Bang Si Hyuk reveals the origin of the names 'Hitman Bang' and 'Big Hit' + how he first met J.Y. Park on the latest episode of 'You Quiz on the Block'

Bang Si Hyuk and J.Y. Park recently revealed how the names 'Hitman Bang' and 'Big Hit Entertainment' came about.

In the November 1 episode of 'You Quiz on the Block,' industry giants J.Y. Park and Bang Si Hyuk graced the show as special guests, delving into the depths of their long-standing friendship and their expansive journey in the music industry together.

Bang Si Hyuk explained, "At first, before establishing my own company, I was a producer at Jinyoung Hyung (J.Y. Park)'s company (JYP)...I felt I could do well on my own so I became independent," bringing laughter. He explained, "The nickname that Jinyoung Hyung gave me was 'Hitman,' so I took the 'Hit' part from there and named the company 'Big Hit Entertainment' to mean 'hit it big.' But now, it goes by the name HYBE."

Yoo Jae Suk commented, "I didn't know that's how the name 'Big Hit' came about. But your nickname is 'Hitman'?"  

J.Y. Park explained, "In the U.S., we had to go around introducing ourselves while distributing CDs. Si Hyuk's last name is 'Bang,' but it didn't seem impactful." Bang Si Hyuk chimed in, saying, "Also, I was teased because 'bang' is used for shooting sounds, so you said we should just use that." 

J.Y. Park continued, "Yes, it would be like a 'shooter' so we decided 'Hitman.' At the time, Si Hyuk was so naive so he went along with it since his hyung is telling him to. I said 'Hey, you be Hitman' and he said 'okay'."

The two iconic figures of K-pop also shared how they first met.

Bang Si Hyuk explained, "Jinyoung Hyung's manager at the time was looking for a rookie producer, and he heard my demo tape. Someone called me out of the blue one day and said, 'This is Park Jin Young.' At the time, I didn't know too well about Korean music, so I only remembered him by his infamous plastic pants."

He continued, "I really didn't know about Korean music. And that was the time when Park Jin Young had retired briefly as a singer but he told me, 'I want to make a comeback, I used to work with Kim Hyeong Suk, but I want to be independent. I need help with the technical aspect and sound. Can you be an assistant producer?'" 

Bang Si Hyuk confessed, "At the time I didn't know anything and was so childish, so I asked him, 'Then what are you going to do for me?'" making everyone laugh.

J.Y. Park then shared his side of the story. He explained, "When I met him, he had no facial expressions." Bang Si Hyuk defended himself, "It's because I'm shy." J.Y. Park continued, "Yes, that's him being shy, but I love people like that. I get scared of people who are like 'Hello!' (who are overly friendly). But if people are like him (Bang Si Hyuk), saying, 'What are you going to do for me?' I don't get scared. And he was so cute. The Si Hyuk of back then is the same as the Si Hyuk now. Back then, when I introduced Si Hyuk to people, everyone would come up to me and say, 'What's wrong with him?' and I explained, 'It's because he's shy.'" 

Bang Si Hyuk also agreed that he's not good with first impressions. Bang Si Hyuk said, "The executive members (at my company) said to me that I have a talent for making bad first impressions, so they told me I shouldn't go to meetings."

J.Y. Park then defended Bang Si Hyuk by saying, "What I want to tell everyone in the world is that he's not like this because he made it big. He was always like this," making everyone laugh.