Jang Yeojun
Jang Yeojun did not survive one audition show and call it character development. He went through Wild Idol, Boys Planet, a dissolved trainee lineup, and Project 7 before finally debuting. CLOSE YOUR EYES is his fourth public beginning and the first one that became a real group career.
The first survival show
Yeojun is from Daejeon and entered public trainee life through MBC’s Extreme Debut: Wild Idol in 2021. He appeared as contestant number 36 and was eliminated in episode three. The show mixed outdoor physical challenges with performance evaluation, which is a very elaborate way to tell a teenager he needs more screen time.
An early elimination can disappear from a polished debut biography, but it matters here because Yeojun kept returning. Survival shows do not only test singing and dancing. They test whether a contestant can build a recognizable story from a few edited minutes while competing against people who may receive more favorable narratives.
Boys Planet and Jellyfish
Yeojun later trained under Jellyfish Entertainment for roughly three years. In December 2022, he was announced as one of the company’s Boys Planet contestants alongside Park Gunwook, Han Yuseop, and Park Hyunbeen. He was eliminated in episode five after ranking 62nd.
Park Gunwook went on to debut in ZEROBASEONE. Yeojun returned to the Jellyfish trainee pool, where the remaining male trainees were briefly presented through material fans called Jelly-i. The prospective lineup dissolved before debut. That left Yeojun with two televised eliminations, years of training, and another almost-group that never reached a music show.
This is the part one-line profiles miss. “Former Boys Planet contestant” sounds like a credential. Living it meant going back to practice after millions of viewers watched the rejection and after a former teammate advanced into one of the generation’s biggest rookie groups.
Project 7 finally worked
In 2024, Yeojun entered JTBC’s Project 7. The program used an assembly concept that allowed viewers to vote on teams and combinations, turning ordinary survival-show anxiety into a human group project with global polling.
Yeojun arrived with more camera experience and a clearer sense of what a survival edit required. He advanced to the finale and placed sixth with more than four million points, securing a place in the seven-member group that became CLOSE YOUR EYES.
The result has sometimes been listed as seventh in interim or article rankings, but the final debut ranking placed him sixth. Accuracy matters because a contestant’s entire career can be reduced to a copied number that nobody checks.
CLOSE YOUR EYES career
2025: ETERNALT
CLOSE YOUR EYES debuted on April 2, 2025 with the mini album ETERNALT. “All My Poetry” introduced a softer, literary image than the aggressive title tracks often given to survival-show boy groups. Yeojun’s vocal tone and gentler camera presence fit that choice.
The group earned a music-show win only six days after debut. It was the kind of result that can make a long trainee history look inevitable after the fact. It was not inevitable. The members came from different companies, countries, and previous careers, and had only months to turn a voted lineup into a functioning group.
“Snowy Summer” and the first comeback
The 2025 comeback widened the group’s sound with “Snowy Summer” and “Paint Candy.” Yeojun’s individual fancams show a performer more relaxed than the contestant who had to fight for every edited second. He no longer needed to demonstrate three years of growth inside one mission stage.
2026: touring and a stronger identity
By the first anniversary, CLOSE YOUR EYES had moved from debut novelty into touring and a more forceful release cycle. Yeojun also took on music-show MC work, including appearances alongside Jeon Minwook and other idol hosts.
On February 19, 2026, UNCORE announced that Yeojun had been diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis after seeking care for an abnormal change in his condition. The agency said he would receive inpatient treatment and pause activities. He later returned for the OVEREXPOSED cycle. The April single “POSE” also put his name in the lyric credits. That matters because his profile is no longer limited to performing material selected for him. He has started leaving fingerprints on the songs.
Dated timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Entered MBC’s Extreme Debut: Wild Idol as contestant 36 and exited in episode three. |
| December 2022 | Introduced as a Jellyfish Entertainment trainee for Boys Planet. |
| March 2023 | Eliminated from Boys Planet in episode five at rank 62. |
| 2024 | Returned through JTBC’s Project 7, advanced through the final, and placed sixth. |
| April 2, 2025 | Debuted with CLOSE YOUR EYES through ETERNALT. |
| July 2025 | Returned with the group’s Snowy Summer era. |
| February 19, 2026 | UNCORE announced a temporary health break after a rhabdomyolysis diagnosis and inpatient treatment. This was a medical status notice, not a personality storyline. |
| April 2026 | Returned for OVEREXPOSED and received a lyric credit on “POSE” alongside Jeon Minwook and the song’s other writers. |
Voice, dance, and stage presence
Yeojun’s strength is balance. He does not dominate the group through the largest voice or the most aggressive dance line. He is a reliable melodic performer with clean movement and a face that reads well in softer concepts.
