Boys Planet
Boys Planet is a 2023 South Korean reality competition show created by Mnet. It aired on Mnet from February 2, 2023, to April 20, 2023, every Thursday at 20:50. Out of thousands of applicants, 98 contestants from various backgrounds were selected for the show. They were then equally split into two groups: -Group and -Group. In the finale on April 20, 2023, which was broadcast live, the show announced the final nine members who would debut as Zerobaseone.
The show serves as a sequel to Girls Planet 999, this time featuring all male contestants.
Concept and format
Boys Planet used a space theme: the two groups of contestants, -Group and -Group, acted as "planets" and the show's hosts were dubbed "Star Masters". Under the guidance of seven "Masters", contestants had to go through several rounds of evaluation, during which they had to show off their skills in singing, dancing, and rapping. After each round, the audience, known as "Star Creators", voted for their favorite trainees, determining the final debut line-up.While its predecessor, Girls Planet 999, limited applications to South Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan, the regions were expanded this season to allow for international participation.
Trainees were cast through two rounds of applications, the first lasting from December 11, 2021, to February 11, 2022, and the second from June 27, 2022, to August 21. The final contestants were chosen regardless of nationality, affiliation with an agency, or prior experience and professional history as a singer. Ultimately, 98 contestants were selected from 84 countries and regions, including South Korea, other parts of Asia, Europe, North and South America, and the Middle East, and 229 management agencies. The aim of the competition was to debut a new nine-member K-pop boy group consisting of trainees from all around the globe, making them the first 5th generation K-pop group.
Voting system
The Mnet Plus mobile app was the official platform used for voting and accessing content related to the contestants. Unlike Girls Planet 999, where viewers had to separately cast votes for each regional group, the votes were allocated to individual contestants and equally split between the two regional groups. The voting system was audited by Samil PwC, an external agency, to ensure transparency and fairness in voting-related processes from aggregation to the results.Promotion and broadcast
On December 11, 2021, during the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Mnet revealed that they would release a male version of Girls Planet 999 called Boys Planet in 2022. However, due to production issues, the air date was later pushed back to early 2023.On November 28, Mnet announced that it would unveil the first teaser video for Boys Planet at the 2022 MAMA Awards. The show's premiere date of February 2, 2023, was confirmed through a teaser photo released on December 21, 2022.
The theme song, "Here I Am" was released on December 29, 2022, accompanied by a performance of the song on M Countdown, revealing Sung Han-bin of K-Group and Zhang Hao of G-Group as the centers of their respective groups. The contestants' profiles were released the same day. The following day, a special preview episode titled Boys Planet: Star Is Born was broadcast, featuring dance masters Baek Koo-young and Choi Young-joon, former Wanna One members Yoon Ji-sung and Kim Jae-hwan, former Iz*One members Kwon Eun-bi and Choi Ye-na, as well as all current members of Kep1er.
The show was simultaneously broadcast through Mnet and TVING in South Korea; AbemaTV and Mnet Japan in Japan; AfreecaTV in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia; tvN Asia in Southeast Asia; and was available for streaming on Viki and Viu in selected regions, and through Mnet's YouTube channel, Mnet K-Pop, in the rest of the world.
On March 27, 2023, it was confirmed that the Boys Planet contestants would be part of the line-up at KCON Japan 2023 on May 12. A press conference for the remaining 28 contestants was held at CJ ENM Center on March 29. A special episode entitled Pajama Party in Planet Camp was aired on April 15, 2023, at 20:00 KST.
The finale was held live at Jamsil Arena on April 20, 2023, with an audience of about 6,000 people. Additionally, the episode was broadcast live on YouTube and at eleven CJ CGV theaters across South Korea, with tickets for the theatrical screenings selling out in two minutes.
