One of K-pop’s biggest groups, ENHYPEN, just raised the ceiling with their debut European tour. They talk to writer Hasan Beyaz about the shows, custom Prada looks, and “crazy” new music.

Five years into their careers, ENHYPEN’s long-awaited European debut was never going to be a quiet affair – but it was undeniably worth the wait.

Formed in 2020 through the survival programme I-LAND, the K-pop group – JUNGWON, HEESEUNG, JAY, JAKE, SUNGHOON, SUNOO, and NI-KI – quickly built a reputation for sleek choreography and tightly-woven storytelling through a mythology-rich discography that bleeds vampiric imagery into modern pop gloss. Their dedicated global fanbase, ENGENE, has followed them from million-selling albums to headline festival slots, and now, to sold-out arena headlining on the other side of the world. Arena tours are usually about scale, but ENHYPEN’s UK run revealed something subtler – a group still sharpening their edges in real time, and a loyal fandom willing to meet them there.

ENHYPEN staked their claim on the UK with two sold-out arena dates – London’s O2 on August 22 and Manchester’s AO Arena on August 25 – commanding each stage with the polish, stamina and spectacle that have become their signature. Across both nights, the group drove through a relentless, hit-heavy setlist, shifting from the disco-funk strut of “Brought the Heat Back” and the sultry pull of “FEVER”, to the buoyant drive of “Tamed-Dashed” and the explosive lift of their latest single “Bad Desire (With or Without You).” What unfolded wasn’t just another stop on a world tour, but an undeniable statement of intent – ENHYPEN proved they could stand at the centre of UK arenas, and own them outright.

London framed their arrival as a rite of passage. The O2, lined with photos of legendary performers, now included ENHYPEN’s name in its gallery. Fans flooded the venue hours in advance, clutching banners, handmade signs, and image pickets of their favourite members, building a roar that made clear the city had been waiting. Other K-pop acts have passed through the arena in recent years, but ENHYPEN’s takeover marked something bigger – not just another addition to the wave, but proof of their own standing power on one of the world’s most iconic stages.

Manchester, however, was the rarer conquest. Only a handful of K-pop acts have ever commanded the AO Arena, and ENHYPEN’s ability to fill it underscored their growing stature. If London was the initiation, Manchester was the detonation. Outside, fans transformed the foyers into a festival of their own with synchronised lightsticks and dance challenges; inside, thousands of voices surged through what felt like every lyric, despite the language barrier. No shortage of fire cannons, confetti, sparklers, and a multi-platform LED setup punctuated the choreography – a production among the most impressive K-pop has brought to the UK, clearly built with stadium ambition.

The night climaxed with a surprise double encore of the club-ready “Go Big or Go Home” – a song built on an all-or-nothing mentality, urging bold risk-taking over compromise. As the closer to ENHYPEN’s debut UK run, that motif carried symbolic weight. That gamble had already paid off – thousands of fans in two cities, sold-out arenas, and a finale that felt less like an ending than a challenge laid down for what comes next.

Two days earlier, the contrast could not have been starker. In a quiet London room, seven members calmly greeted me with warmth, ready to speak candidly. There were no shrieking fans, lasers or pyrotechnics – just ENHYPEN as seven young artists, playful yet reflective, grounded yet ambitious, navigating the hinge point between rapid rise and long-term legacy.

The conversation that followed was one about perspective – how a band on the cusp of global superstardom makes sense of the pressure, the pace, and the possibilities ahead.

Read the interview…

How did you guys find your first performance? Did you have fun?

JAKE: It was so fun. It was our first time being in London, doing a show for our own concert as well. It’s our first time doing a Europe tour, and London was the start of that. I think we had the best start we could possibly ask for. The crowd was amazing. We couldn’t really expect how the crowd was going to be, because we had never been to London. But the crowd was so energetic. They sang, you know, they were screaming so much, and they were singing along. So we just had a blast.

You’re stepping onto European arenas for the first time, including Manchester’s AO Arena – a stage only three other K-pop acts have ever played. When you think about milestones like this, what does it make you feel about your growth as artists and ENHYPEN’s place in K-pop history?

JUNGWON: Before coming here, I’d already heard a lot about Manchester, especially because of football—it’s such a well-known city. But since I’d only ever heard about it and never seen it, I was really curious to come. Being able to perform here, especially in a city where not many K-pop artists have performed, feels really special and such an honor for us. And since this is also our very first European tour, every stop has been exciting. I’m looking forward to experiencing the different vibes of each city. Performing is of course our main focus, but outside of that I just enjoy walking around. Whenever I get some free time, I’d like to take a stroll, snap a few photos, and enjoy the breezy weather here.

Performing in the UK for the first time, our stages have so much music history. You may have seen in The O2 corridors, there’s so many posters of iconic artists. How does that experience influence the energy you bring to the performance and the emotions you want to share on stage?

