ㅤ ▎ ❶ ﹕ TRIGGER WARNINGS.
Extremely short mentions of abuse ❪ average K-Pop labels shenanigans unfortunately... ❫ where the symbol "⚠️" is present.

ㅤ ▎ ❷ ﹕ LATEST UPDATE.
MARCH 27, 2025.

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Niveau seuil ❪ Korean: 니보새일; RR: Nibosaeil; Japanese: ニボセイユ; romanized: Niboseiyu; stylized in lowercase ❫ is a co-ed group based in South Korea and Japan formed through Mnet's reality competition program Seiyuu Academy 1 and currently co-managed by SM Entertainment and avex group. The group consists of twelve members: Oscar Lee, Sung Jun-soo, Hannah Yuxin Chen, Nam Kyu-hyung, Jin Si-eun, Park Ju-no, Chen Yuting, Taeyang, Jang Hui-jun, Yoon Ji-hyeon Alice, Son Ye-eun and Choi Min-gyu.

The group debuted on October 1, 2023 with their first studio album On The Borderline, which also served as a soundtrack album for the homonymous animated movie produced by HARMONIA STUDIOS. Niveau seuil operates both as an idol unit and an ensemble of actors and voice actors, following the premise of the show that formed the group, under the management of voice talent management firm 81 Produce. They will be active for two years and six months, although a potential contract renewal is still under discussion.

Group logo

ORIGIN ꜜ Seoul, South Korea
GENRES ꜜ K-Pop · J-Pop · house · dance
YEARS ACTIVE ꜜ 2023-present
LABELS ꜜ SM Entertainment · avex group

MEMBERS ꜜ Oscar Lee · Sung Jun-soo · Hannah Yuxin Chen · Nam Kyu-hyung · Jin Si-eun · Park Ju-no · Chen Yuting · Taeyang · Jang Hui-jun · Yoon Ji-hyeon Alice · Son Ye-eun · Choi Min-gyu

WEBSITE ꜜ niveauseuil.jp

Coming from the French expression for 'threshold level', niveau seuil is a narrative device and one of the key features of fantastique literature ❪ which should not be confused for fantasy fiction, as it is a literary genre on its own ❫. It specifically refers to the moment where the borders between reality and dream are completely nullified, to the point the characters question if what has just happened was due to realistic factors or not, without being able to find the definitive answer.

ㅤ ▎ ❶ ﹕ Pre-debut; formation through Seiyuu Academy 1 and other activities

Niveau seuil was formed through the Mnet reality survival show Seiyuu Academy 1. The show brought 39 contestants from various countries outside Japan such as South Korea, China, the United States, Australia, Portugal, Italy, Norway and Sweden, under the condition they couldn't speak fluent Japanese ❪ to increase the difficulty in learning the language ❫ and for them to have a career in the entertainment industry as idols or actors prior to the show's airing.

Prior to Seiyuu Academy 1, Jin Si-eun, Park Ju-no and Choi Min-gyu were active as actors under the theatre company AmaRanTh, starting in 2017. They are set to resume their activities with the company after the group's disbandment or the end of their first contract. Taeyang was a freelance actor ❪ formerly under an undisclosed company ❫ debuting as a support role in the 2021 Netflix drama Strings Attached, along with fellow Seiyuu Academy 1 contestants Noh Seok-hoon and Lee Si-yun.

Yoon Ji-hyeon Alice graduated from School of Performing Arts Seoul and was a trainee under Jellyfish Entertainment before landing a cameo role in The Idolmaster KR in 2017. Nam Kyu-hyung was a member of the boy group WONDERLAND under TYU Entertainment from 2019 to 2021; he was also the voice provider for the VOCALOID6 vocal synth Joo¹, whereas fellow Niveau seuil member Sung Jun-soo voiced its counterpart, Myu².

Chen Yuting debuted as a member of the girl group AMARENA under RBW on February 19, 2020 along with fellow Seiyuu Academy 1 contestants Monday Han and Elvira Hanamori; she is set to resume her activities with the group after the end of Niveau seuil's first contract.