Cast
Instead of having one host present the show for its entire run, it was presented by "Star Masters", which rotated with each round. Star Masters were usually experienced celebrities, who could give advice to and guide the trainees.The first round was presented by former NU'EST and Wanna One member Hwang Min-hyun as the first Star Master, with Sunmi temporarily joining him as the second Star Master in episode 2. Actor Yeo Jin-goo hosted a special episode titled 1st Survivor Announcement Ceremony as the third Star Master on February 24, 2023, as well as episode 5. Minhyuk of BtoB joined the show as the fourth Star Master for the second mission and as the host of the 2nd Survivor Announcement Ceremony. Shinee's Key joined the show as the fifth Star Master for the third mission. In episode 10, 2AM's Jo Kwon became the sixth Star Master for a special "Musical Star Test". Jeon Somi hosted the 3rd Survivor Announcement Ceremony as the seventh Star Master on April 7, 2023, and also appeared in episode 11. Soloist and former Wanna One member Kim Jae-hwan served as the eighth Star Master for the final mission. Hwang Min-hyun reprised his role as a Star Master for the show's finale.
The rest of the mentors, also dubbed as "masters", were:
- Dance Masters:
- * Baek Koo-young
- * Choi Young-joon
- * Lip J
- Vocal Masters:
- * Heo Sol-ji
- * Lee Seok-hoon
- * Lim Han-byul
- Rap Masters:
- * pH-1
- * Lil Boi
- * Bobby
Contestants
There were a total of 98 contestants participating in the competition. 49 were Korean, while the other 49 were from Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam.The English names of contestants are presented in accordance with the official website.
;Color key
| Final members of Zerobaseone | |
| Contestants eliminated in the final episode | |
| Contestants eliminated in the third elimination round | |
| Contestants eliminated in the second elimination round | |
| Contestants eliminated in the first elimination round | |
| Contestants that left the show |
Ranking
Top 9
The top 9 contestants were chosen through popularity online voting through the Mnet Plus mobile app and audience live voting, as shown at the end of each episode.;Color key:
| New Top 9 | |
| Returned to Top 9 |
| # | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 12 |
| 1 | Sung Han-bin | Sung Han-bin | Sung Han-bin | Sung Han-bin | Sung Han-bin | Sung Han-bin | Zhang Hao |
| 2 | Kim Ji-woong | Han Yu-jin | Seok Matthew | Han Yu-jin | Zhang Hao | Zhang Hao | Sung Han-bin |
| 3 | Han Yu-jin | Kim Ji-woong | Kim Ji-woong | Seok Matthew | Han Yu-jin | Kim Ji-woong | Seok Matthew |
| 4 | Lee Da-eul | Kim Gyu-vin | Han Yu-jin | Zhang Hao | Seok Matthew | Kim Tae-rae | Ricky |
| 5 | Kim Gyu-vin | Seok Matthew | Zhang Hao | Kim Ji-woong | Kim Ji-woong | Han Yu-jin | Park Gun-wook |
| 6 | Lee Hoe-taek | Lee Hoe-taek | Kim Gyu-vin | Kim Gyu-vin | Kim Gyu-vin | Keita | Kim Tae-rae |
| 7 | Zhang Hao | Zhang Hao | Lee Hoe-taek | Kim Tae-rae | Kim Tae-rae | Kim Gyu-vin | Kim Gyu-vin |
| 8 | Anthonny | Jay | Keita | Keita | Keita | Ricky | Kim Ji-woong |
| 9 | Kim Tae-rae | Lee Da-eul | Jay | Jay | Park Gun-wook | Seok Matthew | Han Yu-jin |
First voting period
The first voting period took place from February 2 to 24, 2023.Star Creators voted for nine boys regardless of their group. In total, 52,434,522 votes from 176 countries were recorded. Roughly 11.9 million of these votes were cast by Koreans, while 40.5 million came from global viewers.
Eliminations were based on individual total points.
;Color key
| Top 9 |
Second voting period
The second voting period took place from March 2 to 17, 2023.Star Creators voted for six boys regardless of their group. In total, 47,586,404 votes from 178 countries were recorded. Roughly 10.5 million of these votes were cast by Koreans, while 37 million came from global viewers.
Eliminations were based on individual total points.
;Color key
| Top 9 |
Third voting period
The third voting period took place from March 23 to April 7, 2023.Star Creators voted for three boys regardless of their group. In total, 31,750,293 votes from 182 countries were recorded. Roughly 6.35 million of these votes were cast by Koreans, while 25.4 million came from global viewers.
