Upcoming K-pop boy band ENHYPEN, described as the most anticipated rookie group to debut this year, have announced their official fandom name.
In a video announcement on the global fan community platform Weverse and YouTube on Oct. 9, ENHYPEN announced that their official fandom name is “ENGENE.”
“Our fandom name has two meanings. First as the pronunciation tells us, our fans are the 'engines' that let us grow and keep on going,” the group members said.
The added, “Second, You are ENHYPEN's 'gene': you and ENHYPEN share the same DNA to connect, discover and grow together. It's such a good meaning, and easy to say, too. I already feel so much closer to all of you. I hope ENGENE and ENHYPEN can cheer each other and be one great team! Let's make some amazing memories together.”
ENHYPEN will be the first boy band to debut under Belift Lab, a joint venture between Big Hit Entertainment, which created K-pop superstars BTS, and CJ ENM. Its members are Heesung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon and Ni-ki. The name “ENHYPEN” is similar to “hyphen,” which connects two words together.
On the Weverse app, Belift Lab thanked everyone “for all of your valuable contributions to the selection process of ENHYPEN's official Fan Club name. With the members of ENHYPEN, we carefully considered your suggestions and after extensive discussion, have selected a name.” A gift will be sent to the first fan who submitted the fandom name “ENGENE.”
A total of 67,000 entries were sent to ENHYPEN’s “Fan Clube Naming Event,” which was held from Sept. 20 to 24.
On Oct. 12, the ENHYPEN global official fan club ENGENE membership will be opened and “special ENGENE Membership benefits will enable all ENGENES to enjoy a variety of exciting experiences. It was previously announced that ENHYPEN will debut by the end of the year.
ENHYPEN members were selected through the Korean survival audition show “I-Land.” The finale was held on Sept. 18 through global votes.
Their social media accounts have garnered millions of followers. Their Weverse account has nearly 3 million followers. The ENHYPEN members’ Twitter account has 1 million followers while ENHYPEN official Twitter account has 798,700 followers to date. Their Instagram account has 1.1 million followers and their official Tiktok account has 1.7 million while their YouTube account has 920,000 subscribers.