Oscar Lee and Jang Hui-jun, currently independent, were originally members of the boy group AUTOMATA under SIGMA Corp., along with fellow Seiyuu Academy 1 contestants Ahn Jun-yong, Jeong Samuel and Eden Seok from 2020 until their disbandment in 2023. ⚠️ It was later revealed that all the members had filed a lawsuit against the label prior to the show's airing due to unfair working conditions, citing frequent physical restraint and violence as "discipline methods", prolonged starvation, contract violations in terms of wages and other financial compensations and neglect of visa paperwork for the foreign members amongst other reasons.

Son Ye-eun was a member of the girl group NGC 292 under Woollim Entertainment from 2020 until their disbandment in 2022 due to internal conflicts.. Hannah Yuxin Chen debuted as a soloist under Sony Music Entertainment China in 2020.

ㅤ ▎ ❷ ﹕ 2023: Post-Seiyuu Academy 1; debut with On The Borderline; members on hiatus, individual activities

Prior to the group's official debut, Niveau seuil's all-male unit, then known as Charger, released the special single One and Only as a collaboration with the Pokémon franchise on July 12; on August 23 the all-female unit, then known as Switch, also released the single "We Go", included in the soundtrack for the Korean dub of the anime Pokémon Horizons: The Series alongside 9001's "By Your Side". The release didn't feature member Chen Yuting.

After nearly two months of radio silence, on September 1, SM Entertainment announced Niveau seuil would debut on October 1 with the studio album On The Borderline; the album sold over a 300,000 copies in the first week of its release, earning the third most first-week sales of a rookie group's debut album in 2023. On the same date, Niveau seuil released the homonymous animated movie in collaboration with HARMONIA STUDIOS and the special drama CD Yuuji's memOir, the latter focusing on the secondary characters of the movie aforementioned. The all-female unit ❪ except for Chen Yuting ❫ later released the Japanese single "Zoom Zoom" as the soundtrack for the anime BEYBLADE X on October 6.

The promotions for the album prematurely ended on October 14 with the group's last stage on Show! Music Core due to members Sung Jun-soo, Park Ju-no and Chen Yuting going on hiatus for personal reasons; it was later revealed the three members would be featured in Spike Chunsoft's new videogame The Move : Street in 2024, with Chen Yuting voicing the main character, Aoba ❪ Wing in the international versions ❫.

During their debut showcase, "niveau seuil: The Threshold Level", Niveau seuil announced they would be allowed to extend their group contract only after earning five music show wins by the end of their original one; the group also revealed their fandom name, "Venus", supposedly inspired by Merimée's La Venus D'Ille.

ㅤ ▎ ❸ ﹕ 2024: Japanese debut; Before the Starting Line

As part of their collaboration with Spike Chunsoft for their videogame The Move : Street, several Niveau seuil members were featured in the game's soundtrack album: Chen Yuting, the voice actress for the main character, released the solo track "DA-DA-DANCE!", while the song "Shall we Dance?" featured all the male members of the group.

On June 13, Niveau seuil released their debut Japanese single album Chō (蝶). Both the main tracks, "MANIA ~ overdose of love" and "DOMINO ~ butterfly effect", were featured on the group's short movie Metamorphosis, produced in collaboration with HARMONIA STUDIOS. The single also featured the Japanese version of "Now or Never", Niveau seuil's debut track.

SM Entertainment announced the group would come back in the third quarter of the year with their first EP and its homonymous movie, both meant to be a continuation and conclusion to their first release On The Borderline; it was later reported that the respective album would be titled Before the Starting Line and preceded with a pre-release song titled "We Must Love" on July 31 before the final release on August 7. The EP's lead single "BIBORA" won the group's first music show win on Show! Music Core on August 10.

ㅤ ▎ ❹ ﹕ 2025-present: Group re-organization; METAFICTION

SM Entertainment announced a re-organization of Niveau seuil, as per request of the co-leaders Nam Kyu-hyung and Jang Hui-jun, to allow better promotions for the group without overworking the members busy with individual schedules: starting from January 1, 2025, the group will promote with a rotational lineup and temporary sub-units.

