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Stray Kids' Lee Know: who he is, his real name, and how he joined

His role in the group, his birth name Lee Min-ho and the actor who shares it, the road from BTS backup dancer through an Mnet survival show to debut, and where things stand in 2026 — drawn from 13 press reports.

Lee Know is a member of Stray Kids, the JYP Entertainment boy group, where he is described as the main dancer. He came through Mnet's 2017 survival show "Stray Kids" and debuted with the group in March 2018; before that, by his own account, he worked as a backup dancer for BTS, including on a tour in Japan.

His birth name is Lee Min-ho. That is also the name of the actor known for playing Gu Jun-pyo in "Boys Over Flowers," so search results often mix the two, but they are different people. Common questions are answered below, with a source number on every claim.

YearEventDetail
2017Mnet's "Stray Kids" airsPremiered October 17. Lee Know (Lee Min-ho) and Felix, eliminated in episode 9, returned for the live finale on December 19, where all nine were confirmed for debut.1,2
2018Official debutShowcase at Jangchung Arena, Seoul, on March 25; debut mini album out March 26, led by "District 9."4
2021Show! Music Core hostBegan hosting MBC's music show in August.5
2022First Billboard 200 No. 1 · self-written soloMini album ODDINARY becomes the group's first Billboard 200 No. 1. In December his solo track "나지막이" appears on the digital album SKZ-REPLAY.7,11
2024Renewed with JYPIn July all eight members renewed their contracts ahead of their early-2025 expiry.8
20257th and 8th straight Billboard 200 No. 1sKARMA marks seven in a row; SKZ IT TAPE, released November 21, makes it eight.9,10
20269th straight No. 1 · Rock in RioTHIS & THAT gives a ninth straight No. 1 in August; in September the group becomes the first K-pop headliner at Brazil's Rock in Rio.11,12

Who is Lee Know?

Lee Know is a member of Stray Kids, an eight-member boy group under JYP Entertainment; the members are Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N. OSEN introduces him as the group's main dancer. Sports Kyunghyang notes that he forms the performance unit "Dance Racha" with Hyunjin and Felix, and describes him as a member focused on choreography and stage performance.

5,6,8

Real name Lee Min-ho — not the actor

Lee Know's birth name is Lee Min-ho. He was listed as "Lee Min-ho" in coverage of the 2017 Mnet show and around the 2018 debut, and a 2025 magazine interview used his line "Before Lee Know, I am Lee Min-ho" as its headline. Actor Lee Min-ho, by contrast, rose to fame playing Gu Jun-pyo in the KBS drama "Boys Over Flowers" and is a different person. Because the two names are spelled the same in Korean and English, searches often overlap; a plain "Lee Min-ho" search mostly returns the actor, so "Lee Know" is the more reliable term for the Stray Kids member.

1,2,9,13

How he joined Stray Kids

  • BTS backup dancer. On the radio program "Cultwo Show" in 2018, Lee Know confirmed he had been a backup dancer for BTS and had even gone on a Japan tour with them. Watching them on big stages, he said, made him want to stand at the center of one himself, which led him to JYP.3
  • Mnet's "Stray Kids" (2017). The JYP–Mnet program premiered on October 17, 2017, with a nine-member trainee team that included Lee Min-ho (Lee Know). In the first episode Bang Chan vowed that all nine would debut together.1
  • Eliminated, then back. Lee Know and Felix were cut in episode 9 but got a final chance in the live finale on December 19. The finale compared seven-member and nine-member line-ups, and Park Jin-young announced that Stray Kids would be a nine-member group.2
1,2,3

Debut and the group's major milestones

Stray Kids held its debut showcase at Jangchung Arena in Seoul on March 25, 2018, and released its debut mini album the next day, led by "District 9." The group first topped the Billboard 200 with ODDINARY in 2022. KARMA later made it seven straight No. 1s, and SKZ IT TAPE, released November 21, 2025, made it eight. In August 2026 THIS & THAT became a ninth consecutive No. 1. Lee Know also performed at the group's first stadium concert in Korea, held seven years after debut.

