Donghae of Super Junior Reveals He Almost Debuted with Big Bang and Considered Leaving SM Entertainment

Donghae, a member of Super Junior, revealed that he was close to debuting as a member of Big Bang, a fact that even his long-time friend Eunhyuk was hearing for the first time.

On April 24, a video titled “Haru Haru & Sorry, Sorry still playing on my MP3... | ZIP DAESUNG ep.104 DONGHAE x EUNHYUK” was released on the ZIP DAESUNG YouTube channel.

In the episode, Donghae and Eunhyuk appear as guests, discussing Donghae's long-standing friendship with singer Se7en. Donghae shared that Se7en, whose real name is Choi Dong-wook, had a close friend from Anyang Arts High School, and they had known each other since before their debuts. Donghae recalled visiting Se7en’s dormitory and meeting his friends before Se7en became famous.

Later, Daesung asked if Donghae had ever met G-Dragon and Taeyang, to which Donghae responded, “I don't know them personally, but I've run into them before.”

He recounted, “Hyung Dong-wook was really nice to me when we were younger. One day he called me and said he was in Apgujeong, even though he usually stayed around Hapjeong. He rarely called me, so I went to see him and found G-Dragon and Taeyang at an internet café.”

Donghae continued, “The three of them were playing games. I thought to myself, ‘Who are these guys?’ because I had never been called like that before. Their energy was so high.” He also mentioned that he spent time with Se7en, G-Dragon, and Taeyang, eating and dancing by the Han River, highlighting the clear differences in atmosphere between YG Entertainment and SM Entertainment.

When Daesung asked, “If you had stayed close with them, do you think you could have debuted in Big Bang?” Donghae replied, “I almost did, actually.” This revelation shocked Eunhyuk, who has known him for over 25 years, prompting him to say, “I’ve known you for 25 years, and this is the first time I'm hearing this.”

Donghae further explained that originally, SM Entertainment planned to debut a five-member boy group around June 25, 2002. The trainees had trained for nearly three years, but the plan was postponed due to the World Cup and eventually put on indefinite hold.

“At that time, someone close to Se7en told me that YG was preparing a male idol group and asked if I was interested in moving over,” said Donghae. “I even told my manager that I would move to YG.”

However, his manager advised him to wait, and ultimately, Donghae remained with SM Entertainment, debuting as a member of Super Junior later on.

Reflecting on it now, he said, “After debuting, I realized that those five members ended up becoming Big Bang.”

Daesung responded, “Then one of us might not have debuted at all,” expressing relief that everything turned out as it did.

-------------------------------------

Source: allkpop