Debut or Die!

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Debut or Die
Cover
Original Name	데뷔 못 하면 죽는 병 걸림 (Debwi mot-hamyeon juk-neun beong geollim)
Translation Name	Debut or Die
Written by	Baek Deok-soo
Region	South Korea
Published by	KW Books
Website	Kakao Page
Original Run	January 11, 2021-May 5, 2023
State	Finished

Debut or Die is a South Korean web novel written by Baek Deok-soo.

Synopsis

After waking up from a coma, the civil servant Ryu Gun-woo finds himself in the body of the young idol trainee Park Moondae, and a status window appears in front of him and warns him that if he doesn't make his debut, he will die instantly. In his past life, Gunwoo used to take photos of idols for a living.

Settings

This section may contain major spoilers! Consider skipping these contents if you are not yet familiar with all the latest media releases.

The System

The Level System...

The level system is a mental parasite who has been living on Earth since the past. It preys on a dying person which meets certain conditions, and sends them to the optimal past, where they can fulfill their wishes, and grants them "missions" as though it were a computer program. When the host completes these missions, the parasite moves on to the next person who is physically closest to them. Should the host fail the mission, they die. The parasite can send the host to the past as long as it does not interfere with the return of the previous host. However, while Moondae receives "rewards" for his missions, others don't. For Moondae, it isn't a "system", but rather, a "status window". This "status window" is able to know whether Moondae has completed his mission or not, thanks to someone who met the same conditions he had. As it turned out, the status window was none other than the soul of the "real" Moondae, who was on the verge of death after a failed suicide attempt, and merged with the system after an error caused when granting his wish, making him and Moondae (Gunwoo) swap bodies. For Cheongryeo, it is possible for him to "retry", as in, revive after dying and complete the mission. In Chapter 412, it was revealed that this parasite originally preyed on historical figures, but after possessing Cheongryeo, it chose idols as they were targets for both positive and negative emotions.

Idol Inc.

Idol Inc. (아이돌 주식회사) is a survival show broadcast by the television channel Tnet. The show has a "corporate" setting, with fans "buying stock" from idols to make them rank higher. It ran for five seasons, with the third being the one through which the members of TeSTAR were picked.

Characters

TeSTAR

TeSTAR is the idol group that was formed through the survival show Idol Inc. They used to be under the agency T1 Stars, but after filing a lawsuit, they left the company and started an independent agency called Stars Orbit.

The original name of the group was STier before the timeline was reset and Gunwoo became Moondae.

Park Moondae (박문대)

The main character. In his past life as Ryu Gun-woo, he used to work as a photographer selling idol data. He ranked 1st in the final episode of Idol Inc.

Bae Sejin (베세진)

He is the eldest member of the group. During his time in Idol Inc., he was known as "Lee Sejin A", since he shared his full name with Lee Sejin, but after debuting, he changed his surname to Bae. He ranked 7th place in the finale.

Ryu Chungwoo (류청우)

The leader of TeSTAR, who ranked 5th place in the final episode of Idol Inc. He is Ryu Gunwoo's distant cousin.

Cha Eugene (차유진)

His full name is Eugene Ignacio Cha. He was born in California, and apart from Korean, he can also speak English. He ranked 2nd place in the finale of Idol Inc.

Lee Sejin (이세진)

He and Bae Sejin used to have the same name, so he was referred to as "Lee Sejin B". He is called Big Sejin, or Keun Sejin (큰세진), by the other members. He ranked 6th place in the finale of Idol Inc.

Kim Raebin (김래빈)

The youngest member in TeSTAR. He ranked 4th in the Idol Inc. finale.

Seon Ahyeon (선아현)

He is the main dancer in TeSTAR, who ranked 3rd in the finale episode of Idol Inc.

VTIC

A group that debuted before TeSTAR. They are under the agency LeTi (레티).

Shin Jaehyun (신재현)

Also known as Cheongryeo (청려).

Chae Yul (채율)

Real name Jin Chae-yul (진채율).

Shin Oh (신오)

Real name Oh Yoo-shin (오유신).

Joo Dan (주단)

Real name Jeong Woo-dan (정우단).

Former members

Bihan (비한)

Hwi Woon (회운)

Derivative works

Comic version

Debut or Die
Original Name	데뷔 못 하면 죽는 병 걸림 (Debwi mot-hamyeon juk-neun beong geollim)
Translation Name	Debut or Die
Region	South Korea
Original work	Baek Deok-soo
Original run	August 1, 2022-present
Written by	Jang Jin
Illustrated by	SOHEUN
Published by	KW Books, DAON
Website	Kakao Webtoon
State	Ongoing

External links

• Kakao Page
• Kakao Webtoon