When a new K-pop group debuts today, the spectacle often arrives fully formed: choreography perfected, mythology already constructed, fandoms mobilized before the first chorus lands. LNGSHOT, the four-member group emerging under Jay Park’s label MORE VISION, enters that arena with a slightly different premise.
Their name comes from the phrase “long shot”—a risk taken against unlikely odds. Rather than launching through one of the industry’s entertainment conglomerates, LNGSHOT is the first K-pop–focused group under Jay Park’s independent company, a move that brings both creative freedom and heightened scrutiny.
The four-piece group—OHYUL, RYUL, WOOJIN, and LOUIS—stepped into public view with their debut single Saucin’, performing the track at the Melon Music Awards in Seoul alongside the release of its music video.
In the clip, Jay Park makes a cameo as a demanding CEO, challenging the group to produce a hit. The concept doubles as a playful metaphor for LNGSHOT’s real-world moment: four young artists entering an industry where many debuts feel engineered long before audiences ever see them.
That spirit carries into their upcoming EP SHOT CALLERS, set for release on January 13, 2026. Rather than presenting a rigidly polished image, the project is framed as something closer to a coming-of-age statement. The members are young—leader OHYUL and rapper RYUL were born in 2006, creative member WOOJIN in 2008, and main vocalist LOUIS in 2010—but they have already experimented with writing and producing their own music. Before their official debut, the group quietly released the self-produced 4SHOBOIZ MIXTAPE on YouTube, offering an early glimpse of their chemistry and instincts.
Behind them stands Jay Park, one of the rare artists to navigate both hip-hop and K-pop while maintaining an independent trajectory. Over nearly two decades, he has built his reputation as both performer and label founder. LNGSHOT represents the next stage of that vision. Shortly after the release of Saucin’, Esquire Vietnam sat down with the four boys to talk about their debut, their creative process, and why maintaining an “underdog mentality” may be the key to navigating the K-pop machine.
Esquire Vietnam: Congratulations on your debut! You’ve just made your official debut with Saucin’ and stepped onto the stage at the Melon Music Awards—what do each of you remember most clearly from the moments right before the performance began, when it was no longer practice but reality?
OHYUL: We were all very nervous leading up to the performance. The last thing we discussed as a group before stepping onto stage was all the hard work we had prepared for the moment. And because we knew we had given it our best, we were confident in ourselves which was hopefully conveyed through our performance.
RYUL: Performing on one of the biggest stages in Korea was nerve-racking but we are very thankful to our CEO (Jay Park) for sharing his stage with us.
The name LNGSHOT comes from the idea of taking a long shot against the odds. Tell me about how this applies to your personal lives—was there ever a time in your journey you felt like the underdog? How did you overcome that?
WOOJIN: Our CEO always tells us to stay humble. And that is our mindset approaching everything we do, whether it’s creating music, meeting new people and just being with each other. Having the name LNGSHOT is a constant reminder to have an underdog mentality and stay humble, no matter how successful we may become.
OHYUL: That is how we stay true to ourselves and keep our authenticity.
Jay Park has not only been a mentor as an artist, but as a big brother to all of us — LOUIS
As the first K-pop–focused group under MORE VISION, did debuting feel more like freedom or pressure—or something in between—and how did that shape the way you approached your first release?
RYUL: Of course there is pressure being the company’s first group.
WOOJIN: And because our company is not a big label, we feel we can be easily dismissed compared to the other companies. But as much pressure there is, we also have a lot more freedom than other groups may have. And we hope our fans can feel it in our first release. Each member had a lot of creative input so we hope our listeners can hear our distinct sounds come together in one cohesive product.
Working under the mentorship of Jay Park, what’s one piece of guidance he gave you that genuinely changed how you think about being artists, not just performers?
LOUIS: Jay Park has not only been a mentor as an artist, but as a big brother to all of us.
WOOJIN: He teaches us so many things about being artists and performers, but more than that, he teaches us how to stay grounded and prioritize being genuine people first. After all, performing is work done by people, and alongside people.
Saucin’ was written by all four of you together with Jay Park. What did that collaborative process look like in practice, and how did you decide which ideas represented the group best at this moment?
WOOJIN: We’ve all been making music and writing songs since we were young. And we continued that once we linked up, with guidance from our CEO. The ideas that best represents LNGSHOT is just being ourselves and authenticity.
OHYUL: All the ideas that we poured into Saucin’ and the entire album are all bits and pieces of ourselves that come together to create one product.
I love the line “we Michelin in this thang” — anyone have a favorite Michelin-starred restaurant in Seoul?
WOOJIN: No, we cannot afford it yet! Our favorite Michelin restaurant is the convenience store. Hopefully we can have real Michelin-starred food one day and make our lyrics come true.
Our favorite Michelin restaurant is the convenience store — WOOJIN
Before officially debuting in the spotlight, you released the self-produced 4SHOBOIZ mixtape on YouTube. What did this experience teach you about your own process and creativity?
WOOJIN: It just reassured everything that the CEO has told us and that we’ve been telling ourselves since day one. Just be ourselves and trust the process.
OHYUL: Seeing the response from our fans before we released it on DSP’s gave us more confidence that we can really do it our own way and make good music that everyone can enjoy.
Each of you has a defined role—leader, main rapper, creative, main vocalist—but how often do those roles blur when you’re actually in the studio or developing ideas together?
WOOJIN: We don’t strictly assign roles to each person. Usually, LOUIS will start by making a beat and we’ll all listen together giving feedback. From there we just sketch out melodies and lines based on what we feel at the moment. Then we try writing our own verses.
SHOT CALLERS is framed as a coming-of-age project. What parts of growing up—uncertainty, ambition, fear, excitement—do you feel most present in this EP?
WOOJIN: All those you mentioned are present in this EP. But more than that, we want this EP to show confidence and authenticity. We’ve all individually and collectively prepared so much for this EP that we are confident this EP best represents us as individuals but also as LNGSHOT.
You’ve talked about wanting to move beyond traditional K-pop frameworks. At this early stage, what does “authenticity” mean to you before the industry and audience start defining it for you?
OHYUL: Authenticity to us means to keep doing things our own way.
WOOJIN: We hope to continue making music we genuinely enjoy and establish our own signature sound. We want the public to know the moment they hear our track, they immediately know, “Ah, this is a LNGSHOT song.”
You’re debuting at a young age—one of you was born in 2010?!—while still figuring out who you are. What excites you most about what’s ahead, and what honestly scares you about the next chapter?
OHYUL: Although we are figuring out ourselves as our careers progress, as long as we remain humble and real, there is nothing to be scared about. We know there is a lot of pressure on us but as long as we keep an underdog mindset, I think we can overcome all pressure and fears.
We know there is a lot of pressure on us but as long as we keep an underdog mindset, I think we can overcome all pressure and fears — OHYUL
When someone listens to SHOT CALLERS for the first time, what do you hope they understand about who you are as individuals and as a group? How do you want to distinguish yourselves from those who’ve come before?
WOOJIN: We just want to show our music, our style, in our own way. As long as we continue to stay true to ourselves, people will get to understand us better. After all, there is only one OHYUL, one RYUL, one WOOJIN, one LOUIS and one LNGSHOT.