SUNOO: When we were at The O2 yesterday, I actually saw all the photos in the hallway of the incredible artists who’ve been there. I was amazed that I could perform on that stage as ENHYPEN, and even fill the venue with so many ENGENEs. It felt like such an honor, and I’m really glad I got to experience that.

JAY: Actually, a lot of artists I love, including legendary bands, have performed there. I also noticed the ‘21 Club’ award backstage with a big photo of Prince, which made the moment feel even bigger for me. It was truly an honorable experience.

When you did your closing speeches yesterday, you all talked about how special it feels to perform here. There’s also the London pop-up store, which is running for over a month. How do you hope that the UK ENGENEs will remember these shows through your performance, but also through the emotions that you share with them on stage?

HEESEUNG: We don’t come to Europe very often, so this whole tour feels really meaningful and precious to us. Every show becomes a great memory, and I hope ENGENEs can feel the same positive energy we do.

JAKE: Whenever we go on a world tour, I’m always surprised because cities like London are so far from South Korea, and yet the fans here sing along to every song. Even though most of our lyrics are in Korean, they still enjoy the performance so much. That always gives me goosebumps and fills me with gratitude. But I also think this is the power of music itself. We said this from the beginning of our debut: we want to connect the world through our music, through our performance. I think as we go on world tours and as we get to various cities like this, we get to really feel and experience that power firsthand. I think that itself is such an amazing feeling.

Thinking beyond the UK, how do you hope the international audiences understand ENHYPEN as a band through your live performances?

JUNGWON: We do have a few English songs, but most of our music is in Korean. And yet, throughout this tour, we’ve seen so many fans singing along in Korean even if they don’t speak the language. That makes us feel like we’ve achieved our goal, which is to convey positive energy through our melodies and performances. We’ve witnessed fans who have even learned Korean through our songs, which makes everything even more special. Moments like that give our tour even deeper meaning.

Does it feel like pressure to have that kind of responsibility to people?

JAKE: I don’t think we ever really felt it as pressure. For me, personally, pressure isn’t always necessarily a bad thing. It usually means you want to do well, and you can use it as motivation to push yourself harder. But in this case, I’d say it’s more of a bonus. Everyone’s gathered here to have a good time. Some people might not even know about K-pop, or who we are, and they just come because there’s a concert happening. I think that’s so cool. We’re used to performing for core K-pop fans who know everything about us and bring so much energy. But when we travel to places like the States or to other parts of the world, we also meet people who just show up for the music and performance itself. Seeing that is such a good, refreshing feeling.

Your setlist spans multiple eras of ENHYPEN – quite literally from “Given-Taken”, your debut song, to your most recent comeback, “Bad Desire (With Or Without You)”. You also revealed that new music is coming too; everyone was pretty happy to hear that. How does this tour reflect both ENHYPEN’s roots, and the artistic direction you’re heading next?

JAKE: The name of this tour is ‘WALK THE LINE’, which is the first song we ever put out. It was the intro track on our debut album, and back then it represented us standing on that line between trainees on I-LAND and debuting as idols, and ultimately walking that line into a new beginning. Now, on this tour, I feel like we’re on a different line. We’re still walking that edge, but this time it’s about evolving and becoming a new ENHYPEN. I think the tour really captures that.

HEESEUNG: Adding to what JAKE said, I think moving forward, ENHYPEN will take a more active role in creating our albums. The one we’re working hard on right now is shaping up to be really fun. That’s just the best word to describe it. I hope you all look forward to it—Hasan, you as well.

SUNGHOON, you were nodding along with HEESEUNG. Do you agree?

SUNGHOON: I do agree. For this next album, I think that when we are performing it live, it’s going to give off a whole different vibe.

JAKE: It’s crazy. It’s crazy!

It’s interesting that you’re already thinking about how it’s going to be performed live.

SUNGHOON: I didn’t really think that way before, but the more we perform, the more I start to feel that.

JAKE: I think that’s the first thing we think about now, whether we’re recording or doing anything.

Is it something you think about now that you’ve done these tours?

JUNGWON: Yeah, I think we started to think that way ever since we’ve been on tour. Even in the studio, we catch ourselves thinking, “Oh, this part will be great on stage.”

ENHYPEN’s music often deals with transformation – of identity, of youth, of relationships – whether it’s the questions of ‘Given-Taken,’ the longing of ‘Fever,’ or the duality in ‘Sweet Venom.’ You could really feel this in the set. How does performing these songs live change the way you connect with them, such as the lyrics or the production?

JAKE: Deep question. I think it might be different for each member, and there’s definitely a kind of textbook answer. But for me, if I’m being totally honest, the lyrics aren’t my first priority on stage. There’s so much going on—dancing, choreography, outfits, the LED setup, the stage design—and all of that together is what makes it a concert. I think that’s what makes ENHYPEN’s shows special. Of course, people can relate deeply to the lyrics, but in the moment I focus on giving energy back to the crowd. Some of our lyrics can be really deep, and that’s not something you can process right there on stage. But what I can always do is make sure the venue is filled with energy, and that’s the first thing on my mind when I’m performing.

