BTS' V Look-Alike Makes Idol Debut In New K-Pop Group WAKER

Rookie K-Pop idol Kwon Hyeop, who previously caught the attention of the K-Pop community for his resemblance to BTS' V, made his official debut as part of the new boy group WAKER on Monday.

Kwon Hyeop's group debuted with its first mini-album, "Mission of School," featuring ten songs, including its title track, "Atlantis."

Late last year, he gained the attention of K-Pop fans for his visual resemblance to BTS member V -- real name Kim Tae-hyung. Some K-Pop fans noticed how their hair and facial features appeared similar.

Per AllKpop, his photos were reportedly shared in an online community in South Korea at the time and received comments like "Isn't that V?" "I thought it was really V" and "They're really like twins."

But some disagreed and said he looked more like Park Shin Hye's husband, Choi Tae-joon, while others opined that he looked like a combination of V, H.O.T.'s Kangta and ZEROBASEONE's Jiwoong.

It wasn't the first time Kwon Hyeop's resemblance to V made the rounds online. In 2018, Koreaboo reported about a handsome rookie idol being called BTS V's doppelganger, and it was Kwon Hyeop.

At the time, both Kwon Hyeop and V sported shorter hair. Fans noticed the similarities in their chiseled and manly faces, tall noses and deep-set round eyes.

According to K-Pop Fandom, the 25-year-old rookie idol was a contestant on the survival program "Produce 101 Season 2" in 2017. He placed 65th and got eliminated during the fifth episode.

When he got voted off the program, he reportedly expressed that he no longer wanted to continue on the path to becoming an idol via a statement issued by his then-agency Maroo Entertainment, per Koreaboo.

But Kwon Hyeop finally made his idol debut this month.

WAKER is a six-member boy group under Howling Entertainment. Aside from Kwon Hyeop, the group consists of Saebyeol, Ko Hyeon, Sebum, Leo and Ijun.

The group's name reportedly represents its ambition to "stir the hearts of fans through its music," per Korea JoongAng Daily.

Previously, it was NewJeans member Minji who was popularly known as BTS V's lookalike among K-Pop fans.

In November 2022, a K-Pop fan account tweeted a side-by-side photo of V and Minji and captioned it, "Hello V from NewJeans [and] Hello Minji from BTS."

Aside from having similar facial features, such as defined jaws and big eyes, the two also have the same surname, Kim. That's why many said they could pass as siblings.