Treasure

Originating in South Korea, the twelve-member boy band Treasure entered the industry in 2020 after being assembled under the YG Entertainment umbrella that also houses Big Bang and BlackPink. Selection took place through the company’s televised competition Treasure Box. Their first studio album, The First Step: Treasure Effect, reached the top of the charts in 2021, while the EP The Second Step: Chapter One followed in 2022.

The process began with twenty-nine YG trainees who faced progressive cuts until thirteen remained. Leader Hyunsuk had already spent years inside the system and had once been part of the prospective act Silver Boys. Junkyu had worked as a child model, Yedam had sung commercial jingles with his parents, and Junghwan had appeared as a child actor while holding a fourth-dan black belt in taekwondo. Planners originally envisioned two acts—the primary lineup then called Treasure 13 and a sub-unit named Magnum—yet the departure of Yoonbin for a solo path prompted the cancellation of the sub-unit and the shortening of the group name to Treasure. Yedam became the first member to release solo material with the single “Wayo.”

Expectations ran exceptionally high. As YG’s first new band in four years, Treasure were positioned for immediate success. Before their debut they had already collected more than 1.5 million social-media followers and recorded 170,000 pre-orders for their introductory single. The presence of four Japanese members—Yoshi, Mashiho, Asahi, and Haruto—further aligned the group for expansion into the Japanese market. Even by K-pop standards the members were young, the oldest being twenty-two and the youngest fifteen. Their debut track “Boy,” a sleek blend of electro-pop and R&B, appeared on the physical maxi-single The First Step: Chapter One, which topped the Korean chart upon its August 2020 release. Chapter Two and Chapter Three arrived soon afterward, and the complete album The First Step: Treasure Effect reached stores in January 2021. The group returned in 2022 with the EP The Second Step: Chapter One.