K-Pop — Beginner’s Guides
K-Pop’s Dreamcatcher For InSomnias: A Comprehensive New Fan’s Guide
All the absolute basics for getting to know K-Pop’s resident rock/pop girl group just a little bit better.
Dreamcatcher is one of K-Pop’s most unique and interesting girl groups, from their rock/pop music to their long and winding underdog story. I’ve often heard new fans ask for guides and videos to get to know them better, and rather than paste the same links and videos over and over, I thought it’d be good to put them all in one place. You can jump to a particular section below.
Guide Sections
Dreamcatcher: The Basics
Number of members: 7
Members By Age Order (Oldest to Youngest), Positions
NOTE: Primary positions listed first in bold. Secondary positions have become a bit hazy over the years, but it has been said often that Dreamcatcher’s members are versatile and have filled dancing/vocal/visual secondary roles interchangeably. For more on positions in K-Pop, see this article which explains K-Pop positions, though there are variations.
JiU/지유 (Kim Minji/김민지, b. 05/17/94)
- Leader, Lead Dancer
SuA/수아 (Kim Bora/김보라, b. 08/10/94 )
- Main Dancer
Siyeon/시연 (Lee Siyeon/이시연, b. 10/01/95)
- Main Vocalist
Handong/한동 (Han Dong/韓東, b. 03/26/96)
- Sub Vocalist, International Member (China)
Yoohyeon/유현 (Kim Yoohyeon/김유현, b. 01/07/97)
- Lead Vocalist
Dami/다미 (Lee Yubin/이유빈, b. 03/07/1997)
- Main Rapper
Gahyeon/가현 (Lee Gahyeon/이가현, b. 02/03/99)
- Lead Rapper, Maknae (Youngest member)
Pre-Debut Videos
- Concept Trailer (12/6/16)
- Dance Practice 01 — Snoop Dogg, “Awake” (12/14/16)
- Dance Practice 02 — Amelia Lily, “Shut Up” (12/15/16)
- “City of Stars” Cover (Siyeon) (12/21/16)
- Vocal Practice 01 — Fifth Harmony, “I’m In Love With A Monster” (12/22/16)
- Vocal Practice 02 — Park Hyoshin, Kim Bumsoo, “What Are Friends For” (12/29/16)
- Goblin OST Medley (JiU, Siyeon, Yoohyeon) (01/06/17)
- “Beautiful” Goblin OST Cover (Siyeon) (01/07/17)
Debut Date: 01/13/2017
Fandom Name: InSomnia, named for the literal Latin translation of “In Somnia” (In Dreams). Also referred to as Somnias, Somnyas, Insomnias.
Typical Greeting to Fans: “Dream of us, we are Dreamcatcher!”
Company: Originally Happyface Entertainment, currently Dreamcatcher Company (Happyface Entertainment changed names to Dreamcatcher Company in order to create dedicated resources for the group). Japanese promotions/discography handled under Pony Canyon.
Official Channels:
- Daum (Fan Cafe)
- Twitter (Korean)
- Twitter (Japanese)
- vLive (live streams from the group)
- Weverse (fan/artist forum)
- YouTube (Happyface entertainment)
- YouTube (Dreamcatcher official)
Official Lightstick (purchase link):
Official Robe (purchase link):
Dreamcatcher Concept/Discography
Dreamcatcher’s musical style has a rock core, augmented by a pop style sound and, starting in 2019, integration with other genres such as EDM, Moombahton, Metal, and more. The result is a unique sound that, while not as popular domestically in Korea, has garnered a respectable international following. Additionally, non-title “B-Side” tracks have experimented with even more genres such as Trap, Jazz, Funk, and more, along with more traditional expected K-Pop styles such as ballads and pure Pop/Dance, making Dreamcatcher one of K-Pop’s most varied groups.
Their concept (or group and musical theme) matches this unique flavor, typified by a darker, dramatic, and emotionally weighty presentation of the group as a whole. This is augmented by a focus on world-building for their songs, telling stories that have spanned two main “arcs”:
- “Nightmare” (spanning title tracks “Chase Me”, “GOOD NIGHT”, “Fly High”, “You and I “, “What”, and “PIRI”)— The story of seven ordinary girls that become nightmare personifications through the capture of a spider that places a curse on them, and their subsequent attempts to escape said nightmare.
