NCT's Mark Says His Audition For SM Entertainment Was "Destined"

Slowly but surely, the story of Mark Lee‘s audition process is coming together thanks to bits of information he has shared in recent appearances.

During SM Congress 2021, he told Lee Soo Man how his older brother had been the one who wanted to audition, and Mark simply tagged along. Though both Lee brothers impressed the recruiters, one trainer told his older brother that he lacked passion, and so Mark was the one who entered SM Entertainment at the age of 13.

Earlier this week on Eric Nam‘s podcast K-pop Daebak w/ Eric Nam, Mark elaborated further on the story.

Claiming that his audition was “pretty destined,” the pro-debuter revealed the lucky turn of events that led him to the audition.

It wasn’t even on a weekend; it was on a weekday, and I probably would’ve went to school but the reason why I said it felt like destiny was because, for some unknown reason, my teachers went on strike that day. So I was like, ‘Alright, I got no school. Well, let’s try it out.‘ And I went with my brother, and it turned out to be like this.

— Mark

As a hardworking student who was very devoted to school, Mark grew up in a “typical Asian family” where his parents expected him to get good grades and attend a good school. He expressed that he may not have attended the audition had his classes not been cancelled that day, saying “I look back even now, and I’m like, ‘If it wasn’t for that strike, who knows?‘”

Both Mark and NCTzens showed gratitude for history playing out as it did. Fans posted numerous memes on social media about the butterfly effect of Canadian teachers going on strike leading to Mark as we know him today.