Seventeen's Dino to debut alter ego 'Picheolin'

A teaser image for "Norabose (Let's Play)" of Picheolin, an alter ego of K-pop boy group Seventeen's member Dino / Courtesy of Pledis

Dino, the youngest member of K-pop boy band Seventeen, will drop his debut album as alter ego "Picheolin" on Monday, his agency Pledis Entertainment said.

"Gilboard," the first EP from the persona, reinterprets 1990s Korean street music culture through a blend of EDM trap, city pop and new jack swing genres, infusing the tracks with a distinctively Korean sense of "heung" — a term denoting spirited fun, according to the agency.

The EP's name combines the Chinese character for auspicious, "gil," and the English word "board" from the U.S. Billboard music chart. It refers to a tacit '90s music ranking based on how often street vendors selling bootleg cassette tapes blasted a song through large speakers to attract passersby. The grassroots ranking was considered a much more accurate indicator of a track's actual popularity than official broadcast rankings or album sales.

"Picheolin" is portrayed as an enthusiastic '90s-style producer and the CEO of a fictional K-pop agency, Bong. The character has been developed through Dino's various content and performances.

The lead track, "Norabose" (Let's Play), was produced by Hitchhiker, the former Rollercoaster member behind numerous K-pop hits, and pairs sleek, vibrant melodies with witty lyrics, Pledis said.

"I put a lot of thought into structuring the album with genres that could effectively convey Korea's retro vibe and full spectrum of human emotions — joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure," Dino said through the agency, adding that he aimed to express "not just simple enjoyment, but a range of life's emotions."