# Big Ocean

Big Ocean (Korean: 빅오션; RR: Bigosyeon) is the first Hearing impairment South Korean boy band, formed under Parastar Entertainment. The group consists of three members: Lee Chan-yeon, Park Hyun-jin, and Kim Ji-seok. They debuted on April 20, 2024, with the single "Glow", which coincided with the Day of Persons with Disabilities in South Korea.

## History
### Pre-debut

Lee Chan-yeon, Park Hyun-jin, and Kim Ji-seok are the three members of the project group S-Boyz, who trained for nearly two years before their debut. Each member of the group has different levels of hearing loss. Kim was born with a hearing impairment, Park lost part of his hearing at the age of three, and Lee experienced hearing loss at age eleven. Lee underwent Cochlear Implant Surgery on both ears, Park has an implant in one ear and uses a hearing aid in the other, while Kim only wears hearing aids.
Before their debut as idols, all three members held full-time jobs, which raised concerns among their acquaintances. Lee Chan-yeon worked as an audiologist at Korea University Anam Hospital, Park Hyun-jin was a well-known TV personality and YouTuber who shared insights about his daily life while living with disabilities, and Kim Ji-seok was a professional alpine skier and a member of the Seoul Disabled Ski Association.

### 2024–present: Official debut and Follow

In March 2024, Parastar Entertainment announced the debut of Big Ocean, consisting of the trio who will perform using Korean Sign Language (KSL), American Sign Language (ASL), and International Sign Language (ISL). The group's name, Big Ocean, contains the meaning of "surprising the world" and the ambition to "have the potential of the sea and expand to the whole world like the sea". According to their agency, the members recorded the songs in their own voices, similar to non-disabled singers. However, some parts of the recording received assistance from artificial intelligence, which learned each member's voice data to help mix their voices properly. Additionally, the group will use smart watches that vibrate to the beat of the music and monitors that flash lights every eight beats to help them stay in rhythm while dancing.
Big Ocean begins its official activities upon performing on MBC's Show! Music Core and releasing their debut single "Glow" on April 20. Their first single is a remake of the 1998 song "Hope" by the first-generation idol group H.O.T.. A few months after their debut, the group released their second single "Blow" on June 1, in collaboration with Tiktok Korea. On August 11, Big Ocean released their third single "Slow" featuring Young K of Day6. The song's lyrics deliver a message of support to the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics athletes who represented South Korea.
Big Ocean has also collaborated with the World Health Organization to produce videos promoting public understanding of hearing impairment. Furthermore, on August 22, Big Ocean attended and performed at the 6th Newsis Korean Wave Expo. During the ceremony, the group was honored with the "Special Hallyu Award" as an icon of hope. Big Ocean was also featured as Billboard's "K-pop Rookie of the Month" for September 2024.
On November 12, the group released their first EP Follow. The EP features their previously released singles and a new track "Flow", which produced by award-winning American producer Mark Batson. The historic school for the deaf National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris and La Défense served as the filming location of the "Flow" music video. Big Ocean was invited to attend and perform at the Cool Out 2024 Festival in the Cayman Islands, where they showcased "Flow" for the first time.

## Members

* Lee Chan-yeon (이찬연)
* Park Hyun-jin (박현진)
* Kim Ji-seok (김지석)

## Discography
### Extended plays

List of extended plays, with selected details, chart positions and sales :
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
| Title | Details | KOR | Sales |
| Follow | Released: November 12, 2024 Labels: Parastar Entertainment, Kakao Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download, streaming Track listing "Flow" "Glow" "Blow" "Slow" (ft. Young K) | 41 | KOR: 1,603 |

### Singles

List of singles, showing year released, and album name :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "Glow" | 2024 | Follow |
| "Blow" | 2024 | Follow |
| "Slow" (featuring Young K) | 2024 | Follow |
| "Flow" | 2024 | Follow |
| "Bright" | 2025 | Non-album single |

## Awards and nominations
### Honors

Name of country or organization, year given, and name of honor :
| Country or organization | Year | Honor | Ref. |
| Newsis K-EXPO Cultural Awards | 2024 | Special Hallyu Award | |