the boy group VAV. He debuted in the group in 2017. 3 members had left VAV due to personal reasons. Hence when VAV made a comeback in 2018, Ayno was announced as a new member along with 2 others. Ayno dropped his mixtape, Don’t Sleep in 2018. More recently, in 2021, he participated in the MBC survival show Wild Idol, but was eliminated.
Minkyun
Park Minkyun was a trainee under Starship Entertainment. He made his debut as MK in ONF after elimination from NO.MERCY as a vocalist. Furthermore, he along with his ONF members joined another survival show MIXNINE. In December 2021, MK enlisted himself for mandatory military duty.
Yoosu
Like some other contestants, Yoosu also joined the military after his elimination from the show. Later, he was rumored to be training under CUBE Entertainment, but it was most probably just a rumor only. He is quite active on social media. His Instagram account shows his job as a Fitness model. He frequently posts pictures from the gym.
Kwangji
Kwangji also joined his compulsory military duty just after eliminating from the show. Not much is known but earlier he used to post pictures of his home studio and new music equipment. He has a YouTube channel where he has posted one rap cover.
Wonho
Although Wonho debuted with MONSTA X, but since he has gone solo now, I felt that he should have an honorary mention too. Since wonho was a part of the debut group, he is one of the most popular out of the rest of the NO.MERCY contestants mentioned above.
Wonho had to leave MONSTA X since some news surfaced from his past regarding illegally using marijuana. In March 2020, Starship Entertainment announced that Won has been cleared of all the charges. Now he is a singer at Highland Entertainment, which is a subsidiary unit of Starship. Wonho released his first EP Love Synonym pt. 1: Right For Me. Subsequently, he released 2 more EPs, and his first single album, Obsession, was released in February 2022 to great reviews.
Wonho is popular for his great physique and good looks. He himself promotes a healthy way of living. Girls can’t help but constantly thirst under his Instagram photos where he is showing his sexy physique off.
Also read: Top 8 Most Successful Produce 101 Contestants That You Might Remember
