Bang Chan (방찬 bangchan) was born on October 3, 1997 (age 28) in Seoul, South Korea. He is the leader of the boy group Stray Kids, as well as a producer, vocalist, rapper and dancer.[4]
For facts about Bang Chan's personal life, click here.
Pre-debut
Bang Chan moved to Sydney at a young age. In 2010 at thirteen years old, he passed a local audition in Australia for JYP Entertainment and moved by himself to South Korea to train. He joined JYPE on April 11, 2011, making him the first member of the future lineup.[5] He trained for seven years, watching his trainee friends debut without him. During this period, he went by the stage name "Chris".
In late 2016, Bang Chan formed a hip-hop crew called 3RACHA with trainees Han Jisung ("J.ONE") and Seo Changbin ("SPEARB"), where he used the stage name "CB97". Together, they uploaded self-composed mixtapes and extended plays on SoundCloud throughout 2017.
Bang Chan was officially revealed by the company on October 11, 2017 for his participation in the upcoming survival show Stray Kids[6] and introduced with the roles "Producing", "Vocal", "Rap", and "Dance" on the show. He was also presented as the leader of the "Male Group Project", as he formed the lineup himself with J.Y. Park. On the final episode of the show on December 19, it was confirmed that Bang Chan would debut as the leader of the boy group Stray Kids.
2018-present: Stray Kids
On March 26, 2018, Bang Chan debuted with the mini album I am NOT as the leader, producer, lead dancer and lead vocalist of Stray Kids.[7]
On March 23, 2020, he released a dance cover of "My House" by 2PM, as part of the SKZ-PLAYER series.
On May 30, 2020, he released the self composed song "i hate to admit" as part of the SKZ-RECORD series.
On December 21, 2022, Bang Chan co-wrote his original solo song "Connected" for the best album SKZ-REPLAY.
On February 3, 2023, Bang Chan was promoted as a regular member of KOMCA.[8]
On December 13, 2024, Bang Chan participated in writing, composing and arranging his original solo song "Railway" for Stray Kids' album HOP.
On January 16, 2025, it was announced that Bang Chan became an ambassador for Fendi.[9] Following this, on November 3, 2025, he collaborated with the brand on the song "Roman Empire", for which he was credited with writing, composing, and producing.[10] The song was later released on November 5, 2025, as part of the SKZ-RECORD series.
With time, Bang Chan's role evolved to be focused more on vocals than rap, to make up for Woojin's departure. He does a lot of harmonies and backup vocals.
The following sections only document Bang Chan's solo activities. Visit his unit pages to find out about activities with other members.
I have learnt that I am nothing without the Kids. It might sound cringey. I have also learnt that I should try to love myself a bit more. I have been trying, but it doesn't work that well, but the Kids have been trying to persuade me to, [saying] 'You've got to take care of yourself as well.' But it doesn't work that well!
The more you chase after one specific thing, the harder it gets. But if you just work in the present like hard, the achievements that you once thought of come naturally. I think that's kind of where we're at right now.
Being able to see STAY's light reminds us once again that STAY truly is our light. That's how we feel about it. Stray Kids means wanderers. You always shine a light for us when we’re lost and guide us on the right path.
↑Since classic positions do not officially exist within the group anymore, "main", "lead" and "sub" remain unprecised, as per our policy regarding Positions.