8 Reasons Why ATEEZ's HongJoong Is A True And Caring Leader

Just three years into their career, ATEEZ have established themselves as one of the leading voices of K-Pop globally. Guiding this group of eight young, extremely talented boys is their leader and member HongJoong. 

From their pre-debut days till now, HongJoong's passion, leading ability, caring nature, and a general consciousness for change around him has made ATINY cherish him as the best person chosen to lead the group.  

As HongJoong turned 23 on 7 November 2021, we're are taking a look at the reasons and moments we believe have made the young idol a deserving leader and an exemplary role model for the generations to come. 

 

1. Epitome of patience and grit

As a teenager, HongJoong always had a hunger for music and although he couldn't take professional lessons, he taught himself how to produce music and created a sample which eventually made him the first official trainee of KQ Entertainment. His hard work and grit amazed ATINY's more when producer and soloist EDEN, one of the major producers at KQ Entertainment as well as ATEEZ, revealed details of how HongJoong overcame all challenges to become a successful artist. 

Initially, EDEN wasn't thrilled to teach someone music. To challenge HongJoong, EDEN gave him a list of 200 vocabulary words related to composing, hoping he'd give up on his musical goals. But HongJoong surprised him when he memorized everything by pulling an all-nighter.

“What I highly praise about HongJoong is that he was below average in every discipline when he started as a trainee. He wasn’t a natural dancer, and he couldn