His handwritten messages reveal personal dreams<\/h2>\n
In two handwritten letters shared with fans on April 3, 2026, Mark said this decision happened after a long time thinking about his future and trying to understand what kind of artist he truly wants to be. He shared dreams that go beyond the usual image of a KPop star. He said he has imagined traveling with an acoustic guitar, busking in different places, and writing more in English. He even mentioned that becoming an author is something he has thought dreamed of for years. According to Mark, these goals have been in his mind since before his audition for SM Entertainment in Canada.<\/p>\n
Read his letter translated from Korean to English here:<\/p>\n Hello, this is Mark.<\/p>\n Hello, Czennies\u2026<\/p>\n I debuted as NCT U on April 9, 2016, and now that it\u2019s already April 2026, a full 10 years have truly passed\u2026 So much has happened over those 10 years\u2014I\u2019ve performed on so many stages, and above all, I feel like I\u2019vemade so many memories. I know very well that there are Czennies who have liked me since the SM Rookies days, so if you include that time, it has actually been more than 10 years. How have the past ten-plus years been for you, Czennies\u2026? I think I\u2019ve truly, truly been nothing but happy. Now that 10 years have passed, I want to personally share with Czennies\u2014who have made me happy every single day without fail for such a long time\u2014my new decision and the new chapter ahead, by writing it out myself by hand.<\/p>\n I know this may feel very sudden to everyone\u2026 But in fact, ever since my trainee days\u2014or maybe even before that\u2014I\u2019ve always carried a dream in my heart. I dreamed of traveling around with just an acoustic guitar, busking on the streets, and I loved writing in English so much that I even wanted to become a writer. I was too young to fully understand that dream clearly or picture it perfectly in my head, but because I loved music and the stage, I auditioned in Canada 14 years ago, and at SM, I began my musical journey for the first time as part of NCT.<\/p>\n Because my \u201cfirsts\u201d began at SM and with NCT, I was able to come to know myself more and to find the very best version of myself. All I feel is gratitude. Through NCT, it feels like I\u2019ve been able to experience the sky, the land, the sea, and the mountains all in the greatest way. After spending 10 years seeing and experiencing the world at its fullest and going on the best journey, I think I naturally began to wonder: what is the best dream I can possibly dream? What is the greatest work and purpose I can have, living my life as a person named Mark? And since this is the time when my 10-year contract is coming to an end, I awakened every sense I\u2019d been carrying in my heart and thought about it for a long time. In the end, I found myself truly curious about what the exact, fully realized shape of that dream might be\u2014and I wanted to dive in and devote myself to it properly. I think I\u2019ve come to truly want to find, clearly and for real, what my music\u2014or my \u201cfruit\u201d\u2014will be and how I can bring it into fruition in this world and to make that happen no matter what.<\/p>\n As I talked a lot with each and every member, it got to the point where just thinking about it makes me tear up\u2014because in the end, every single member, without exception, told me they support me. I\u2019ll feel sorry for the rest of my life, and more than anything, I\u2019m grateful. I want to say once again a huge, huge thank you\u2014to the older members who see me as their cute little brother and to the younger members who see me as a leader. To all the members who, in making this decision, listened most closely to my worries, heard my heart out, thought about me, shared their opinions, and gave me nothing but meaningful, wonderful conversations: thank you so much, and I love you. With the members I boarded the same ship with, we\u2019ve made the best voyage over the past ten-plus years. And as someone who has always loved going into the water, now that I\u2019m saying I want to swim, these are the members who are cheering on my deep dive\u2014with love, no less. I will also keep on supporting and loving you from here on out.<\/p>\n After being chosen through a global audition in 2012, I want to thank everyone for a lifetime\u2014from the training team to every instructor, everyone at the company, the managers, the directors, the executives, and staff in every department\u2014for having raised me and helped me grow into who I am today.<\/p>\n But\u2026 no matter how big a decision I\u2019ve made, I truly understand that it doesn\u2019t automatically ease everyone\u2019s worries, concerns, and hardship just because it\u2019s \u201ca big challenge\u201d that I\u2019m taking on alone. I know that announcing a major decision for a new chapter in my life cannot soften\u2014through this one handwritten letter alone\u2014the change that could come as a huge shock and hurt to Czennies who have loved me as \u201cNCT\u2019s Mark,\u201d to Mark fans, and to the general public. That\u2019s why my heart feels so heavy. I think I spent an extremely long time worrying and thinking, over and over again, about what the most mature choice and the best way to go about it would be. I\u2019m so sorry that the result of all those long deliberations has ultimately led to this situation, which may seem so inadequate, and my heart feels very heavy.<\/p>\n I thought that what I can do in this situation\u2014especially for you, Czennies, whom I\u2019m most grateful to\u2014is to convey my genuine, sincere feelings. And when I looked into my heart, I realized that at the end of that sincerity, more than anything else, what I most wanted to express was my gratitude. To every Czennie, and to everyone who has known me and supported me up until now, I want to say as strongly as I can: thank you. Truly, truly, thank you. Thank you for letting me live as the happiest person for the past 10 years. For helping me hold a bigger dream of becoming a singer\u2014something I used to keep timidly tucked away only inside my heart\u2014and for helping me actually achieve that dream in reality, too. Because you sent me so much precious and invaluable love and support, it\u2019s truly thanks to that love and those memories that I was able to become the Mark I am today. Thank you, sincerely, for letting me live as someone who knows gratitude.<\/p>\n I will carry a grateful heart for SM, the NCT members, and Czennies for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n So that when I greet you again in the future with a new side of myself, I can be a Mark you can be proud of, I will do my absolute best\u2014beyond my best\u2014and work as hard as I can. Once again, thank you so much.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/figure>\n \n Read his handwritten letter in English here:<\/p>\n Mark said in his letter that, after spending years touring and promoting around the world, he felt the need to search for a deeper purpose in his art. He wants to understand the full shape of his original vision and where his music can go next. This suggests that his future work may be more personal and independent than the music fans listened to in NCT. However, the 26-year-old has not exactly confirmed plans for a solo career, a new label, or a break from music, so his future projects cannot be exactly shared. Despite that, he said, \u201c I\u2019ll really be working very very hard to make it all make sense,\u201d hinting at a future in music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mark Lee announces his departure from SM Entertainment and NCT Mark Lee shocked fans on April 3, 2026, when he confirmed he would be leaving SM Entertainment after 10 years with the company. His contract will officially end on April 8, 2026, almost exactly 10 years after his debut on April 9, 2016. Over that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3104,"featured_media":163260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2264,16,7],"tags":[938],"class_list":{"0":"post-163257","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"category-kpop","9":"category-news","10":"tag-nct"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163259,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163257\/revisions\/163259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.musicmundial.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/NCTs-Mark-letter.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nWhat is next for Mark Lee following his exit from NCT?<\/h2>\n