4,9,10,11

Solo activities: hosting, variety, songwriting, fashion

  • Music-show host. From August 2021 he co-hosted MBC's "Show! Music Core," drawing praise for steady hosting.5
  • Variety. OSEN reported in 2021 that he appeared on an idol dictation quiz show, an EBS cooking program and Channel A's fishing show "City Fisherman 3," showing off cooking and fishing skills.5
  • Self-written solo track. The December 2022 digital album SKZ-REPLAY featured self-written solo songs by every member; Lee Know's is "나지막이" (Najimagi).7
  • Fashion. As a Gucci global ambassador, he covered the November 2025 issue of Harper's Bazaar Korea.9
5,7,9

Where things stand in 2026

In July 2024, all eight Stray Kids members, Lee Know included, renewed their JYP contracts ahead of an early-2025 expiry; leader Bang Chan said they wanted to share their future with their fandom STAY and the company. THIS & THAT gave the group a ninth straight Billboard 200 No. 1 in August 2026, and in September it became the first K-pop act to headline Rock in Rio's main stage in Rio de Janeiro, before about 100,000 people. The group's Latin American run continued with STRAYCITY, a festival series with JYP and Live Nation, in Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Mexico City.

8,11,12

Reading paths

Deep dive · 10 articlesHow Agencies Make Idols: Big Four, Auditions, PlatformsStart from the fact that Stray Kids belong to JYP: J.Y. Park and Twice, SM and YG, HYBE founded by a former JYP composer, CJ ENM and the Mnet audition that formed Iz*One, and the fan platform Weverse.

Related articles

Lee Know Stray Kids JYP Entertainment BTS Bang Chan Hyunjin Felix I.N Lee Min-ho

Sources

  1. press 쿠키뉴스, [쿠키영상] 첫방 ‘스트레이 키즈’, 2PM·2AM·트와이스 이을 JYP의 다음 주자는?…방찬 “무조건 9명 같이 데뷔할 것”, 2017-10-18
  2. press iMBC 연예, 스트레이 키즈, 9인 전원 데뷔! 2018년 빛낼 JYP '新 보이그룹' 탄생, 2017-12-20
  3. press 뉴스엔 (다음 전재), '컬투쇼' 스트레이키즈 리노 "BTS 백업댄서 출신, 선배들 보며 꿈 키워", 2018-08-12
  4. press 텐아시아, 스트레이 키즈, 오늘(29일) 엠카부터 음악방송 출격, 2018-03-29
  5. press OSEN, 스트레이 키즈 리노, 음방 MC→예능까지..다재다능 '만능캐' 면모 발산, 2021-12-17
  6. press 스포츠경향, [화보] 스트레이키즈 리노-현진-필리스, 3인3색 단독화보, 2022-01-25
  7. press 더팩트, 스트레이 키즈, 신보에 멤버 전원 자작 솔로곡 수록, 2022-12-16
  8. press 코리아타임스, New Stray Kids' album 'ATE' set to devour summer charts, 2024-07-19
  9. press 스포츠경향, [화보] ‘스키즈’ 리노 “리노이기전 나는 이민호”, 2025-10-16
  10. press 스포츠경향 (영문), Stray Kids dominate Billboard, too, 2025-12-01
  11. press 스포츠경향 (영문), Stray Kids, ‘Billboard 200’ nine consecutive No. 1s “A first on Billboard, a record of the century”, 2026-08-18
  12. press 코리아타임스, Stray Kids becomes 1st K-pop act to headline Rock in Rio, 2026-09-16
  13. press 텐아시아, 이민호, 2009-03-09
Cite this page

“Stray Kids' Lee Know: who he is, his real name, and how he joined.” Hallyu Wiki. https://hallyu.wiki/en/guides/lee-know-faq/ (Retrieved 2026-10-13).

How this article was made: read official statements, court/regulator records and at least two independent outlets; community posts are used only as attention signals. Written by Hallyu Wiki editors with AI assistance — check the sources. Request a correction