- “Dystopia” (spanning title tracks “Scream”, “BOCA”, and “Odd Eye”)—The story of an enchanted tree of language corrupted by the evil words of others and the attempt of seven spirits/goddesses awoken to purify the tree and thus achieve utopia in the world. This also serves as a social commentary on the toxicity of online interaction, both with idols in the K-Pop industry and as a whole.
Additionally, there are tracks that exist outside of this world-building, which include:
- Fan songs (“Full Moon” and “Over the Sky”)— songs dedicated to and made for Dreamcatcher fans by the group
- Collaborations with others (“Deja Vu”, and “Eclipse” with Vespa for mobile game “King’s Raid” and the anime of the same name respectively, “R.o.S.E BLUE”, with Seasun Entertainment for mobile game “Girl Cafe Gun”, and with Seungyeon of CLC for “Tadow” choreography)
- Japanese songs (title tracks “Breaking Out”, “Endless Night”, “NO MORE”, and B-sides such as “Don’t Light My Fire”)
- Soundtrack contributions (songs for dramas “Into The Ring”. “Take Revenge”, and “Dark Hole”)
- One-off albums (2nd Special Mini Album “Summer Holiday”, with a self-contained concept/theme/story)
Most Dreamcatcher songs have been produced and written by the same individuals, most notably the duo LEEZ and Ollounder (who once were in a production team called Super Bomb with producer J.Soul). They have, in essence, been responsible for much of Dreamcatcher’s unique sound. But Dreamcatcher have themselves been at times involved in the production process and have been credited in several songs in the discography.
Below you’ll find the history of Dreamcatcher’s music. I’ve also provided asterisks next to B-Side tracks for each album that you may want to check out from the group, though all of their songs are, of course, excellent. You can use the links below to navigate to a specific release.
Dreamcatcher Discography Summary
2017
2018
2019
2020
- Dystopia: The Tree Of Language
- Endless Night
- R.o.S.E BLUE
- Dystopia: Lose Myself
- NO MORE
- Eclipse (TV Size)
2021
Nightmare (Release/Comeback Stage: 01/13/17)
Fall Asleep In The Mirror (Release/Comeback Stage: 04/05/17, 04/06/17)
Prequel (Release/Comeback Stage: 07/27/17)
Full Moon (Release: 02/26/18 — Digital only, Live Stage: 06/08/18 )
Escape The ERA (Release/Comeback Stage: 05/10/18)
Alone In The City (Release/Comeback Stage: 09/20/18)
What (Japanese ver.) (Release: 11/21/18)
Over The Sky (Release: 01/16/19 — Digital Only, Live Stage: 03/08/19)
The End of Nightmare (Release/Comeback Stage: 02/13/19, 02/14/19)
PIRI (Japanese ver.) (Release: 03/13/19)
The Beginning of the End (Japanese album) (Release: 09/11/19, Live Stage: 09/13/19)
Raid of Dream (Release/Comeback Stage: 09/18/19, 09/19/19)
Dystopia: The Tree of Language (Release/Comeback Stage: 02/18/20, 02/20/20)
Endless Night (Japanese Single) (Release: 03/11/20)
R.o.S.E BLUE (Girl Cafe Gun OST Single) (Release: 07/15/20)
Dystopia: Lose Myself (Release/Comeback Stage: 08/17/20, 08/20/20)
NO MORE (Japanese single) (Release: 11/19/20)
Eclipse (TV Size) (Japanese anime OP, “King’s Raid”) (Release: 12/25/20)
Dystopia: Road to Utopia (Release/Comeback Stage: 01/26/21, 01/28/21)
Eclipse (Full ver.) (Japanese single) (Release: 03/24/21)
Summer Holiday (Release/Comeback Stage: 07/30/21, 07/29/21)
Other Releases
Some additional releases include:
- Paradise (Siyeon Single) (Release 01/28/20 — Digital Only)
- Good Sera (Siyeon Single — Into the Ring OST) (Release 07/05/20)
- No Mind (Siyeon Single — Take Revenge OST) (Release 11/21/20)
- First Light of Dawn (Handong Single) (Chinese) (Release 10/20/20 — Digital Only)
- Shadow (Siyeon/Dami Single — Dark Hole OST) (Release 05/14/21)
- Shadow (Slow Ver.) (Siyeon/Dami Single — Dark Hole OST) (Release 05/14/21)
“Get To Know Dreamcatcher” Recommendations
One of the most common things new Dreamcatcher fans ask about is what to read or watch in order to get to know them a bit better. I have a few general recommendations, though I would be remiss if I didn’t shamelessly promote my own article on Dreamcatcher’s journey, “Dreamcatcher is K-pop’s Increasingly Well-Known Underdog Story” (which you can read if you have a half hour to spare).
