Why K-pop’s Taeyang loves U2 and 2Pac, the BigBang homebody who collects pyjamas – but doesn’t have any friends
The first and only member of South Korean boy band BigBang to get married, Taeyang likes gardening and cooking in his PJs, making dad jokes, and celebrates 20 years in the entertainment industry with intimate new behind-the-scene documentary called White Knight
BigBang’s soulful singer and main dancer Taeyang turns 32 on May 18 – marking 20 years in the K-pop industry machine.
In training since the age of 12 before making his debut with BigBang in 2006, today Taeyang remains one of K-pop’s biggest global stars, bringing warmth and light with his emotional songs and energetic performances.
Underneath his manly image and bad boy looks that fans adore, Taeyang is an artist and romantic who has so much passion to give. Here are five things to know about him.
He gave himself the stage name Taeyang
Dong Young-bae decided on his stage name, Taeyang, even before his debut. Taeyang means “sun” in Korean. “I wanted to make people warm with my music, let it be a light,” he explained in one of his early interviews with KBS World TV.
While he is often quiet at interviews, the real Taeyang is relaxed and funny with friends. He once said that he has his own brand of humour that others may call “old school” or label as “dad jokes” and that band mate G-Dragon is the one who laughs the most at his jokes, despite trying not to. Taeyang admitted, though, that he is not cut out for entertainment television yet, but will keep making jokes.
He’s serious about his pyjama fashion