The Origin – A, B, Or What? () is a 2022 survival program created by IST Entertainment in association with its parent company, Kakao Entertainment, and Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It aired on MBN, Kakao TV and 1theK YouTube channel on March 19, 2022, every Saturday at 18:00 (KST) timeslot for eight episodes. In the finale on May 7, 2022, the show announced the final 7 members who would debut as ATBO.
Background and concept On February 6, it was reported that IST Entertainment, home to male idol groups Victon and The Boyz as well as female idol group Apink and Weeekly, is making their first boy group under the new company name in the first half of the year.
On February 10, It was announced that IST will be forming their boy group under a survival program titled, The Origin – A, B, Or What?. It will be jointly produced with Kakao Entertainment and Sony Music Solutions. The show will consist of 13 contestants.
On February 22, IST announced that the premiere date was postponed from February 26 to March 19 due to some trainees testing positive for COVID-19.
Cast The show is presented by Park Seon-young. Meanwhile, the judges, dubbed as "balancers", are:
Jay B Minzy Sungkyu Kwak Yoon-young Hwang Kyu-hong Guests The Boyz (Episode 3) Jay Park (Special Balancer, Episode 6–7) Apink's Bomi, Hayoung (Special Balancer, Episode 6–7) Victon's Sejun, Subin (Special Balancer, Episode 6–7)
Contestants Color key: Final members of ATBØ Eliminated in the final episode Eliminated in Survival Balance Eliminated in PR Balance
13 contestantsJeong Seunghwan () Oh Junseok ()Seok Rakwon () Ryu Junmin ()Bae Hyunjun ()Yang Donghwa () Kim Yeonkyu () Choi Jinwook ()Jeong Junho () Kim Minseo () Park Jaehoon ()Won Bin ()Kang Daehyun ()
Profile The ages of all contestants are presented in accordance with the international age system as of Episode 1 (March 19, 2022).
Name Hangul Birth date Training period Notes Jeong Jun-ho July 11, 2002 (age 19) 2 years 2 months Kim Min-seo January 11, 2003 (age 19) 2 years 8 months Oh Jun-seok March 3, 2003 (age 19) 3 years Ryu Jun-min April 5, 2003 (age 18) 2 years Choi Jin-wook May 20, 2003 (age 18) 2 years 8 months Bae Hyun-jun June 6, 2003 (age 18) 2 years Kang Dae-hyun July 15, 2003 (age 18) 2 years 4 months Yang Dong-hwa August 19, 2003 (age 18) 2 years 9 months Seok Rak-won November 14, 2003 (age 18) 2 years 10 months Jeong Seung-hwan January 24, 2004 (age 18) A year 9 months Kim Yeon-kyu May 3, 2004 (age 17) 11 months Won Bin July 1, 2004 (age 17) 2 years 5 months Park Jae-hoon July 20, 2005 (age 16) 5 months
Missions PR Balance Teams were formed prior Episode 1. There are two rounds to this mission.
The Death participant from the losing team will be eliminated. Both teams' Aces received the benefit to lead and form the teams for the next mission.
Color key
Winning team
Leader
Ace
Death
Leader & Ace PR Balance (episode 1–2)Round 1 Round 2TeamVotesContestantsPerformancePerformanceOrderOriginal artist(s)SongOrderOriginal artist(s)Song1BTS"Mic Drop"2 BM"13IVI"Team A 118 (52.68%)Choi Jinwook Park JaehoonRyu JunminSeok RakwonWon BinYang Donghwa2Ateez"Hala-Hala"1GD & TOP"Zutter"Team B 106 (47.32%)Bae HyunjunJeong JunhoJeong SeunghwanKang DaehyunKim MinseoKim YeonkyuOh Junseok
Concept Balance Teams were formed in Episode 2.
The losing team, with the exception of the Ace, and the Death participant of the winning team will be eliminated.
Like the previous round, the selected Aces also automatically led and formed the new teams for the next round.
Color key
Winning team
Leader
Ace
Death Concept Balance (episode 3–4) Performance Team Votes ContestantsOriginal artist(s)SongThe Boyz"The Stealer"Team A 63 (55.26%) Choi JinwookJeong JunhoKim YeonkyuOh Junseok Won BinSeok Rakwon"Thrill Ride"Team B 51 (44.74%)Bae HyunjunJeong SeunghwanKim MinseoPark JaehoonRyu JunminYang Donghwa The ace card of the losing team exchange fates with the death card of the winning team making Ryu Junmin part of the saved members and Won Bin on the run for elimination.
Survival Balance This mission was given to eliminated contestants in order to reverse their elimination. The participants were given 30 minutes by the Balancers to prepare a performance.
The chosen two Death contestants by the Balancers will be fully removed from the show.
Color key
Death Survival Balance (episode 4–5)ContestantsKim MinseoBae HyunjunWon BinPark JaehoonYang DonghwaJeong Seunghwan
Final Balance Battle Round Teams were formed in Episode 5. Performances were shown on Episode 5. Results were revealed on Episode 7.
The winning team will receive 100 points for five members. Each Ace will receive a bonus of 100 points, giving the victorious team's Ace total of 200 points. The winning team's Death trainee will earn no points, while the losing team's Death trainee will incur a 100-point deduction, putting them at a disadvantage.
Color key
Winning team
Leader
Ace
Death Battle Round (Episode 6)PerformanceTeamVotesContestantsOriginal artist(s)Song Got7 "Hard Carry"Team A71 (34.8%)Choi JinwookJeong JunhoKim MinseoOh JunseokRyu Junmin Infinite "BTD (Before the Dawn)" Team B 133 (65.2%)Bae HyunjunJeong SeunghwanKim YeonkyuSeo RakwonYang Donghwa
Origin Round In this round, the live audiences voted for each trainee individually. They can vote for multiple trainees, but they cannot vote for the same trainee multiple times. Each Balancer selects which trainees receive the Ace card, which is worth 50 points, and the Death card, which deducts 50 points.