Other than what I’ve written, here’s some recommendations for getting more familiar with Dreamcatcher.
This playlist from the Dreamcatcher Official YouTube channel is a bunch of VLOGs from Dreamcatcher members. These are small, personable video accounts from various members on tour stops, craft-making, trips out to places, and more, and are a good resource to get to know the group personally.
Dreamcatcher’s Notes are another type of content from the Dreamcatcher Official YouTube channel that focus in on behind-the-scenes content from music show promotions, video shoots, special clip creations, and more. If you ever wanted to get to know the members by seeing how they work hard (and play hard) during production, this set of videos is for you.
Wanna Stan Dreamcatcher? The Ultimate 2020 Dreamcatcher Guide
This 41-minute video is in essence a video version of much of what I’ve written. While this does not cover promotions in late 2020 and beyond, it is nevertheless the best comprehensive visual guide I’ve watched for new fans to get familiar with Dreamcatcher. You’ll be shown their history, most of their album discography, and then each member in turn, talking about personality traits and some sample clips. KraayJay recognizes you may have trouble recognizing members at first, and labels each of them as the video progresses so you get a reminder of who’s who.
“This is…” series from insomnicsy
insomnicsy is one of the most prolific content creators for translating and editing montage clips of Dreamcatcher. With the language barrier being a challenge for most international Dreamcatcher fans, what insomnicsy does on a regular basis is a great service to the community. The “This is…” series is a nice set of bite-sized, short videos to get to know the members outside of their stage presentation. Not unexpectedly, Dreamcatcher is just as entertaining off-stage as they are on-stage.
Fact in Star Dreamcatcher Appearance — 03/08/19
There are a ton of variety appearances Dreamcatcher has made over the years, and Fact in Star has historically given some of the most time to Dreamcatcher, a boon to any group that doesn’t come from a larger company. This is a 47-minute appearance from their official channel and should give you a great idea as to what Dreamcatcher is like.
Idol House with Dreamcatcher — 10/14/20
Dreamcatcher’s 2020 appearances have included a ton of first-time activities on the variety show circuit, and Idol House, which has idols do group games as well as show the audience who they are in the process, is one of their best. This appearance has everything — energy, comedy, a little bit of hilarious drama parody, and should give you a good idea of Dreamcatcher as a group.
Weekly Idol Episode 497 with Dreamcatcher — 2/3/21
Weekly Idol is one of the most well-known K-Pop variety shows around, and in early 2021, Dreamcatcher finally got to appear on an episode dedicated entirely to them. The show blends get-to-know-you games meant to reveal new or interesting information about groups with interview and performance segments, and there’s plenty to hear about in this episode about Dreamcatcher. You’ll find out who is the most mysterious member, whether or not Dreamcatcher can keep up with dancing to a random playlist of their songs, nicknames for the group, and more. Well worth your time for 50 minutes of Dreamcatcher goodness.
More Dreamcatcher Resources
Still need to know more about Dreamcatcher? Did I somehow forget to cover something? Hungry for more Dreamcatcher content after falling down the Insomnia rabbit hole? Here’s some other fan-run places to check out.
7 Dreamers Dreamcatcher Fansite — https://7-dreamers.com/
Dreamcatcher Discord -https://discord.gg/dreamcatcher
Dreamcatcher Subreddit — https://www.reddit.com/r/dreamcatcher
Dreamcatcher Fan Twitter accounts of note:
- 2Moori (Translations, News)
- 7DreamSubs (Fan subtitle group for Dreamcatcher content)
- DC_Weverse (Translations of Dreamcatcher posts on the Weverse platform)
- deukaefilm (Dreamcatcher images)
- DeukaeVoting (Voting coordination for Dreamcatcher polls/contests/awards)
- hwang_eunbin (Translations)
If you’ve gotten to the end of this guide, I hope you’ve gotten a better idea of Dreamcatcher as a group and are armed just a bit better with more knowledge. If there are any other things that I’ve missed, or you have suggestions for content, please feel free to leave a comment or find me on Twitter!
Welcome to all new Insomnias, and remember — it isn’t important when you got into Dreamcatcher, just that you’re into them now.