When you tell a story you share a unique piece of yourself.

This is a page where you can submit a story for the SHINee Key Story Project. The intention is to keep him in mind and heart while he is on an unavoidable hiatus. Even more importantly, it's to demonstrate through our stories the positive inspiration this Kpop idol is capable of. At his American tour last year, Key, a seasoned member of SHINee, brought astonishing energy, love for his steadfastly loyal fans, and humble gratefulness for being able to represent his country. As cool and edgy and singular as Key is, as much as his work brings you to another world, we know that what hits you in the heart is his everyman’s universal humanity. Key’s earned the descriptor legendary, but more importantly, his humanity touches every age, every gender, every dreamer in every country. His influence deserves celebrating.

Before our stories, here is one of Key's.

Years ago, ten years after his debut with SHINee and around six months after Key’s solo music career began, he came out onto the plaza outside a company building as it was getting dark. A few hundred fans who had been waiting quietly came forward and gently settled around him. Looking more like everyman than an idol, post-it notes on the back of his wrist, he told a story.

Key used to wish he was a beautiful swan, which is how he saw the other members of SHINee. While neither Key nor his fans doubted his value, he felt in competition with four of the most handsome, talented young men in the country. To be compared to others — especially your brothers — is to always be uneasy.

So he explained that he realized he was not a swan, but a chicken among swans. If that was the case he wanted to live his life as a chicken, not yearning to be something he was not. Key consciously decided to be himself. Do what he was inspired to do. Look inside, not out into the world, for who he was meant to be. Use what was special about himself as his secret weapon. His honesty was formidable.

Key turned out to be a multitalented, adventurous, tender-hearted, bold, sensitive, funny human being. Over time, he became undeniably beautiful and sexy and interesting and endearing in his own fashion. His example earned him admiration everywhere and inspired his fans to find their own unique way through life. He was not perfect. But he was inimitable. And like all of us, one of a kind.

These days, in and out of South Korea, Key is beloved as a singer and dancer, an all-around entertainer, a fashion guerrilla and more. He's a valiant, sensitive individualist treading the line between his beloved community and self-expression with grace and humor. His artistry started when he was a kid, literally hiding his scars, all skinny dreams and raw talent. If you look deeper into his career, you can see he’s gone through a trial by fire. But, feathers singed, he’s come out of it with a smoking authenticity worth celebrating.

Some fans have met Key. All of them have seen his performances — solo or with SHINee — a lucky few in person, or on TV shows and other media. They've discovered some of his personal story in articles and blogs. Together those encounters paint a picture of what it is to have a positive, inspired relationship with an artist unusually generous in sharing his life and his work.

Your story may be any sort of event. Going to a concert. Watching a video. Listening to a song. Thinking about an interview or an interaction. A meeting. Sharing his work with someone. A sentence or two is fine. More are fine.  If you are in a hurry,  scroll past the examples to the Submission form.

Think back to your Key connection. Where were you? What was happening? What changed?

Stories will appear on the website SHINEEKEYSTORYPROJECT.COM as soon as they are proofed and the site goes live (by 3/10/26). If everyone who loves Key and wants him back tells a story, there will be more than a few. Who knows, maybe Key will find his way here and, this time, be the one to settle down and listen to those gathered around him while they share their tales. Maybe they will help him heal, and bring him back sooner.