“Role Model SKZ” JYP‘s new boy group Kickflip, full of positive energy ‘Debut’ (Comprehensive) [DA:On-site]

‘Idol powerhouse’ JYP Entertainment has released a new boy group Kickflip for 2025. With their guaranteed skills plus a bubbly charm, Kickflip is ready to turn the world upside down, just like their group name.

Kickflip held a press showcase to commemorate the release of their debut album ‘Flip it, Kick it!’ (Flip it, Kick it!) at Yes24 Live Hall in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 20th. After performing the title track ‘Mama Said (What Are You Trying to Be?)’ (마마 세드) and the b-side ‘Yeah Yeah’, they participated in a Q&A session.

On that day, Gye Hoon wittily shared his thoughts saying, “It’s refreshing to debut, Gye Hoon.”It‘s really, really refreshing. I’ve been waiting for this moment and running hard. We‘ll show you a great side of ourselves, as the seven of us are united as one.” K-Ju said, “I’m happy that we can all sing together. I can‘t believe it and I’m so overwhelmed. I‘m grateful that we can perform on stage as our team called Kickflip and with our song.”

Dong Hwa confessed, “It’s so moving that it doesn‘t feel real. I’m so nervous, tense, and excited,” and Min Je said, “I‘m happy that I’ve finally achieved my dream of debuting. I‘ll continue to work hard and show you more growth in the future.”


Kickflip is a new boy group from JYP Entertainment, following 2PM, DAY6, Stray Kids, Xdinary Heroes (XH), and NEXZ. The group consists of seven members including leader Kye Hoon, Amaru, Donghwa, Juwang, Minje, Kju, and Donghyun. The group’s name is borrowed from the term for a difficult skateboarding technique that involves spinning the board 360 degrees with the tip of the foot, and contains their bold ambition to be unconstrained by convention and to continue to innovate.

The members‘ trainee periods range from a minimum of three years to a maximum of nine years. In particular, Kye Hoon, who has nearly ten years of experience as a trainee, honestly confessed that it was difficult to overcome the pressure of having to show skills proportional to their years of experience during the monthly evaluation. However, he said, “I think I was able to get here because I overcame that burden,” and “Thanks to the long time, I was able to practice fiercely and think deeply. I think it was a much-needed time. I will show you everything I have prepared for a long time, one by one.” Donghwa mentioned the physical difficulty and said, “It was hard because of the vocal and dance practice, but thanks to the members, the hardships turned into anticipation.”

Donghyun said, “I am proud and thankful just to be able to debut with JYP. In the future, we will not lose our original intention and will become a team that can convey Kickflip’s positive and bright energy.” Donghwa said, “Our goal in 5~10 years is to become artists who have a fun and positive influence on our team for a long time. Being active for a long time is an important goal for us right now.”

Our role model is our senior group Stray Kids from our agency. Dongwha mentioned her goal, saying, “We are participating in the production of the song, but in the future, we want to become artists who put our name on many songs and share our thoughts like our seniors Stray Kids.”


Kickflip‘s first mini-album, ‘Flip it, Kick it!’, contains a total of six tracks, including the title track ‘Mama Said (What are you trying to become?)’, ‘Yeah Yeah’, ‘WARRIORS’, ‘Knock Knock’, ‘Like A Monster’, and ‘See You Tomorrow’. The title song is Amaru, the b-side track ‘Yeah Yeah’ was written by Amaru and Donghwa, and ‘Like A Monster’ was written by Kye Hoon, Amaru, and Minje. Additionally, JYP senior artist DAY6’s Young K took charge of writing the lyrics for the third track ‘WARRIORS’, and top writers Jo Yoon Kyung, Danke, and Lee Hae Sol also participated.

Minje said, “Young K said, ‘A team with a free youngest member will last a long time.” We take good care of our youngest and have a fun team atmosphere, so I thought it would be good if we could continue that good atmosphere in the future.“ To this, the youngest Donghyun said, “I took my senior‘s words to heart. He expressed his gratitude, saying, ”My hyungs have already tried to make it easy for me without my younger sibling, so I’m living happily.“

Stray Kids and PD Park Jin-young also gave them generous advice. Joo-wang mentioned, ”Stray Kids‘ Changbin and I.N seniors said, ’For a team to last a long time, we need to have good teamwork.‘ They said that if we fight with the mindset of reconciling, the team will last a long time.“ Gye-hoon added, ”PD Park Jin-young didn’t hold back on his praise. He said that we have a song that can become a trend for K-pop groups. I‘m grateful. I’ll show you a good side of me.“


Kickflip expressed his determination by saying, ”We will continue the lineage of JYP senior artists who show the best performance on stage.“ They expressed their anticipation for the fan meeting, music show, challenge, and concert.

Kickflip has surpassed 300,000 pre-orders since their debut album. Donghwa said, ”I‘m grateful that I can just release an album, but when I heard the news of 300,000 pre-orders, I thought I should work harder and show you a great side of myself. I didn’t expect this much attention. We‘ll do even better in the future, so please look forward to it.“

Kickflip’s debut album will be available on various music sites on Monday the 20th at 6 PM.

Jung Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com
Photo courtesy of JYP Entertainment
This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.