The Composer Who Told IU Not to Act? Now His Son’s in RIIZE—How It Became a Snowball Effect

Yoon Sang, legendary Korean composer and father of RIIZE’s Anton, recently revealed why he once opposed IU’s acting debut—and how that moment completely changed how he supports his children’s dreams.

Appearing on the YouTube show “Zzanhan Hyung Shin Dong-yeop” on May 5, Yoon Sang laughed as host Shin Dong-yeop brought up the past: “I heard you once told IU not to act, and I couldn’t help but laugh.”

Yoon Sang replied, “I’ve apologized to her so many times. Back then, I didn’t want to lose such a gem of the music world to acting. Singing and acting are totally different, and I was afraid she might get hurt. I almost made a huge mistake. I watched When Life Gives You Tangerines recently and she was phenomenal. I’ve learned a lot from younger artists—about how small-minded and selfish I was.”

That experience left a deep impression, one that changed his parenting forever. When his son Anton said he wanted to become a singer, Yoon Sang didn’t oppose him. “If it hadn’t been for IU,” he said, “I might’ve told Anton not to even dream about becoming a singer. But life has its own way of unfolding. Some people are just meant for it.”

He smiled as he added, “Anyone with kids knows this—you can’t stop them just by telling them no.”

Yoon Sang also shared how Anton convinced him. “He told me there’s no system in the world like Korea’s idol training system. He had already thought it all through. He said he had to start as soon as possible. Since he had spent over 10 years swimming competitively, I think he was anxious about learning to dance. He went through a lot during his two years as a trainee.”

Then came the surprise: Yoon Sang revealed that Anton’s younger brother—his second son—is now also dreaming of becoming an idol. “When the younger one said he wanted to try it too, Anton told him, ‘Shouldn’t you focus on studying instead?’” Yoon Sang laughed and continued, “So I told Anton, ‘You’re doing everything you want, but telling your brother he has to study? How do you think Junyoung feels? You owe it to him to give him at least a year to try.’”

While nothing has been confirmed, there are already rumors online that Junyoung has been spotted training at SM Entertainment. Could another K-pop star be on the rise?

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