Origin Round (Episode 8) Performance Points ContestantsVotesAce cards"Run"11700Bae Hyunjun——Choi JinwookJeong Junho15903Jeong Seunghwan——Kim MinseoKim Yeonkyu14104Oh Junseok1380 0Ryu Junmin13202Seo Rakwon——Yang Donghwa
points were not shown for the eliminated and final two members (Yang Donghwa and Kim Yeonkyu).
Episodes
Episode 1 (March 19, 2022) The show opened up with a performance of "Run", which is the signal song by all 13 contestants.YouTube: (THE ORIGIN) EP.01｜밸런스 서바이벌 오디션 THE ORIGIN - A, B, Or What?｜2022.03.19 The judges, known as balancers, were then introduced. The concept of the show was then explained by the MC Park Seon-young. It was also revealed that one member of the losing team will be eliminated.
For the first round, called the PR balance round, Team A performed "Mic Drop" by BTS while Team B performed "Hala Hala" by Ateez. Following each team's performance, the balancers voted for the best (Ace) and worst contestant (Death) of each team. The on-site audience then also voted for the best team performance with Team B winning the on-site voting. However, the final result will be decided through a combined points system.
Episode 2 (March 26, 2022)
Episode 3 (April 2, 2022)
Episode 4 (April 10, 2022)
Episode 5 (April 16, 2022)
Episode 6 (April 23, 2022)
Episode 7 (April 30, 2022) Team B wins the first round of the final balance game and the members receive 100 points, except Jeong Seung-hwan, who gets the Death card and receives no points, and Yang Dong-hwa, who is chosen as the Ace and thus receives 200 points. In Team A, Oh Jun-seok receives 100 points as the Ace of his group, while Jun-ho receives minus 100 points as the Balancers deems him the most unconvincing. Then, the trainees are given a day off and are taken to a vacation house in the mountains, where they play games and enjoy a barbecue party. In the evening, they are joined by Jay Park, who gives them words of advice over dinner; the trainees conclude the night watching video messages they have previously recorded for each other.
Episode 8 (May 7, 2022)
Ranking The first five members were chosen from the final stage points, Ace and Death card points, and Balancers' assessment. The last two members were chosen by the Balancers. Episode 8#NamePoints1 Jeong Seung-hwan 1,7402 Oh Jun-seok 1,7103 Seok Rak-won 1,5204 Ryu Jun-min 1,3805 Bae Hyun-jun 1,2706 Yang Dong-hwa points were not shown7 Kim Yeon-kyu points were not shown
Discography Singles Title Year Album "Run" 2022
Ratings In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
+ Average TV viewership ratings Original broadcast date Average audience share Nielsen Korea(Nationwide) 1 March 19, 2022 0.293% 2 March 26, 2022 0.249% 3 April 2, 2022 0.211% 4 April 9, 2022 5 April 16, 2022 6 April 23, 2022 0.191% 7 April 30, 2022 8 May 7, 2022 0.145%
Aftermath On June 13, 2022, IST Entertainment announced that Yang Donghwa would not be debuting as a member of ATBO after his past misconduct, when he was a student surfaced online.@THEORIGIN_AorB on Twitter (June 13, 2022)Soompi: IST Entertainment Announces Yang Donghwa Will No Longer Debut With ATBO On June 17, 2022, IST Entertainment announced that Won Bin who is originally eliminated in ep 5, would be debuting with ATBO in replacement of Donghwa.THE ORIGIN - A, B, Or What? on Twitter: [NOTICE] 안녕하세요. IST엔터테인먼트입니다. (June 17, 2022)Soompi: IST Entertainment Announces ATBO Will Debut As A 7-Member Group This Summer With Won Bin ATBO made their official debut on July 27. On May 6, 2024, IST Entertainment announced Seok Rakwon's departure from the Group for health reasons.Soompi: ATBO Announces Seok Rakwon's Departure From Group
Some trainees joined new agencies: Kang Dae-hyun joined Urban Works Media before transferring to DSP Media and subsequently to RBW, expecting to debut in RBW's new boy group in October 2023.. Jeong Jun-ho joined NOMAD Entertainment. Yang Dong-hwa joined Bluedot Entertainment. Some trainees opened social media accounts: Choi Jin-wook opened a personal Instagram account & Tiktok. Kang Dae-hyun opened a personal Instagram account. Some trainees participated in other survival shows: Kang Dae-hyun to participate in MBC's "Fantasy Boys". Kim Min-seo participate in Mnet's "Build Up : Vocal Boy Group Survivor". Yang Dong-hwa competed on the South Korean-Chinese survival show Starlight Boys. He ranked 8th on the show making the lineup for the group POLARIX. Some trainees will debut or debuted in new boy groups or released music as solo artists: Kang Dae-hyun will debut in RBW's new boy group in October 2023. Jeong Jun-ho debuted as a member of boy group NOMAD on February 28, 2024 under NOMAD Entertainment. Yang Dong-hwa debuted as a soloist on February 18, 2024 under Bluedot Entertainment. He debuted as a member POLARIX on May 28, 2025. Kim Min-seo debuted as a member of boy Project group B.D.U on June 26, 2024". B.D.U officially disbanded on March 23, 2026. Park Jae-hoon returned to IST Entertainment and debuted as a member of the Kpop boy group TUNEXX on March 3, 2026.
Notes
References