DPR 101

DPR is a creative collective, not a musical group or boy band; however, they do feature on and contribute to each other’s work.

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What does the name Dream Perfect Regime mean?

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We’re perfecting our dreams, it’s a regime; we’re coming up to take over. -- DPR Live, Billboard interview, March 2018

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DPR is based in Seoul, South Korea. 

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DPR was founded in 2014 by Hong Dabin, Christian Yu and Scott Kim. DPR would not exist as it is today without these three people meeting, having similar visions of creating something new in the music world, and deciding to make their dreams come true together.

 

We all happened to meet by chance if you think about it. A bunch of kids, who grew up in all corners of the world; somehow met up in Seoul and eventually came together to do what we do now as DPR. -- DPR Live, Billboard interview, January 2018

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As of February 2023, DPR is made up of 8 official members: DPR IAN, DPR LIVE, DPR CREAM, Artic, John, Cline, Hyunsoo and Eddie. There have been other members over the years, the most recent departure being DPR REM in January 2023. DPR has also established a regular crew of artists and friends with whom they collaborate create their art.

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DPR does not have any outside financial backing, although they have engaged in a few commercial and philanthropic partnerships. Everything they make is on their own dime. They started at the bottom, living in one-room dorms and working multiple jobs to earn enough money to make their art on their own terms. Any profit from their work is put back in to make even more art, each time going bigger and bigger. They are their own investors.

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For a good two years, DPR REM and DPR IAN busted their asses shooting materials for other artists in order to help fund any and all our projects during that time. -- DPR Live, Billboard interview, January 2018

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What makes DPR unique?

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I really think it stems from the teamwork we have and the collective passion we all share. For us, this isn’t really a 'business'. Yeah, we want to be successful and all that, but more so, we want to do anything and everything we can think of to the highest quality. If it were just for the money or fame, we would of went about things really differently. However, I think its more about the history — the legacy we can build with all of our efforts combined. That’s the dream. -- DPR Live, i-D.Vice interview pub. September 18, 2018

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DPR created their YouTube channel on December 4, 2014, and they uploaded their first video two days later. Their second video was posted in early January 2015. (Note: Both of these videos are no longer available.)

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DPR fans are called DREAMers (which can also be stylized as DREAMERS). This name was first proposed after that 2nd video was released in January 2015. The name caught on with fans, and DPR members voiced their approval of it during several Livestreams around that time.

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In pager/beeper code, DPR translates to 0912. Since DPR posted their first video on YouTube in the month of December, DREAMers celebrate DPR Day on December 9th. 

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DREAMers celebrate DPR DREAMer Selca Day / DPR DREAMer Day on Twitter and Instagram on the 8th of each month, starting at 12:00 a.m. midnight KST. The first one was held on September 8, 2021. (See DREAMer section for more details.)

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