Eliminations were based on individual total points.
;Color key
| Top 9 |
Result
The finale was held and broadcast live on April 20, 2023. Hwang Min-hyun announced that the name of the newly formed boy group would be Zerobaseone; abbreviated as ZB1.Star Creators voted for one contestant regardless of his group. In total, 9,398,916 votes from 184 countries were recorded, comprising 8,177,501 votes cast from the first voting period, which took place from April 13 to April 19, 2023, and 1,221,415 votes cast during the second voting period, which was held live during the finale and where all votes were doubled.
| Rank | Name | Group | Points | Company |
| 1 | Zhang Hao | G | 1,998,154 | Yuehua Entertainment |
| 2 | Sung Han-bin | K | 1,888,414 | Studio Gl1de |
| 3 | Seok Matthew | G | 1,702,174 | MNH Entertainment |
| 4 | Ricky | G | 1,572,089 | Yuehua Entertainment |
| 5 | Park Gun-wook | K | 1,386,039 | Jellyfish Entertainment |
| 6 | Kim Tae-rae | K | 1,349,595 | Wake One Entertainment |
| 7 | Kim Gyu-vin | K | 1,346,105 | Yuehua Entertainment |
| 8 | Kim Ji-woong | K | 1,338,984 | Nest Management |
| 9 | Han Yu-jin | K | 1,196,622 | Yuehua Entertainment |
Post-Competition
The final group, Zerobaseone, is managed by WakeOne. The group debuted on July 10, 2023, with the EP Youth in the Shade.- Some contestants returned to their original groups:
- * Keita and Yeom Tae-gyun returned to Ciipher.
- ** Yeom Tae-gyun left the group on August 9, 2023.
- * Lee Hoe-taek returned to Pentagon. He made his solo debut on January 16, 2024, with his first mini album, Whu Is Me : Complex.
- * Seo Won, Jang Ji-ho, and Winnie returned to.
- ** Winnie left the group on January 28, 2024, and signed with Thai Entertainment Company APLAN in March 2024.
- ** Seo Won left the group on June 13, 2025. He joined PA Entertainment in January 2026.
- * Ma Jingxiang returned to Midsummer Cubs. He later announced in a hand-written letter in February 2024 that he was no longer pursuing a career of being an idol. However, he joined the survival show Project 7 where he ranked 1st and made his debut in the final group Close Your Eyes.
- * Lee Dong-yeol and Lee Hwan-hee returned to Up10tion.
- * Xuan Hao returned to DREAM4.
- * Kei returned to EDAMAME BEANS.
- **The group disbanded on August 13, 2023.
- * Feng Junlan returned to ECAT.
- * Jung Hwan-rok returned to withus.
- Some contestants left their companies or joined new ones:
- * Jay signed an exclusive contract with FM Entertainment.
- * Cha Woong-ki, Haruto, Anthonny, Oh Sungmin, Min and Park Min-seok left Wake One Entertainment.
- ** Haruto and Anthonny joined YY Entertainment.
- ** Park Minseok joined Beat Interactive.
- ** Min joined Thai Entertainment company APLAN in March 2024.
- * Lee Seunghwan joined Inyeon Entertainment and changed his stage name to ONLEE.
- * Park Ji-hoo and Han Seo-bin left H1ghr Music.
- ** Park Ji-hoo joined Wake One Entertainment.
- * Lee Ye-dam left LM Entertainment.
- * Brian left Yuehua Entertainment and joined FNC Entertainment.
- * Jung Min-gyu left CABIN74 and signed with Fantagio.
- * Lim Jun-seo and Lee Da-eul left 143 Entertainment.
- * Dang Hong Hai left Fantagio and joined Dongyo Entertainment.
- * Cong joined Mustation Entertainment and changed his stage name to "CongB".
- * Lee Dong-yeol and Lee Hwan-hee left TOP Media.
- ** Both Lee Dong-yeol and Lee Hwan-hee joined PA Entertainment.
- * Krystian joined Tencent Music Entertainment.
- * Park Hyunbeen left Jellyfish Ent. He later joined Mystic Story.
- * Wang Yanhong left ASE Family.
