Ten (NCT): Thai prince from a wealthy family still 'left the country' to pursue art

Ten (NCT) is likened to a Thai Prince because he has a very powerful family background, but he still endures hardships and tries to leave his homeland to go to Korea to fulfill his dream with art.

Ten Lee, real name Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul (born 1996), is the first Thai idol to debut under the famous Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment. Born and raised in a wealthy family, Ten was carefully educated and intended to study abroad in the UK after graduating from high school.

Through the group's reality show "NCT Life in Bangkok", fans learned more about Ten's family background. In the program, this "prince" led the members to visit his old school - Shrewsbury International School in Bangkok, Thailand - where Ten studied for 10 years. Tuition for this school is 25,000 USD/year (about 500 million VND), not including other costs such as textbooks, uniforms and extracurricular activities. Considering the average income of a family in Thailand is about 135 million VND a year, it seems that Ten's parents have done very well. Ten's father is a businessman, and although there is no specific information about his business, Ten's "overwhelming" tuition fee makes fans infer that his father must be worthless. be successful together.

In addition, when he had the opportunity to appear on Knowing Bros, Ten also revealed that his family situation is quite "normal": he has a small herd of pets and in his free time, he goes skiing in Switzerland.

"My zoo is not very big. There are only 2 monkeys, 7 puppies and my mother raises 10 flying squirrels."

Also from this share, fans assumed that Ten's family has a zoo in Thailand. Through this we can also see this guy's hobbies, he loves animals and is always gentle with everyone around him.

Possessing a great family background, he thought he would inherit his parents' career, but his love and dream for art led Ten down a completely different path.

Ten's passion for art was unintentionally nurtured by his family since childhood thanks to talent classes such as singing and drawing. When entering middle school, Ten discovered his passion for dance after watching the movie Step Up and seeing K-Pop idols perform. Ten's dream of a stage full of glory was rekindled like that.

After 8 years of persistent pursuit, now the boy Chittaphon has become an all-powerful ACE Ten Lee of NCT with amazing dancing skills, sweet voice and special painting ability.

Ten always tries to change people's prejudices about idols. He often talks about the "imperfect" aspects of an idol, the mutual relationship between idols and fans, defends the LGTBQ community and talks about self-awareness.

"Be yourself and love yourself, enjoy life and spread positive energy" , that is the message that Ten always tries to convey in every appearance and product launch. He doesn't talk much but acts a lot. His same-year-old friend Kun also said that Ten really lives very slowly. Senior Taemin (SHINee) said that Ten is a person of art. Senior Baekhyun (EXO) said Ten's whole body is a work of art, his personality and way of life are also very artistic.

Mark once said that Ten is the busiest person in the group but he has never once seen him complain. It can be easily seen in backstage scenes, when everyone is tired, Ten will be the one to keep everyone's energy and encouragement. Ten once said that there will be times when he feels so tired that he doesn't want to do anything, but in the end, Ten is still a workman and will work until the end.

At the grand year-end music festival SBS Gayo Daejeon 2023, Ten was the solo dancer to open this performance, but in the process of running to the stage, the male idol fell and hit his face on the elevator area at the corner of the stage. It took a while for Ten to return to continue his performance.

Many viewers felt worried about Ten's health and also admired his professionalism, preferring to endure the pain to continue rather than giving up.

In early 2024, on February 13, Ten released his debut solo mini-album of the same name, marking his transition from singer, dancer and K-pop idol to become a solo star. Named after himself, the album and lead single "Nightwalker" quickly rose to the coveted No. 1 position on the global iTunes album chart, dominating charts in 34 regions spanning from Europe, Australia to Singapore.

Similarly, the MV "Nightwalker" also received enthusiastic responses, becoming a trend on Youtube's Music category in many regions. The MV is loved for its dark and experimental aesthetic, especially Ten's seductive choreography.

After many years of group and solo activities, Ten has gained profound insights into the creative process. "The preparation process for a group album and a solo album is very different. During group activities, I often think about performing the song appropriately, but for this debut, I thought a lot about what to do. what to do," he shared. "Through this opportunity, I want to explore myself because I don't know what I want to express or what kind of person I am. In the process of preparing for the album, I thought every aspect was Ten."

The former NCT member returned with a documentary, netizens still actively boycotted it Phi Đức15:31:11 25/02/2024On the evening of February 24, Lucas (former member of NCT/WayV) officially returned after the scandal with a documentary called Freeze. In recent days, Kpop fans have been buzzing about a series of moves by SM to prepare a solo debut for male idols involved in scandals.