Lai Kuanlin (ex. Wanna One) Profile, Bio, & Facts

Lai Kuanlin (라이관린) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and movie director under Ho Heo Young Entertainment and Xiamen Yulin Cultural Media. He is a former member of Wanna One and the duo Wooseok X Kuanlin.  

Lai Kuanlin Profile

Lai Kuanlin Facts:

Early Life

– Lai Kuanlin was born in Taipei, Taiwan.
– He lived for five years in LA, USA.
– He went to Liyuan Elementary School and Linkou Middle School.
– He moved to Korea by himself in middle school.

Personal Life

– His family consists of his parents and older sister.
– He has a wealthy background and his father is the chief technology officer at a famous company in Taiwan.
– He is scared of watching horror movies. (Wanna One Go Zero Base ep. 2)
– He once got 2nd in his entire school for his final exams.
– Kuanlin and Minhyun text a lot on the WANNA ONE group chat.  (DNE Comment)
– He is fluent in Taiwanese, Standard Mandarin, Korean, and English.
– His name means “rainy season”.
– He was the small forward in his basketball team.
– A habit he is proud of is that he is good at doing chores.  (L’Oreal Interview)
– He feels he is more like a dog among all animals because he loves people. (GQ Korea)
– Fans voted him as the 2nd most handsome contestant on PD 101.
– He has a cat named Mimi back in Taiwan.
–  He likes “The Art of War” and “Records of the Three Kingdoms.”
– He said his strength is keeping secrets. (GQ Korea)
– He has an interest in modeling.
– His legs measure 116 cm (45.6 inches). (Idol Room)
– He wants to raise a Shiba Inu.
– He first visited Korea in October of 2016. (Allure Korea)
– He was roommants with Woojin, Jaehwan, Jihoon, and Minhyun. He later got his own room in the new dorms.
– His first time of being recognized on the street was when he was shopping at Gangnam station with his friend and someone recognized him. (Allure Korea)
– Lai Kuanlin shared on VLIVE that he was once bullied or boycotted in school.
– He liked Jihoon among all the members and wanted to be roommates with him.
– He used to hide his loneliness and true feelings from his parents when he moved to Korea because they would be unnecessarily worried.
– He got inspired to become an idol and moved to Korea before finishing his middle school.
– He worked hard to learn Korean by watching Kdramas and taking classes.
– He feels he looks more like the salty type than the sweet type.
– He believes his charming point is his attractive personality. (L’Oreal Interview)
– He is close with many celebrities including (G)I -DLE’s Jeon Soyeon, and Ahn Jaehyun, Seventeen’s S.Coups, GOT7’s Jackson, and EXO’s Sehun.
– He didn’t want to be roommates with Jaehwan because he used to practice too much, making it harder for them to sleep. (Wanna One Go ep. 1).
– He is friends with Sehun from EXO and said Sehun never lets him pay for meals. (Knowing Bros)
– He prefers older women (fansign in August 2017).
– He considers Pentagon’s Wooseok as his role model.
– Lai Kuanlin’s ideal type is a woman who is cute, older than him, and has long straight hair.

Career

– Lai Kuanlin was the Lead Rapper, and Maknae in WANNA ONE.
– He ranked 7th place with 905,875 votes in Produce 101 and debuted in WANNA ONE.
– He appeared as a panelist with Minhyun on “King of Masked Singer” (ep. 155 and 156).
– He made a cameo in Jeon Soyeon’s “Jelly” music video.
– On March 11, 2019, He debuted in the unit *Wooseok x Kuanlin* in March 2019 and on July 20, 2019 requested to terminate his contract with Cube Entertainment. His request was approved by the Seoul Central District Court on June 17, 2021.
– He retired from the entertainment industry to pursue a career as a film director.

Likes & Dislikes

– His favorite songs include “Noticed” by Lil Mosey, “I Don’t Care” by Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran and “SUFFER” by Charlie Puth.
– He likes pink color.
– Three of his most favorite things are his cellphone, food and sleep.
– He doesn’t like wearing heat pants.
– His favorite basketball team is the Golden State Warriors and he is the fan of the player Stephen Curry.
– Captain America is his favorite Marvel hero because he is more relatable than other heroes.
– His favorite shows include “Beauty Inside”.
– He loves the spring and autumn season.
– Shoes are his favorite fashion item.

Food Preferences

– His favorite foods include rib hangover soup, and hot pot.
– He hates to eat foods that are bland.
– He loves to eat late night snacks and considers them his life necessity. (L’Oreal Interview)
– He likes to drink coke.
– He is allergic to milk tea and it gives him a headache whenever he drinks it. (GQ Korea)
– He loves to eat meat, especially beef and can eat it for two months in a row.
– He usually drinks bubble green tea.
– He loves to eat a lot to relieve his stress.

Abilities

– Kuanlin is terrible at taking selfies and fans created a saying about him that “you will lose fans when you take selfies”. (L’Oreal Interview)
– He said he has a hard time pronouncing the Korean word “Jokbal” (korean dish) even though he loves eating it so much.
– He used to swim a lot and could hold his breath for 2 minutes but now can only do it for 30 secs.
– He is a good cook and is confident in making pasta, steak and fried rice.
– He said he is good at Asian chess. (GQ Korea)

Controversies

– Lai Kuanlin was involved in a controversy when he participated on a program that was celebrating National Day of the People’s Republic of China and despite being a Taiwanese he was seen introducing himself used the phrase “Taiwan, China” which angered a lot of Taiwanese nationals.
– He was swept up in another controversy when he was captured in a video smoking and spitting on the street and the video went viral on Chinese social media. He later issued an apology on his weibo account.

Awards

– Kuanlin won several awards in 2019, including “Asia Special Award”, “Person of the Year (Beauty)” and “Popular Idol of the Year”
– He also won the “Best Newcomer” award for after debuting as an actor in the drama “A Little Thing Called First Love”
– He debuted as a movie director in 2021 releasing the short film “Winter & Spring are Fighting” and the film won multiple awards.

SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES
Instagram: @official_lai_kuanlin

Streaming Platform Links
Genie | Spotify | Bugs | Melon | Apple Music | Deezer

Lai Kuanlin Photos

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