HOLLAND (Korean: 홀랜드), born Go Tae Seob (Korean: 고태섭) on March 4, 1996 in Daegu, South Korea, is the first openly gay K-pop idol to debut. Same-sex love is rarely addressed in K-pop and South Korea’s entertainment industry, making Holland’s debut widely anticipated.

Though HOLLAND has no large agency backing and was relatively unknown in the K-pop scene prior to releasing his debut single, he caught the attention of numerous K-pop fans who have been eager to see more diversity and LGBTQ+ representation in the Korean idol industry. Fans tuned in to see the first publicly “out” Korean idol debut.

HOLLAND debuted on the January 21st of 2018, with his hit single “Neverland.” The track’s MV amassed more than 700,000 views within 24 hours of its release. The song also spurred the worldwide trending hashtag #HollandDebutDay on Twitter.