KANG YUCHAN and from20 Enter a New Era With WAY BETTER
When KANG YUCHAN joined HELLO GLOOM and from20’s company WAY BETTER, the friends saw a possibility to chart a new path for idols. “Maybe,” from20 theorizes, “we could flip the whole culture.”
from20 and KANG YUCHAN on the set of “Body Talk”. WAY BETTER
FOR THE PAST YEAR, THE INDEPENDENT K-pop company WAY BETTER has solidified itself as a home for idols making groundbreaking, subversive music. Look no further than the label’s co-CEOs, from20 and HELLO GLOOM, for proof: This year, from20 released “Eye Candy,” a song that went viral for its spicy lyrics about sex and pleasure. The video, which he self-directed and was the catalyst for the song going viral, was both funny and sexy as from20 ripped his shirt off, declared he’s the man of your fantasies, and asked, “Can you handle me?”
“I’ve always thought that the character from20 was different from other artists,” the singer told me recently from Seoul, citing that because he’s a director, he knows his own strengths. “When I make a music video, I think about what story I want to tell, what image I want to show, and how people can connect with the music more.”
The pair are fearless with the music they release: HELLO GLOOM and from20 both debuted as part of traditional second-generation K-pop groups, but through sheer perseverance and a unique vision, they are now receiving more acclaim and fame than they ever did as traditional idols.
2025 has been a banner year for WAY BETTER. The company has expanded far more than from20 and HELLO GLOOM ever imagined. This year, the pair performed at K-Con in Los Angeles, embarked on tours across Europe, Japan, and Korea, establishing themselves as leaders in the independent K-pop scene. Soon, the company will embark on the Global Warming world tour, kicking off in Seoul on January 17, before traveling to Europe, Taipei, South America, Japan and more.
But their biggest show of strength was signing a new artist, KANG YUCHAN, the main vocalist from A.C.E.
“We were already close friends. I’d been watching how the two of them were building their careers and company and cheering them on,” YUCHAN told me, noting that he saw how fast WAY BETTER was "leveling up.”
One day last year, YUCHAN said, the guys told him, “We want to make you into an amazing artist.”
“And I thought, ‘They’re the ones who can actually make that happen.’ So I joined WAY BETTER,” he said. “And as you can see, this year has been incredibly busy for me. Thanks to everyone at WAY BETTER, I had so many opportunities to meet fans with great albums and performances. It’s been a truly happy year.”
from20 in a promo image for “Eye Candy”; WAY BETTER
THE ORIGINS OF WAY BETTER date back to when from20 first arrived in Seoul from Gangneung as a 20-year-old trainee.
“That’s also when I started calling myself ‘from20,’ as a reminder not to forget the passion and mindset I had back then,” he told me.
The memories of moving to Seoul are still vivid for from20. He wrote about it in the song of the same name (“from20”): “Remember the first night in the city/ The night won’t sleep for me.”
“The excitement of chasing my dream, the thrill, the slight fear,” he recalled, “everything about that night sky stayed with me.”
Eventually, from20 debuted in BIG STAR, a group under Brave Entertainment, and would stay with the group until he enlisted in the military. But from20’s ambitions were bigger than a standard idol career could provide. He was more interested in creating art and in working on interesting projects with friends than simply performing.
In 2020, he started THE FAKER CLUB, the foundation of WAY BETTER, with HELLO GLOOM, an idol who originally debuted in the group IMFACT. Looking back, from20 categorized their beginnings as humble. “For my solo debut, I remember spending the entire day with HELLO GLOOM,” he told me. “Our company didn’t even have an office then. We just celebrated the release at a café and had a nice meal.”
“I didn’t start with some grand plan. It was more like, ‘Let’s try fun things. Let’s express the music and art we want to make,” he continued.
But the pair were scrappy, often firing off every possible cylinder to build a solid fanbase. While THE FAKER CLUB could never compete with the Big Four in K-pop, they could use what they learned as idols to generate their own revenue stream. They produced creative merchandise and physical albums for each release. Their Season’s Greetings, a tradition in K-pop, sold out almost immediately. They also hosted fan calls and fansigns, another staple of K-pop.
In 2024, THE FAKER CLUB rebranded into WAY BETTER and immediately began to level up. HELLO GLOOOM released his most popular single, “MAMACITA,” that year. But from20 began to break into the mainstream conversation this year, first with “Eye Candy” and then with “Social”, a song about the fun of hook-up apps. In from20’s music, sexuality is not seen as taboo but rather playful and natural. “Keep double-tapping if you’re horny,” he encourages on “Social”. And on “Eye Candy”, from20 happily objectifies himself: “Suck it, lick it, taste me, baby,” he raps in the raunchiest lyrics.
There are few K-pop artists writing about sexuality or desire in such blunt ways. But this is what makes from20 stand apart: His approach to music feels less calculated and looser than any K-pop artist. Instead, he reminds me of American soloists like Billie Eilish or Charli xcx who release whatever interests them and, in doing so, influence culture.
“Because I create most of my own songs, I know my strengths really well, so I have a clear sense of what to emphasize,” from20 said, “and I think that’s why the response has been good.”
WAY BETTER
JUST AS FROM20’s LIFE as a traditional idol was winding down, KANG YUCHAN’s career was beginning when he debuted with A.C.E in 2017.
