Five teenagers launched by SM Entertainment in 1996, often called the first K-pop idol group. H.O.T. split in 2001 and has reunited on stage in 2018, 2019 and 2025.
31years on 7 September 2027 · in 320 days
Quick answers
When did H.O.T. debut?
On 7 September 1996, with the album We Hate All Kinds of Violence and the single "Warrior's Descendant". "Candy" followed as the second single.
Who are the members of H.O.T.?
Five: Moon Hee-joon (leader), Jang Woo-hyuk, Tony An, Kangta and Lee Jae-won. The line-up never changed.
What is the H.O.T. fandom called?
Club H.O.T. Its colour is white: fans waved white balloons in the 1990s and white light sticks at the 2018 reunion.
What does H.O.T. stand for?
High-five Of Teenagers. All five members were teenagers when they debuted.
Is H.O.T. still together?
The group split in 2001. All five reunited for concerts in 2018 and 2019 and headlined the Hanteo Music Festival in November 2025. In October 2026 Moon Hee-joon said he was in talks about a 30th anniversary concert; nothing has been announced.
The story so far
Debut under SM Entertainment with We Hate All Kinds of Violence.
"Candy" becomes their first big hit; Best New Artist at the Golden Disc Awards.
Second album Wolf and Sheep sells over a million copies in ten days.
The first K-pop group to perform at Seoul Olympic Stadium.
A concert in Beijing, the first K-pop group to perform for a Chinese audience.
Final concert at Jamsil Olympic Main Stadium; the group splits later that year.
All five reunite on MBC's Infinite Challenge, 17 years after the split.
Reunion concert Forever High-five Of Teenagers: about 100,000 fans over two nights.
Concert 2019 High-five Of Teenagers at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
Headliners of the Hanteo Music Festival in Incheon, their first full-group stage in six years.
Start with these 5 songs
Warrior's DescendantThe debut single, a song about school bullying.1996
CandyTheir first big hit, remade by NCT DREAM in 2022.1996
We Are the FutureFrom Wolf and Sheep, and still covered by later idol groups.1997
HopeTitle track of Resurrection and today the closing song of SMTOWN LIVE.1998
I Yah!The big hit of their fourth album.1999
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In the Fan Chart
The Fan Chart on The Crowd adds up every fan's top 10. Here is where H.O.T. stands.
No named official lightstick confirmed; fans waved white balloons in the 1990s and white light sticks at the 2018 reunion.
Official colour
White.
Debut anniversary
7 September
The name H.O.T.
Short for "High-five Of Teenagers": a group of teenagers, made for teenage fans.
Watch first
Infinite ChallengeMBCThe February 2018 special where all five performed together again for the first time since 2001.
Age of PeaceFilmThe 2000 feature film starring the five members, with a soundtrack by the group.
Did you know
Their stage greeting ends with "kiwojuseyo" ("please raise us"); rookie group idntt borrowed it when H.O.T. watched them at the 2025 Hanteo Music Festival.
"Hope" (1998) is the official closing song of SM Entertainment's SMTOWN LIVE concerts.
The video for "The Promise of H.O.T." (1998) is animated, with drawings and story by cartoonist Chun Kye-young.
From the third album on the members wrote their own songs, and the fifth album, Outside Castle, was made up of their own compositions.
Golden Disc AwardsBest New Artist, 1996.
Million sellerWolf and Sheep (1997) sold over a million copies in ten days.
Grand prizesGrand Prize at the Golden Disc Awards and the Seoul Music Awards in 1997, the year of Wolf and Sheep.
Seoul Olympic StadiumThe first K-pop group to perform there, September 1999.
ChinaThe first K-pop group to perform for a Chinese audience, Beijing, 2000.
Mnet Asian Music AwardsBest Group, 1999.
Reunion concertAbout 100,000 fans over two nights at Jamsil Olympic Main Stadium, October 2018.
Tours
Seoul Olympic Stadium concertThe first concert by a K-pop group at the stadium; recorded for <i>99 Live in Seoul</i>.
Beijing concertTheir first concert in China.
Final concertJamsil Olympic Main Stadium, Seoul, February 2001.
Forever High-five Of TeenagersJamsil Olympic Main Stadium, Seoul, 13 and 14 October.
2019 High-five Of TeenagersGocheok Sky Dome, Seoul, September.
Hanteo Music FestivalHeadline sets of over an hour at Inspire Arena, Incheon, 22 and 23 November.
Know your H.O.T.?Six K-pop questions a day in the Daily, and a collectible card for every finished set.
