By Avier Tan and Samantha Voon

What The Hype: 5 Things To Know About K-Pop Soloist Kang Daniel

Kang Daniel won a Busan B-boy competition, before clinching champion in Produce 101
Kpop idol Kang Daniel wearing a suit and waving at the camera
Kang Daniel at the press conference for his Singapore fan-meet in 2019. SH Photo: Courtesy of Avier Tan

Kang Daniel first shocked the world with his provocative thigh sweep back in reality programme Produce 101 Season 2 (2017). 

He went on to clinch first place in the same programme, promoting under a boy band Wanna One, attracting legions of fans. The 26 year-old later debuted as a soloist with his debut album Color On Me (2019). 

Then, he visited Singapore for a fan-meet. Now, he’s holding his first ever headline tour First Parade, which kicked off in Seoul last August. Ahead of his show in Singapore this Saturday (11 Feb), here are five things to know about the charismatic sweetheart.

Kang Daniel lying down on a table and gazing at the camera with soft and warm eyes.
Photo: Courtesy of Konnect Entertainment

1. Kang Daniel is the CEO of Konnect Entertainment 

Konnect Entertainment, a portmanteau of Korea and Connect, is an independent entertainment company founded in 2019 by Kang Daniel.

While the label does not boast an extensive roster, they’re acts are all household names. Other than Kang himself, currently signs Yuju from the now-defunct girl group GFriend, as well as K-pop’s very own queen CL.

2. He has been B-boying since junior high school

In 8th grade, Kang Daniel joined the B-boy club by chance, though he was supposed to join the reading club. Thereafter, he found a passion in it and continued busking in the streets of Busan prior to his debut.

He even placed first in the Busan City Kids, a Busan-based dance competition. 

He later boasted his impressive B-boying skills on variety programme Knowing Bros, and the video went viral with 1.2 million views.

It’s intriguing because while he works his moves on stage during his sets, it’s not often we see Kang present B-boy moves.

3. Kang Daniel adopted 4 cats and plans to adopt more 

Kang has 4 cats – namely Rooney, Peter, Ori and Zhang-ah.

In an interview with Vogue Korea, he talked about the story behind each cat he adopted. He also plans to adopt more cats as both him and his mother are cat lovers.

4. His Acting debut was in Disney+’s Rookie Cops

Kang Daniel stars alongside actress Chae Soo-Bin, where they both played freshmen in the police university. Rookie Cops (2020) is a coming-of-age story of two students at the Korean National Police University studying to become a full-fledged cop.

A still image from the korean drama rookie cops, consisting of Kang Daniel and Chae Soo-Bin.
Photo: Courtesy of Disney+

But with any Korean drama, Rookie Cops sprinkles some romance dust to spice up the plot between Kang and Chae.

5. He was MC Kang in Street Woman Fighter

Street Woman Fighter gathers the best female dancers in South Korea for them to battle it out to win the title of best dance crew with harsh missions, battles and eliminations. The cut-throat competition was anchored by Kang Daniel as the emcee. 

He was praised for his thoughtfulness towards the female contestants as eagle-eyed fans picked up on his sweet gestures like offering water and tissues to contestants. He was also seen consoling and supporting them throughout the harsh dance battles.

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