NI-KI, you’re known as the prominent dancer of the group. Does that impact any of this for you?

NI-KI: When I’m dancing, I don’t think too much about the process itself. I just feel confident because I’ve been doing it most of my life. So whenever there’s a part in the concert that’s performance-heavy, like a dance break, I’m confident I can deliver a strong stage and also lead the members in creating a powerful performance.

The set had plenty of surprises – JAY’s guitar solo and HEESEUNG’s piano solo really stood out. Which moments do you feel push the boundaries of what the audience expects from ENHYPEN, or give them a new perspective on who you are? Especially because we were saying earlier that there’s maybe people who have never been to a K-Pop concert.

JAKE: I think it’s definitely different for each member, but for me, whenever we change into a new outfit—the four different looks we have throughout the show—the whole vibe shifts. The mood, the energy, even how the songs feel, all change with the outfits. Sometimes I can sense the audience won’t expect a certain song to come on, and when it does, those moments get me really hyped.

SUNOO: For me, it’s when I make eye contact with a fan and try to hype them up. When that energy comes right back to me, I feel like my performance has really reached them. It’s a kind of catharsis.

JAKE: What was the most memorable interaction?

SUNOO: During “Your Eyes Only,” I was moving to the thrust stage on the left side. Right before the chorus, I tried to hype up the crowd and noticed a group of friends. I engaged with them, and they really responded, which made it a very memorable moment for me.

It must be fun and exciting to see that, and to get that response.

SUNOO: Yes, yes! [gives a thumbs up]

HEESEUNG: Your question really got me thinking, and I actually feel confident in every part of our concert. We spend a long time preparing—for this tour, we spent about a month—and that process builds our confidence. Even if we’re not feeling it 100 percent, we still act confident for the fans who came to see us. Every time we perform, ENGENEs enjoy it, and so do we, and that’s how we create such great memories together.

Moving to some of the looks you’re performing in for this tour, they are custom Prada. How does wearing these pieces influence both your presence on stage and the story you want to tell through your performance and fashion style?

JUNGWON: Prada’s minimal and refined style really suits ENHYPEN, especially for the opening section with “Brought the Heat Back,” “Fever,” “ParadoXXX Invasion,” and “Future Perfect (Pass the Mic).” I think the look fits “Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)” in particular, because it’s restrained yet stylish and minimal. It feels like the perfect collaboration.

JAKE brought this up on stage last night, but touring keeps you constantly in motion and can be quite demanding. You’re all in this together – how do you maintain your teamwork, and take care of yourselves while on the road?

SUNGHOON: Jet lag can be tough, but I love touring because it means we get to visit so many cities and meet ENGENEs there. Each city has a different energy, and I’m always curious to see what that vibe will be like. At yesterday’s show, there were so many people seeing us for the first time, and looking out at those faces gave me so much energy. So even if touring can be tiring, the excitement and anticipation outweigh everything else.

JAY: For me, connecting with fans in every city and getting to try the local food feel like the best way to really experience the culture. It’s special not just as artists but as people. Every time, it’s awesome and just so cool.

Looking back to your debut, what feels most different about who you are as a group now, both on stage and off?

NI-KI: On stage, both visually and musically, I think we’ve grown a lot. Even the messages we try to convey through our songs have evolved since our debut. Honestly, it’s kind of hard for me to watch our debut videos now—they feel a little cringey because we all looked so young. But I think ENGENEs enjoy seeing that growth, and I feel lucky for that. Off stage, though, we’re pretty much the same. We’re still really chill and close with each other. On stage we’ve grown, but off stage we’re just the same as always.

JAKE: We’re chill guys.

HEESEUNG: To be really honest, I don’t really watch videos from our debut days. Whenever I do, I just see how young we were. At 20, I really thought I was an adult, but looking back five years later, I realize I was still just a kid.

SUNGHOON: And if we look back on this very moment five years from now, we’ll probably think the same thing—that we were all still really young.

When you look back on this tour and this moment – especially because it’s the first time in the UK and Europe – what do you hope stands out for you as a core memory of this time for you?

JAY: I truly want to remember this moment as the start of a big era for our team. We’re going to give our best in every city, every show on this Europe tour to make that happen. That’s why we’re here, and I’m really looking forward to it.

JAKE: And to add on, we’re also going to remember this interview right now. Thank you. And to all the UK fans who’ve been waiting so long for us—I know you waited a lot. We’re so happy to be here, and we’ll do our best to come back with better music, better albums, and better performances. Stay healthy, and until then, we’ll miss you guys.

Words – Hasan Beyaz