YUCHAN told me that he had always been surrounded by music. “When I was young, my parents ran a business selling records and clothes, so I naturally grew up loving music,” he remembered. “I think that’s when the dream of becoming a singer started forming inside me.”
In high school, YUCHAN got into street dancing and began pursuing a career in professional dance. “Then one day, almost by chance, I auditioned for JYP Entertainment and I got in,” he said. “That’s when the dream I’d been quietly holding onto suddenly became my whole world.”
YUCHAN eventually signed with BEAT INTERACTIVE and was cast into A.C.E, alongside some of the third generation’s most impressive vocalists. The group debuted on May 23, 2017, on THE SHOW, a music variety show that was recently canceled and often platformed groups from smaller companies.
YUCHAN remembered his debut as a surreal time for him. “Even during the debut showcase the day before, it didn’t feel real. But the moment I got off stage after our debut performance,” he said, “I suddenly burst into tears. I still don’t know why, but that was the moment it finally hit me.”
Looking back, YUCHAN has a hard time singling out a favorite memory from his time with A.C.E. They were together for most of their twenties and grew up together. But their first concert in Korea eventually became a core memory for him. “That day was pure happiness, and so many fans came to see us,” he said. “I can still feel the heat and energy from that night. Moments like that always remind me how grateful I am to the members and our fans.”
This year, the members paused group activities to release solo work. YUCHAN debuted with REBEL, his first EP under WAY BETTER. The record, he told me, “really represents my colors and identity as an artist. Through this album, I wanted to show both the beauty and the hidden sides of youth,” he said. “I hoped that anyone currently living through their youth - or anyone who has already gone through those moments - could feel different emotions again through these songs.”
Recording the EP was a cathartic experience for YUCHAN, who worked with HELLO GLOOM and dogshampoo for a mixture of house music and pop bangers. “I wanted to share an honest picture of who I am right now: My thoughts, feelings, everything,” he said. “I barely slept while working on it, but because my team understood me so well, I was able to express myself comfortably and adjust things together.”
Quickly after his solo debut, YUCHAN toured Asia to promote REBEL. “It was something I couldn’t have even imagined before. When I heard the tour was actually happening after releasing REBEL, I felt a huge sense of responsibility to prove myself,” he said. “So every show, I pushed my body and voice to the limit. Seeing the fans there—watching, cheering, connecting—those moments stayed deeply in my heart.”
WAY BETTER
LAST WEEK, FROM20 AND YUCHAN released a remix for “Body Talk”. The track is from20’s favorite song from REBEL, and the idea came as another strategy to mimic what’s working in the West rather than what’s trending in K-pop. “Overseas, a lot of artists collaborate by releasing remix versions, so we tried something similar,” he said. “I filled in the new second verse, and because I genuinely love the original song, I had a lot of fun working on it.”
“from20-hyung created new melodies and ad-lib lines, giving it a completely different vibe—more honest, spicier,” YUCHAN said. “I still remember how shocked I was when he first sent the demo. It felt like the song suddenly had a new owner.”
The pair’s friendship and admiration for one another have only grown, too, since Yuchan signed with WAY BETTER. “Being around from20-hyung always makes me think, ‘He works this hard, he gives everything. So I need to snap out of it and give everything I can, too.’” YUCHAN explained. “Whether you call it passion or responsibility,” he continued, “honestly, both words fit. I think I’m starting to become more like him.”
For from20, the feelings for YUCHAN are mutual. “He’s such a kind and lovable little brother that seeing him makes me happy. And as someone with so much talent, I’m proud of him,” he explained. As a fellow creative and CEO, too, from20 is moved by how hard YUCHAN works to manage everything himself. “I like people who are ambitious – and YUCHAN is very ambitious about his career. Seeing that motivates me to do even better for him,” he added.
“I want to be an artist who awakens emotions. I believe creations – songs, visuals, art – stir something inside people,” YUCHAN explained when I asked what kind of artist he wanted to be. “If I ever lose the ability to create, feel, or be moved, I think that would break my heart.”
WAY BETTER, then, feels like the perfect fit for an artist like YUCHAN who wants to dream big and not be bound by limitations. In fact, he’s never viewed the company’s size as a hindrance. “I’ve never once thought of the company as 'small.” Just being a solo artist itself is both the biggest challenge and the biggest reward for me,” he explained.
When from20 thinks about it now, the fact that THE FAKER CLUB evolved into something as giant as WAY BETTER is still surreal. But it’s also making him see that, perhaps, he can go farther than ever imagined. “At first, I just wanted to freely make the music I like. Then I wanted to build a cool company and create great content. As we gained popularity, I wanted to stand on bigger stages,” he told me.
Now is the moment to be audacious; to place big bets and see where he and HELLO GLOOM can take the company. They don’t just have office space now; they also have artists and staff members under their care. They’ve scaled up.
But sometimes from20 takes a longer view of the entire K-pop industry. Could he – and WAY BETTER – become major players in the industry?
“I’ve started dreaming even bigger,” he admitted. “Like maybe we could actually change something in the K-pop industry.”
He paused and considered the possibility. “Maybe we could flip the whole culture,” he declared. “I really want to try shaking up the scene.”