His survival-show history improved his camera timing. He knows where the lens is, but he no longer looks as if every close-up might determine whether he is allowed to keep his career. In “All My Poetry,” restraint works better than desperate impact. In “Paint Candy,” he can lean into brightness without losing precision.
| Watch | What to notice |
|---|---|
| Wild Idol | The raw first attempt and how little time he had to establish himself. |
| Boys Planet | Jellyfish training, cleaner fundamentals, and another early exit. |
| Project 7 | The improved survival instincts and the final sixth-place run. |
| “All My Poetry” debut fancam | How his softer vocal and visual tone fits CLOSE YOUR EYES. |
| “Paint Candy” fancam | More ease, brighter expressions, and a performer no longer auditioning. |
The personality and MC file
Yeojun is generally described as considerate, calm, and more playful once he is comfortable. Years of moving between trainee teams made adaptability part of the job. In CLOSE YOUR EYES, he is neither the oldest nor the youngest, which gives him room to connect the group’s older leadership with its teenage members.
Music-show hosting adds a different skill. An MC has to read cues, interview guests, react on schedule, and keep live television moving when timing slips. It is useful career development for someone whose earliest public appearances depended entirely on other editors deciding whether he existed in an episode.
The group’s fandom is CLOSER. Yeojun also maintained an individual Instagram before group debut, though official group channels are the primary source for current schedules and promotional material.
Zodiac side quest, for fandom entertainment only
This is pop astrology, not evidence about his real personality. Yeojun’s verified September 27 birthday makes him a Libra. Because he was born after Lunar New Year on February 9, 2005, his Chinese zodiac is the Wood Rooster.
Western sign: Libra
The Libra mini-read would notice how often Yeojun’s public career depended on balance. He had to fit different teams, concepts, camera edits, and experience levels without disappearing inside them. The astrology version of the profile would call that social calibration. The biography calls it three survival shows and a lot of practice.
Chinese zodiac: Wood Rooster
Rooster symbolism tends to emphasize preparation, visibility, and taking pride in presentation. The Wood element softens the sharpest version of that image with flexibility and cooperation. That is a fun match for a performer whose progress is easiest to see when the 2021, 2023, 2024, and debut footage sits side by side.
When Libra and Wood Rooster share one idol
Put the two signs together and the fandom reading becomes somebody who wants the formation clean, the camera found, and the team atmosphere intact. RaeRae’s version is simpler: Yeojun kept returning until the industry finally ran out of ways to send him back to the trainee room.
Back to topAugust 2026 status checkpoint
As of August 12, 2026, Jang Yeojun remains a current member of CLOSE YOUR EYES. His February health break belongs in the timeline, but it did not end his membership. The active directory label therefore remains Current member · 2025–present.
The 2026 profile record includes the group’s OVEREXPOSED era and Yeojun’s writing credit on “POSE.” Future releases should be added here without overwriting the survival-show history that explains how long his route to debut actually was.
YouTube tracking history
CVM Sekai tracks CLOSE YOUR EYES and UNCORE official channels for music videos, dance practices, performance clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and clearly credited Yeojun content. Group releases remain attached to the group profile and this canonical member page. His writing credit and survival-show footage do not create an Artist classification without a formal solo music release.
Sources
- UNCORE official Jang Yeojun profile
- JTBC Project 7 official site and final result clips
- UNCORE health notice reported by Soompi, February 19, 2026
- Sports Kyunghyang interview on OVEREXPOSED and “POSE” writing credit
- CLOSE YOUR EYES official channel and fancams
- The Korea Times group interview
- Sports Kyunghyang interview
- Rolling Stone Korea interview
- Oricon, Project 7 finalist profile
- Project 7 results and source index
Official links