Top 10 K-Pop Maknaes

A successful K-Pop group is made up of many elements but two are absolutely essential — a leader and a maknae. We already covered the top 10 K-Pop leaders so it’s the maknae’s turn this time!
MTV K’s dictionary definition of a maknae is “the youngest member in a group.” They’re expected to have perfect skin (being the youngest and all), lots of aegyo and a lovable personality. There are those who fit that mold and then there are the rebels. You know who I’m talking about.
Vote for your favorite maknae in the poll below!
Photos from Freestyle Kara Cat, YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and NH Media.


Known for her sweet and innocent looks, KARA‘s Jiyoung has lots of admirers including 2AM’s Changmin. She gets bonus points for turning him down on national television!


What is 2AM‘s Jinwoon made of?  Muscles, eye smiles and thoughts about girl groups. His wide network of friends includes the 91-line of idols (SHINee’s Key and KARA’s Nicole) which means his name is always popping up in variety shows.


2NE1‘s dance machine Minzy could not be cuter if she tried. Sexy when she needs to be and adorable the rest of the time, she’s beloved by her unnies. Bom is actually 10 years older than her! Talk about being the youngest member.


Girls’ Generation‘s Seohyun continues the trend of maknaes who seem like the oldest member in a group. Statuesque and mature beyond her years, she’s even “married!” Her doe-eyes and unintentionally hilarious character (she really really likes sweet potatoes) makes her one of the most endearing maknaes.


U-Kiss‘ Dongho has a combination of features proven to capture noona’s hearts — a killer eye-smile and chipmunk cheeks. He really made his mark as the easygoing, could-care-less character on Idol Maknae Rebellion.


Chansung is the oldest maknae of them all…in terms of looks. Most people go, huh? He’s not the hyung? The banana-obsessed “European model” loves 2PM and 2PM loves him back.


Kyuhyun can be categorized as a Changmin type of maknae. Evil to his hyungs but combine his personality with his velvety voice and dry humor and you get an exceptional member of Super Junior. F**k Yea Kyuhyun Facts sums him up perfectly — “Kyuhyun is not a hyungwhore. Hyungs are Kyuwhores. Kyuhyun doesn’t mispronounce Mandarin Chinese. It’s Mandarin that’s wrong.” Exactly.


Big Bang‘s Seungri is the out-spoken, panda-eyed member who shocks the nation everytime he tells one of his stories. Big Bang practically has anxiety attacks when he appears on a variety show but they’re incredibly open with their affection for him. Seungri, in return, does everything he can for his hyungs behind-the-scenes.


TVXQ‘s Changmin arguably started the whole rebellious maknae movement. He’s snarky, tortures his hyungs and is more sexy than full of aegyo. At 6’1, tall, dark and handsome Changmin once tried to blame Junsu for stealing his cute maknae role. Yeah, ok.


When entertainment companies look through their trainees for a potential maknae to add to a group, they refer to a book called Why SHINee‘s Taemin is the perfect maknae. He’s had fluffy hair since his debut (it’s gone through all sorts of candy colors), huge eyes that say “love me”, and he’s still in school making him noona bait.