NCT 127: The Lost Boys is a 2023 documentary series about the K-pop boy band NCT 127, a sub-unit of the much larger NCT. It revolves around the nine members' childhoods and their respective journeys to becoming one of the most successful K-pop acts globally. Directed by the visionary Jayil Park and created for Disney+, the four-part documentary features various performance arts for storytelling.
NCT 127: The Lost Boys contains examples of:
- Bully Magnet: Some of the members were bullied at one point:
- Doyoung, who was previously active as a class president, starts to experience bullying after he leaves his duties.
- Taeyong also recalls his experience as a victim of bullying, until his sister comes to save him.
- The Cameo: Jaehyun's elementary school teacher, Lee Eun-yeol, appears at the end of the final episode when she attended NCT 127's concert.
- Comically Small Demand: When SM Entertainment's scouting agents try to convince Taeyong to audition, he demands that he will if they buy him something to eat. They get him a sandwich.
- Taeyong says he did not have a lot growing up due to his family's financial struggles, and is willing to accept anything.
- Concert Film: Subverted. The documentary contains short clips and performances from NCT 127's world tours, Neo City – The Origin and Neo City – The Link.
- Determinator: Doyoung encourages Johnny to not give up, despite a whopping eight years of continuous training.
- Jack of All Trades: The members describe Jaehyun as this, noting his skills in singing, rapping, and dancing, on top of being the most handsome in the band. Taeyong even mentions the name of this trope.
- Language Barrier: Jaehyun faces this after moving to the United States.
- Loss of Identity: Mark struggles to choose between being Canadian and being Korean.
- Puppy Love: Young Taeyong catches feelings for his female classmate; this becomes a case of All Love Is Unrequited after he gets rejected.
- Sad Clown: Jungwoo dresses up as one for his segment.
- Sliding Scale Of Silliness Vs Seriousness: Jaehyun shares his emotional childhood story through stand-up comedy.
- Struggling Single Mother: Jungwoo's father leaves, with his mother left alone to care of him and his older sister.
- The Taxi: Much of Taeil's story is set in a taxi, as a reference to his father being a taxi driver.
- Three-Wall Set: The scene where Johnny talks to a debuting trainee (portrayed by Taeyong) is set in an artificial Han River, which is later shown to be three big LED screens.
- Title Montage: The intro contains various clips of the members throughout the four episodes.
- Workaholic: Applies to all members. They are K-pop artists, after all.
- Jaehyun shares his sleepless schedule during his trainee days: Right after school, he heads straight to SM Entertainment's headquarters to practice until 5:00 am or 6:00 am, then returns to school again. Take note, he was only a minor back then.
- The other members acknowledge Mark and Haechan's back-and-forth schedules between NCT 127 and NCT DREAM.
