October 25, 2026 | KWaveScope · KPOP-NEW
Before there were comeback stages, there were Saturday classes — and not all of them involved music. NMIXX’s JIWOO and KYUJIN recently recalled studying everything from computer skills to dinner-table etiquette during their trainee years at JYP Entertainment. Their memories come as the six-member group returns to television with 긴 소원 (Birthday Wish), the lead track from its new EP, Strange Muse.
What NMIXX learned away from the practice room
The subject came up while JIWOO and KYUJIN were chatting over lunch with chef Park Eun-young on her YouTube programme Bobeunyoung. The two members explained that JYP trainees attended classes on Saturdays, with history, IT and dining etiquette among the subjects on offer.
Park was particularly taken aback by the etiquette lessons. The members remembered being taught how table settings differ across Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Western meals — practical details such as where utensils belong and how to use a napkin. For a pair of singers known for intricate choreography, it was an unexpectedly ordinary glimpse of trainee life.
The exams sounded rather less ordinary. KYUJIN said monthly evaluations could involve as many as 11 categories, including vocals, basic dance, choreography, K-pop covers, languages and writing rap lyrics. She acknowledged how exhausting the process felt at the time, but said she could now see how much it had helped her grow.
It’s worth remembering that the members were describing their own years as trainees; the conversation wasn’t a rundown of JYP’s current training programme. Even so, it offered a rare look at the work that takes place long before an idol steps in front of a television camera.
Meanwhile, “Birthday Wish” is back on the music-show circuit
NMIXX released its sixth EP, Strange Muse, on October 19, 2026. At the heart of the six-track record is 긴 소원 (Birthday Wish), a song about making a heartfelt wish for someone else. According to JYP’s official album notes, the track mixes moombahton, Afro-inspired rhythms and future house — a lively arrangement that makes room for a quieter, piano-led break before building again.
The EP also gives the members space to work in pairs. LILY and HAEWON sing Sing to the Moon, SULLYOON and BAE take on Hot ’n Unbothered, and JIWOO and KYUJIN join forces on WHIP. Alongside Kerosene and RudE TaLK, those songs round out a release that moves between the full group’s sound and smaller combinations.
Television promotions began with Mnet’s M Countdown on October 22, followed by Music Bank on October 23 and Show! Music Core on October 24. The group was also scheduled for SBS’s Inkigayo on October 25. For fans following the comeback, it has been a full week of new stages rather than just a single release-day performance.
More NMIXX videos
Below are two Instagram videos for readers who want to spend a little more time with the group beyond the broadcast stages. The clips are embedded from Instagram rather than uploaded to KWaveScope.
From Saturday classes to comeback stages
There is something striking about hearing performers talk about learning where to put a fork when their working lives now revolve around live vocals, choreography and constant travel. Those lessons may not be visible onstage, but they suggest just how broadly JYP once expected its trainees to prepare for life as public figures.
JIWOO and KYUJIN’s account is a snapshot of the years before their 2022 debut. Strange Muse tells the other half of the story: six artists now shaping a record together, with new unit tracks and another round of stages to make their own. The unexpected dining-etiquette detour makes that journey feel a little more personal.
Sources
The Korea Times — JIWOO and KYUJIN on trainee education (October 24) · JYP Entertainment — Strange Muse official discography · KWaveScope A–Z — NMIXX group profile
KWaveScope insight: The most surprising detail of NMIXX’s trainee years might not be the 11 evaluation categories. It might be that Saturdays sometimes meant learning table manners.