NCT, an acronym for ‘Neo Culture Technology’, is a boy-group under SM Entertainment with a concept of “unlimited” number of members. The group consists of 23 members as of October 2022, ranging from young adults to late-twenties and currently divided into four different sub-units: NCT U, NCT 127, NCT Dream and WayV. There are rumours of a new Japanese sub-unit to debut in the upcoming years.

In South Korean charts, NCT has recorded more than 27 million album sales across all sub-units, making them the best-selling act under SM Entertainment, one of Kpop’s leading entertainment companies with household names such as BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, SHINee and EXO.

The Units

The group debut their first unit, NCT U, on April 9 2016, with two digital singles “7th sense” and “Without You“. The U in NCT U standing for “United“, it’s a rotational sub-unit that doesn’t have fixed members, meaning the lineup keeps changing for every comeback, OST or dance stage depending on who fits the concept. Here are examples of the different concepts NCT U have tried out:

NCT U

Then their second sub-unit NCT 127 debuted on July 7 2016, with their extended play ‘NCT #127’ and title track “Firetruck“. The unit is based in Seoul with the number “127” representing the longitude coordinate of the city. With a fixed lineup of 10 members and 9 active at the moment, NCT 127 are known for their experimental Hip-Hop and R&B based music and strong dance performances. They currently have released four studio albums, two repackaged albums and four extended plays. Not only that, they have also released two Japanese EP and a studio album. Some of NCT 127’s diverse concepts overtime:

The third unit, NCT Dream debut on August 25 2016, with the digital single “Chewing Gum“. Originally intended to be the “teenaged” unit with an age-based graduation system, where members would “graduate” after becoming an adult (20 in Korean, 19 in international age). However, they removed the system in 2020 and upon the return of the previously graduated member Mark, they continued promoting as seven-membered group. With releasing four EPs, six singles and two studio albums, NCT Dream is known for their music reflecting youth and adolescence, growth, and the transition from innocence to rebellion. The following are some of their concepts:

The last and current unit to debut, WayV(威神V, WeiShen V, initialism for We Are Your Vision), a unit based in China and their first overseas sub-unit, debut on January 17 2019, with their first digital EP “The Vision”. They have released one studio album and five EPs and singles. As well as, two singles from sub-units. WayV are currently preparing for another album to release next year. The group has a multicultural background and they’re known for their addictive songs, powerful performances and mature concepts. Here are their concepts: