ATBO (; an acronym for At The Beginning of Originality) was a South Korean boy group formed through IST Entertainment's survival competition The Origin – A, B, Or What? in 2022. The group consisted of six members: Junseok, Junmin, Hyunjun, Seunghwan, Yeonkyu, and Won Bin. Originally a septet, Rakwon left the group on May 6, 2024, due to health issues. They debuted on July 27, 2022, with the extended play (EP) The Beginning: 開花, and disbanded on December 17, 2025.
Name "ATBO" is an initial of At The Beginning of Originality which means the start of a dream. The name was originally "ABO", but was changed due to fan concern as the original name is a racial slur in some regions.
History On February 6, 2022, it was reported that IST Entertainment, home to male idol groups Victon and The Boyz as well as female idol group Apink and Weeekly, was planning to debut their first boy group under the new company name in the first half of the year. The members would be selected from a group of 13 trainees through a survival program called The Origin - A, B, Or What?, jointly produced with Kakao Entertainment and Sony Music Solutions.
The line-up, consisting of the seven contestants Junseok, Junmin, Hyunjun, Donghwa, Rakwon, Seunghwan and Yeonkyu, was determined on the final episode aired on May 7, 2022, alongside the debut name, ABO, which was later changed to ATBO. Junmin and Rakwon were SM Entertainment trainees, the latter also being a former child model, while Yeonkyu was a YG Entertainment trainee who participated in YG Treasure Box, but did not make it into the show's final debut lineup.
On June 13, 2022, IST Entertainment announced that Donghwa would not be debuting as a member of ATBO after his past misconduct when he was a student surfaced online. Won Bin, who was originally eliminated in episode 5, replaced him in the group.
ATBO debuted on July 27, 2022, with the EP, The Beginning: 開花.
On May 6, 2024, IST announced that Rakwon would be leaving the group due to health issues dating back to March. On June 27, the group collaborated with Just B to form the project boy group The CrewOne. The project group then joined Mnet's competition program Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace, which premiered on September 19, 2024.
On December 17, 2025, IST entertainment announced that its exclusive contracts with the members have been terminated, thereby confirming the group's disbandment.
Members Junseok () – leader, rapper, dancer Junmin () – vocalist Hyunjun () – rapper Seunghwan () – vocalist, dancer Yeonkyu () – vocalist Won Bin () – rapper, vocalist Rakwon () – vocalist, dancer
Discography Extended plays + List of extended plays, showing selected details, selected chart positions, and sales figures Title Details Peak chartpositions Sales KORPeak chart positions on Circle Album Chart:
The Beginning: 開花 Released: July 27, 2022 Label: IST, Kakao Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 6 KOR: 66,212Cumulative Sales of The Beginning: 開花:
The Beginning: 始作 Released: October 26, 2022 Label: IST, Kakao Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 5 KOR: 87,009Cumulative Sales of The Beginning: 始作:
The Beginning: 飛上 Released: May 18, 2023 Label: IST, Kakao Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 5 KOR: 66,230Cumulative Sales of The Beginning: 始作:
Must Have Released: November 27, 2023 Label: IST, Kakao Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 9 KOR: 64,628Cumulative Sales of Must Have:
Singles Title Year Peak position Album KORDLPeaks on the Circle Download Chart: "Monochrome (Color)": "Attitude": "Next to Me": "Must Have Love": "Monochrome (Color)" 2022 147 The Beginning: 開花 "Attitude" 116 The Beginning: 始作 "Next to Me" 2023 186 The Beginning: 飛上 "Must Have Love" 163 Must Have
Videography Music videos + List of songs, showing year released, name of the directors, and the length of the music videos Title Year Director(s) Length "Monochrome (Color)" 2022 Gibeak Lee (BOLD) 3:58 "Attitude" Jimmy (VIA) 3:40 "Next To Me" 2023 Haansol Rim(Haans) 3:45 "Must Have Love" Jimmy (VIA) 3:16
Filmography Television shows Year Title Notes 2022 The Origin – A, B, Or What? Survival show determining ATBO's members ATBO Walkshop Reality show
Ambassadorship PR Ambassador for Korea Forest Love Youth Boys (2023)
Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, award category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee(s)/work(s) Result Asia Artist Awards 2022 Focus Award ATBO Asia Model Awards 2022 Rookie of the Year – Singer Asia Star Entertainer Awards 2024 Hot Trend Genie Music Awards 2022 Best Male Rookie Award K-Global Heart Dream Awards 2023 K-Global Next Leader Award MAMA Awards 2022 Best New Male Artist Artist of the Year
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