K-pop casting agent Darren Won speaks during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the newspaper's headquarters in central Seoul. Korea Times photo by Jeong Su-ji

When K-pop casting agent Darren Won first caught a glimpse of Minji, a then-aspiring teenage singer and now a member of the sensational rookie girl group NewJeans, he immediately realized one thing: This girl has the face of a K-pop star.

His prediction has turned out to be correct.

Fast-forward to today and 19-year-old Minji is often picked as one of the best-looking K-pop singers and is enjoying immense popularity across the globe thanks to the stellar success of songs like "Hype Boy" (2022), "Ditto" (2022) and "ETA" (2023). NewJeans has skyrocketed to fame, becoming the first K-pop girl act to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify — the world's largest music streaming platform — with its namesake debut album.

"I invested a lot of time and effort to cast Minji, who was not so desperate about becoming a K-pop star at first," Won recalled during a recent interview at The Korea Times' headquarters in central Seoul.

The casting director continued to share the story of his dedication to bringing Minji into the limelight.

"I first saw her at a music academy in the city of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, when she was 13. Back then, I was urgently looking for some idol trainees and the academy's director told me she had two students to recommend. One of them was Minji, who was interested in becoming a singer, but hadn't set her sights on making a debut. Yet, I clearly saw the potential in her as soon as I met her, so I kept persuading her and ended up bringing her to Source Music, a K-pop label that I worked for at the time."

Despite Minji's initial hesitation about a K-pop career, Won's conviction in her potential led to her training at Source Music, which was later acquired by K-pop powerhouse HYBE, home to the Grammy-nominated boy band BTS.

Eventually, she came to debut as part of NewJeans in 2022 under ADOR, a subsidiary of HYBE helmed by CEO Min Hee-jin. Min, a former creative director at another K-pop giant SM Entertainment, joined HYBE in 2019 after spearheading numerous SM artists like SHINee and f(x) to success.

"It feels so rewarding to see Minji making waves," Won said with a radiant smile. "As a casting agent, this kind of feeling is the biggest driving force for me."

Minji of K-pop girl group NewJeans / Screenshot from Twitter

Won first started his career as a vocal coach. However, as time went by, he felt that he wanted to play a bigger role in incubating singers and producing albums, so he joined the training and development team of Mystic Story — formerly known as Mystic Entertainment.

Since then, Won has built expertise in the industry, working for different K-pop companies including Source Music, while also working as a freelancer casting singer hopefuls for audition programs like "Fantasy Boys" (2023). For "Fantasy Boys," which gave birth to a boy group of the same name, Won cast five of its members: Sungmin, K-Soul, Minseo, Hikaru and Kaedan.

Currently, Won is the vice president at WD Entertainment, which plans to unveil a new K-pop act next year.

K-pop act Fantasy Boys / Screenshot from Twitter

According to Won, K-pop casting agents like him are "everywhere," constantly on the lookout for new talent, employing a wide range of methods from combing through social media to being present at various events.

"We look for trainees on the street, visit schools and attend events or festivals where teenagers and people in their 20s gather," he revealed.

"We also use social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to discover hidden gems. In my case, I am always busy looking for talented people wherever I go and that's why my friends do not like hanging around crowded places like Seoul's Hongdae with me."

But the challenge comes when he has to convince people that he's the real deal. When Won hands his business card to those who seem to have potential and asks them to contact him for a meeting or an audition, many often doubt whether he is a real casting agent. It is understandable, given that there have been numerous cases of fraudulent agents approaching young hopefuls to extort money after lying that they need cash to help them debut.

"I once offered a casting invitation to a girl whom I met at a dance competition in Ulsan," he recalled. "We talked over text, but she suddenly stopped texting the next day. And surprisingly, I met her again at Source Music's official audition in Ulsan about three months later. When I asked her why she had been out of contact, she said she thought I was a con man."

K-pop boy band BTS / Courtesy of Big Hit Music

Casting male idol trainees is another daunting mission.

"Rookie girl groups like NewJeans and IVE are hitting the ground running, but when it comes to boy bands, seasoned acts like BTS and SEVENTEEN still have a towering presence," Won said after pondering for a while.

"So it seems young boys do not have role models of a similar age right now. It is also easier for them to rise to stardom even without officially debuting, thanks to the ascent of global platforms like YouTube."

One of the solutions to cope with this issue is to set sights on the global market and cast foreign talent. The way he casts non-Koreans is not so different, the agent explained.

"With K-pop's global expansion, the number of foreign singers applying for auditions has surged over the past few years," he said.

"K-pop labels are also eager to bring foreigners who can help them target the international music market. These days, they often fly abroad in search of undiscovered talent, visiting K-pop dance academies, attending related festivals and holding auditions. They also look for trainees in the street overseas."

Language barriers, he assured, are not a hindrance in the diverse world of K-pop.

"It is very unlikely for foreigners to fail an audition just because they are not fluent in Korean," he noted. "I would say nationality does not matter and applicants from all over the world can always throw their hat in the ring. We already saw a group like BLACKSWAN, a K-pop act that consists of only non-Koreans."

K-pop group BLACKSWAN / Courtesy of D.R Music

Although different labels have different criteria to assess applicants, Won believes it is crucial for the aspirant to have "a strong competitive edge" that can help them stand out.

"Whether it is image, performing skills or personal magnetism, they should have one thing that sets them apart from everyone else," the casting agent said. "Being an all-rounder is awesome, but it is more important to have something very unique so that they can become irreplaceable. Since it is impossible to entirely get rid of weaknesses, I believe that putting emphasis on advantages is a better approach."

For those who want to follow in Won's footsteps and become K-pop casting agents, he advised them to keep a close eye on the people around them.

"You never know who you will cast. And this job can be a better fit for you if you are an extroverted person," he said. "Moreover, you should keep in mind that your choices and decisions can change someone's life completely. "