On January 1, Niveau seuil also announced their first Japanese concept album, METAFICTION (メタフィクション), slated for March 1. The lineup for the release consisted of Hannah Yuxin Chen, Nam Kyu-hyung, Chen Yuting, Taeyang, Jang Hui-jun, Yoon Ji-hyeon Alice and Son Ye-eun. The album debuted at number two on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart and eventually reached its peak at number one during March's second week.

━ ㅤ Oscar Lee ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ vocalist
━ ㅤ Sung Jun-soo ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ vocalist
━ ㅤ Hannah Yuxin Chen ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ rapper, vocalist
━ ㅤ Nam Kyu-hyung ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ leader, rapper, vocalist
━ ㅤ Jin Si-eun ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ vocalist
━ ㅤ Park Ju-no ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ vocalist, rapper
━ ㅤ Chen Yuting ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ vocalist
━ ㅤ Taeyang ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ vocalist, rapper
━ ㅤ Jang Hui-jun ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ sub-leader, vocalist
━ ㅤ Yoon Ji-hyeon Alice ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ vocalist
━ ㅤ Son Ye-eun ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ vocalist
━ ㅤ Choi Min-gyu ｡ᐟ ݁ ˖ rapper, vocalist

The main idea behind Niveau seuil's conception is to represent the state of uncertainty experienced by the members, as they're giving themselves a second chance in the entertainment industry, but also other young adults, speaking in broader terms, as they deal with greater responsibilities with the passing of time. The concept was first assigned to the group by the Seiyuu Academy 1 production team during the final evaluation, aimed at resuming the students' experience in the studio through a collective acting and musical performance.

Musically, the group opts for a consistent assortment of genres, choosing from various house music subgenres for their main tracks and leaving room for other electronic genres such as synthwave, future bass and electropop, as well as various R&B subgenres, in their secondary releases. Although not limited to the selection aforementioned, especially considering how their Japanese discography dabbles in other genres, the group's sound is still cohesive throughout all releases, carefully crafted in order to create a "hypnotizing experience that stimulates all senses at once".

ㅤ ▎ ❶ ﹕ Studio albums

━ ㅤ On The Borderline (2023)
━ ㅤ METAFICTION (メタフィクション) (2025)

ㅤ ▎ ❷ ﹕ Extended plays

━ ㅤ Before the Starting Line (2024)

ㅤ ▎ ❸ ﹕ Single albums

━ ㅤ Chō (蝶) (2024)

ㅤ ▎ ❹ ﹕ Promotional singles

━ ㅤ "One and Only" (2023)

ㅤ ▎ ❺ ﹕ Soundtrack appearances

━ ㅤ "Pokémon OST (2023)" ("We Go") (2023)
━ ㅤ "Zoom Zoom" (2023)
━ ㅤ "The Move : Street" ("DA-DA-DANCE!", "Shall We Dance") (2024)

ㅤ ▎ ❶ ﹕ Original Video Animation (OVA)

2023

━ ㅤ On The Borderline

2024

━ ㅤ Metamorphosis
━ ㅤ Before the Starting Line

2025

━ ㅤ METAFICTION

ㅤ ▎ ❷ ﹕ Drama CDs

2023

━ ㅤ Yuuji's memOir

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𓍢ִ໋🫀⃝FEVEN's Notes ◌ ◌ ◌ This was supposed to come out tomorrow at midnight but I'm so impatient to get it out and forget about it... Especially since I'm not particularly convinced by this one page but oh well! Do I look like I give a fuck. Nuh uh. Not at this point in time.

The main thing is that most Wikipedia pages on here are written with the premise of the groups in question being extremely popular, leading to them having more accolades and stories to tell. niveau seuil? Eh. They're mid-tier in a nugu world, so there's not much one can say about them... There'll be other occasions for that!

Anyways! If you're a late reader this note won't make sense to you, but I can say we're finally done with the more generic updates! I wonder what will come next... Haha... 😇 

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