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Also known as : (동방신기) Dong Bang Shin Gi
(東方神起) Tong Vfang Xien Qi
(東方神起) Tohoshinki
Origin : Seoul, South Korea
Genres : A cappella, dance, pop, R&B
Years active : 2003-present
Labels : SM Entertainment, Rhythm Zone
Associated acts : SMTown
Website : http://tvxq.smtown.com/ (Official Korean Website)
http://toho-jp.net/index.html (Official Japanese website)

Korean studio albums

* 2004: Tri-angle
* 2005: Rising Sun
* 2006: "O"-Jung.Ban.Hap.
* 2008: Mirotic

Japanese studio albums

* 2006: Heart, Mind and Soul
* 2007: Five in the Black
* 2008: T
* 2009: The Secret Code

The meaning of "Dong Bang Shin Ki" or "Tong Vfang Xien Qi" is "Gods Rising from the East". They consist of a five-member dance team is made up of high school students who auditioned for stardom. Each member of Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK) has proved his talent in singing as well as dancing. Thus, the mould of the korean boy band was formed.

The Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK) boys were put in different groups among peers during their training to be selected for the band, which was already named Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK) / Tong Vfang Xien Qi.

The first to join Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK) was Kim JunSu (김준수) who was 12 at that time; he was brought into the program through a TV show looking for a new talent. He continued to train for six more years and debuted under the name of Xiah Junsu (시아준수; Xiah is pronounced SHe-AH in Korean).

The next TVXQ (Dong Bang Shin Ki, DBSK) member to join, Jung YunHo (정윤호), won his audition through a dance competition. However, he was no amateur--he had been a backup dancer and rapper for K-pop singer Dana. His chosen stage name is U-know YunHo (유노윤호; because when you say YunHo real fast, it sounds like U-know in English).

Kim JaeJoong(김재중), like Tamaki Nami (a Japanese pop singer), left his hometown to audition for SM Entertainment and debut under the name a fortune teller foretold years before: YoungWoong JaeJoong (영웅재중). He is also known as Hero, the meaning YoungWoong (영웅).

Shim ChangMin (심창민), was one of the youngest to audition; nevertheless, he passed the try-outs. He joined the band on the name of ChoiKang ChangMin (최강창민; the English counterpart to his stage name is Max).

Six months prior to the Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK)'s debut, a new member was added. American Park YooChun (박유천) changed his name to Micky YooChun (믹키유천). Originally, YooChun's English name was Micky, so he chose his English name to be part of his stage name.

The majority of the lyrics and composition to TVXQ's songs are done by their staff. On occasion, the members of the group contribute to the writing of the lyrics and composition. On their second Korean album, Rising Sun, Micky, U-Know, and Xiah wrote the rap lyrics to "Love After Love". For the third Korean album, "O"-Jung.Ban.Hap., Micky wrote the English rap lyrics to "Phantom Hwanyeong" and Xiah wrote and composed "Nae Gyeote Sumsiur Su Ittdamyeon (White Lie)" (네 곁에 숨쉴 수 있다면). Their fourth Korean album, Mirotic, saw an increase in the members' participation: Hero wrote and composed Saranga Uljima (Don't Cry My Lover) (사랑아 울지마), Max wrote the Korean lyrics for "Love in the Ice", Micky wrote and composed Sarang Annyeong Sarang (Love Bye Love) (사랑 안녕 사랑), and Xiah wrote Noeur.. Baraboda (Picture of You) (노을..바라보다).


For their third Japanese album, T, Micky wrote "Kiss Shita Mama, Sayonara" (Kissしたまま、さよなら, lit. As We Kiss, Goodbye?) and co-composed the song with Hero. Micky also wrote the lyrics for his solo, "My Girlfriend" for the second single in the Trick project, Runaway/My Girlfriend.Xiah composed his solo track, "Rainy Night", for the third single in the Trick project. Hero wrote and co-composed "Wasurenaide" (忘れないで, lit. Don't Forget?) and Micky wrote and composed "Kiss the Baby Sky", both songs were included on their twenty-fifth single "Bolero/Kiss the Baby Sky/Wasurenaide", as the last two A-sides. The songs later appeared on their fourth Japanese album The Secret Code, along with the song, "9095", which was composed by Hero.

Lyrics of Mirotic

In November 2008, the Korean Commission of Youth Protection ruled that Mirotic was detrimental to youths and declared that the lyrics were provocative and overly sexual. As a result, the album was labeled with stickers indicating that it was unsuitable for people under 19 years old and any performances of the song would have to be broadcast after 10 PM.[5][76] In response to the ruling, SM Entertainment agreed to make a clean version but also had filed an injunction to overrule the commission's decision
“ We will make a clean version in accordance with the commission’s administrative order, but since we cannot fully accept the ruling, we plan to make a provisional disposition with the relevant court to nullify the administrative order. ”

After the Commission of Youth Protection released their statement regarding the ban on the album, SM Entertainment said,
“ Even before when the order had been put against Mirotic, we have clearly negotiated and tried to explain the real meaning and explanation of the lyrics, but even after this the results came out unexpectedly and we are bewildered as of this moment. [and] Jumun-Mirotic's lyrical meaning is entirely different and miles away from the erotic or sexual that the association is making it to be. ”

TVXQ performed the clean version at the 23rd Annual Golden Disk Awards. The lyrics were changed from "I got you" to "I chose you" and "I got you under my skin" to "I got you under my sky."

In March 2009, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of SM Entertainment, stating:
“ We acknowledge that the lyrics concerned, including "You want me, you give yourself up to me, you’re crazy about me" and "I got you under my skin," may imply sexual acts, but they did not describe sexual acts or feelings excessively to the level that can stimulate youths' sexual desire... Even though we acknowledge that the young are more sensitive to sexual stimuli and less able to control sexual urges, the lyrics neither encouraged youth to have sex nor described women as object for sex. ”

On April 9, 2009, the Commission of Youth Protection announced they would appeal the ruling to a high court after having an emergency meeting and deeming that the phrase, "I got you under my skin", was inappropriate for minors.

Lawsuit against SM Entertainment

In late July 2009, three of the members—Hero, Micky, and Xiah—submitted an application to the Seoul Central District Court to determine the validity of their contract with SM Entertainment.Through their lawyers, the members stated that the 13-year contract was excessively long and that the group's earnings were not fairly distributed to the members.Early termination penalty of their contract will cost them 2 times the profit that the group is estimated to earn for rest of the contract period (over ₩11 billion, or around US$9.2 million). The news was enough to cause SM Entertainment's stock price to drop over 10% on the KOSPI.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of the three members. They have claimed that the contract was unfair and the members were left out of proper profit distribution. In response, SM Entertainment called a press conference and claimed that the lawsuit a big fraud, stating that the lawsuit was not about unfair contracts or human rights, but a scam motivated by the three members’ greed over their cosmetics business. The three members remained silent except to say through their lawyers that they hoped SM Entertainment would respect the court’s decision.

In response to the lawsuit, 120,000 TVXQ fans filed a petition against SM Entertainment’s long-term contracts to the Seoul District Court. Cassiopeia also filed for compensation from SM Entertainment for the cancelled SM Town Live Concert, as both SM and TVXQ initially stated that the concert would go on as planned; the concert was cancelled a week before its scheduled date.