DAY6's Young K to collaborate with Big Ocean on upcoming single

Young K of rock band DAY6 will team up with Korea's one-and-only hearing-impaired K-pop trio Big Ocean for the group's third digital single set for release on Sunday.

Young K of rock band DAY6, left, and members of K-pop trio Big Ocean [JYP ENTERTAINMENT, PARASTAR ENTERTAINMENT]

Young K of rock band DAY6 will team up with Korea's one-and-only hearing-impaired K-pop trio Big Ocean for the group's third digital single set for release on Sunday.

Big Ocean's third single" Slow" comes two months since "Blow" was released in June and four months since the trio's debut in April with "Glow."

"'Slow' will be a ballad track with Big Ocean's new charms featuring Young K of DAY6," Big Ocean's agency Parastar Entertainment said Monday.

Big Ocean made its debut on April 20, Korea’s Day of People with Disabilities, as the first K-pop idol — as the profession is referred to in Korea — with hearing impairments.

Big Ocean's members are Kim Ji-seok, Park Hyun-jin and Lee Chan-yeon. Kim was born with a hearing impairment, while Park lost part of his hearing at age 3 and Lee at age 11. Lee had cochlear implant surgery on both ears, Park has an implant in one ear and wears a hearing aid in the other and Kim wears hearing aids.

The band made its debut with a remake of first-generation boy band H.O.T.'s hit track "Hope" (1998) sung by the three members with a twist in the choreography to also incorporate Korean, American and international sign language.

Big Ocean was appointed as the advertisement model for local beverage brand Pocari Sweat, famed for its refreshing summery image, and participated in a video series in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness on hearing impairments.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]