- *Kei left Stardust Promotion. He later joined BMSG.
- * Itsuki left MLD Entertainment.
- * Yuto joined YY Entertainment.
- Some contestants will debut or debuted in new boy groups or released music as solo artists:
- * Jay debuted as a soloist on October 17, 2023, with the mini album Late Night.
- * Jay, Yoon Jong-woo, Oh Sung-min, Lee Ye-dam and Yeom Tae-gyun became members of new project group One Pact under Armada Entertainment and debuted November 30, 2023.
- * Park Hanbin, Keita, Lee Jeong-hyeon, Yoo Seung-eon, Mun Jung-hyun, Park Ji-hoo and Ji Yun-seo were due to debut in Jellyfish's boy group, Blit in 2023. On August 9, 2023, Jellyfish Entertainment renamed the group to Evnne. They debuted with the EP 'Target: Me' with the title track 'Trouble' on September 19, 2023.
- * Kum Jun-hyeon, Choi Woo-jin, Kim Min-seoung and Hong Keon-hee pre-debuted in Redstart ENM's boy group Tiot on August 28, 2023. The group released a pre-debut single titled "Undefeated", a remake of the same song by Click-B, on August 23, 2023. They are set to officially debut on April 22, 2024.
- * Na Kamden, Brian and Choi Jiho debuted in FNC Entertainment's new 7-member boy group, Ampers&One on November 15, 2023, with their first single album Ampersand One.
- * Wang Zihao debuted as a solo artist on August 18, 2023, under the stage name "Le'v" with the EP and single titled "A.I.BAE".
- * Hiroto was slated to debut in RBW's new boy group NXD, they were set to debut in November 2023, though the debut was postponed. On October 31, 2024, RBW announced that Hiroto had departed from NXD.
- * Haruto, Takuto, Anthonny and Yuto debuted in YY's new boy group, TOZ, with their first mini album "Flare" on September 27, 2023.
- * Chen Kuanjui, Wumuti and Haru along with new teammate Hyun debuted as the kpop group Xlov on January 7, 2025, with their first single album I'mma Be.
- * Lee Seunghwan as ONLEE debuted on the September 9, 2023, with the song "Be With You".
- * Zhang Shuaibo released a single titled "With You" on May 16, 2023.
- * Dang Hong Hai became a member of NEWKIES, a trainee group within Dongyo Entertainment, and is expected to make his debut.
- * Cong as CongB released his pre-debut song "Em đợi anh lâu chưa ?" on December 16, 2023. He will reportedly make his solo debut in December 2025 with his first EP "CongBDay"
- * Lee Dongyeol and Lee Hwan-hee will make their solo debuts before the end of 2023.
- * Park Hyunbeen will make his debut in Mystic Story's new group ARrC under the new stage name Hyunmin.
- * Jeong I-chan, who already debuted as a soloist prior to the airing of the show, released his second solo single album titled Strange on July 12, 2023.
- * Park Minseok joined Beat Interactive's trainee boy group temporarily named New Beat, and later renamed to HinLove.
- * Hojin will debut sometime in 2024 in Japanese-Korean boy group KJRGL, formerly known as the pre-debut trainee group House Of Trainees.
- * Qiu Shengyang debuted in Tpop's new boy group, Opensi on June 26, 2023, with the single "A Little Love".
- * Chen Yugeng will debut as a soloist on August 15, 2023, with the EP List.
- Some contestants left the idol industry or further expanded their careers in the acting/entertainment industry:
- * Lee Hoe-taek joined the mentor cast for the Chinese-Korean survival show Starlight Boys in which fellow contestants Cong and Lee Daeul competed in.
- * Cha Woong-ki since leaving WakeOne and becoming an independent idol has been confirmed to appear in Hwacha's novel drama adaptation Love For Loves Sake, filming commenced in Autumn of 2023 and aired Jan 24, 2024 – Feb 1, 2024. He is also confirmed to appear as an actor in soloist iaaa's MV for her song "Our Season", due to be released on April 7, 2024.
- * Jung Min-gyu left the idol industry to continue his career as an actor. He will participate as an actor in the BL reality show Boy's Voice.
- * Chen Jianyu will continue his acting career by starring as Prince Shen Lan in C-Drama 君面似桃花.
- * Bak Do-ha was officially announced as an actor under Cube Entertainment with an Actor Profile added to their website on September 26, 2023.
- * Min and Winnie since joining APLAN Entertainment have been confirmed to guest star in Thai BL drama "Battle of the Writers". They later started training to become two members of Aplan's first as-yet unnamed Tpop group.
- * Jeon Ho-young left the idol industry to continue his career as an actor under the stage name Nam Dan-woo under Oui Entertainment.
- Some contestants participated in other survival shows:
- * Jay Chang, Wumuti and Lee Hwanhee participated in Korean vocal survival show Build Up: Vocal Boy Group Survival. Hwanhee was later eliminated, whilst Wumuti and Jay Chang made it to the final where they joined teams Waterfire and HunMinJayBit respectively. Jay went on to win the show in team HunMinJayBit alongside teammates Minseo, Mont's Bitsaeon, and CIX' Seunghun, and the team will rebrand and debut as B.D.U, a 2-year project group. Due to high interest post-show, it was announced that team Waterfire would also debut as a project group with Wumuti joining teammates Choi Suhwan, Kang Hayoon, and UP10TION's Sunyoul for a May 2024 debut
- * Cha Woong-ki appeared on the June 25, 2023, broadcast of King of Mask Singer.
- * Cha Woong-ki and Zhang Shuaibo participated in the Korean survival show Universe League. Both went on to debut in the winning group AHOF under F&F Entertainment, after ranking in 8th and 3rd place, respectively.
- * Seo Won, Cai Jinxin, Dang Honghai, Krystian, and Xuan Hao participated in Korean survival show Boys II Planet. Cai Jinxin, Krystian, and Xuan Hao were all eliminated in the second episode after ranking 81st, 86th, and 82nd respectively, and Seo Won and Dang Honghai were both eliminated in the eighth episode after ranking 39th and 46th respectively.
- ** Dang Honghai will be participating in the Boys II Planet spin-off show Planet C: Home Race. He was eliminated in the final episode, after ranking 9th.
- * Ollie, Chen Liang, Wang Yanhong and Lin Shiyuan appeared as contestants on Youku & TVB's Hong Kong survival show Asia Super Young.. Ollie and Chen Liang went onto debut in the winning group Loong9 under Yuehua Entertainment, in 1st and 9th place, respectively.
- * Ma Jingxiang, Jang Yeojun, and Jung Seyun participated on Korean survival show Project 7. Ma Jingxiang and Jang Yeojun went onto debut in the winning group Close Your Eyes under Uncore, in 1st and 6th place, respectively.
- * Cai Jinxin participated in Tencent Video and Wajijwa Entertainment's show The Next Stage 2023. He was eliminated on episode 3.
- * Lee Yedam participated in dance survival show Show King Night. He was later eliminated.
- * Cong and Lee Daeul participated in the Chinese-Korean survival show Starlight Boys in which fellow contestant Lee Hoe-taek joined the mentor cast. Cong was eliminated in the final round, while Lee Daeul placed 9th and joined the final debut group "Polarix".
- * Cong participated in the Vietnamese survival show . He was eliminated in the final round but received the Best Performer Award.
- * Yang Jun participated in Tencent Video and Wajijwa Entertainment's show My Youth. He was eliminated on episode 8.
- * Dong Dong and Feng Junlan participated in Chuang Asia: Season 2. Feng Junlan was eliminated in the sixth episode after ranking 49th, and Dong Dong was eliminated in the final episode after ranking 11th.
- * Osuke will participate in the Japanese survival show Produce 101 Japan Shinsekai.
- * Han Yuseop participated in the Korean survival show Make Mate 1, with fellow contestant Lee Hoe-taek being part of the special judge cast. Han Yuseop ended the show in 7th place and debuted in the group Nouera on February 26, 2025.
- * Hyo was a contestant on SBS's Korean survival show B:My Boys, with fellow contestant Lee Hoe-taek being part of the master cast. Hyo is set to debut as a member the winning group YUHZ under Pinnacle Entertainment, after ranking 1st place on the show.