Mark Lee spent almost a decade inside one of K-pop’s biggest systems.
NCT U.
NCT 127.
NCT DREAM.
SM Entertainment.
Then, in April 2026, he walked away.
Fans naturally wondered what would happen next.
Would Mark sign with another major K-pop agency?
Would he join an international label?
Would he build a traditional solo career?
The answer turned out to be much more unexpected.
Mark created his own company.
And he isn’t just its artist.
He’s also a co-CEO.
So What Exactly Is Upper Room?
After leaving SM Entertainment and NCT, Mark founded a company called Upper Room.
Yonhap describes it as a one-person agency that Mark himself calls a “creative company,” built together with longtime collaborators he trusts. Mark currently serves as its co-chief executive.
That’s an important distinction.
Mark didn’t simply change employers.
He helped create the place where his next music would be made.
For someone who spent nearly 10 years inside SM Entertainment’s enormous production system, that’s a dramatic change.
Before:
Mark was one artist inside NCT.
Now:
Mark is helping run the company behind Mark.
Reddit Fans Immediately Asked the Same Question
When Upper Room appeared, Reddit fans quickly noticed that this didn’t look like a normal agency transfer.
A discussion in the NCT DREAM community focused specifically on the discovery that Mark appeared to be Upper Room’s CEO.
But another question appeared almost immediately:
What kind of artist is Mark going to become now?
Fans debated whether he would continue the familiar K-pop cycle of music shows, choreography, photocards and comeback promotions—or move toward a more independent singer-songwriter model.
That uncertainty is exactly what makes Upper Room interesting.
Fans knew NCT’s Mark.
They don’t fully know Upper Room’s Mark yet.
“My Friend” Gave Us the First Answer
On September 10, Mark released “My Friend,” his first new song since leaving NCT and his first release through Upper Room.
And the credits are revealing.
Mark participated in the song’s:
lyrics, composition and arrangement.
The production itself also moved in a different direction.
Instead of an enormous high-concept K-pop production, “My Friend” uses a restrained mid-tempo pop sound built around a nostalgic guitar loop.
The music video followed the same idea.
Director Gus Black minimized CG and artificial staging, putting more attention on Mark, the music and the physical spaces around him.
Upper Room described the direction with a simple phrase:
“Back to Basic.”
For Mark’s first release after leaving one of K-pop’s biggest companies, that’s a pretty interesting choice.
He Also Changed How He Talks to Fans
The independence isn’t only visible in the music.
Mark has been experimenting with more direct fan communication.
He launched “MARK’s Voice Mailbox,” allowing fans to call a number, hear his message and leave their own voice message.
He also joined the fan communication platform Laylo.
According to reports, 42,392 people sent Mark messages and completed email subscriptions within the first hour of its launch.
He has also opened his own official Weverse community.
In other words, Mark isn’t rebuilding only his music.
He’s rebuilding the infrastructure around his fandom.
And “My Friend” Didn’t Start Quietly
Going independent always comes with a question.
Will the audience follow?
Early results suggest plenty of fans did.
“My Friend” reached No. 1 on Bugs’ real-time chart and topped Genie’s latest music chart after release.
Internationally, it reached No. 1 on the iTunes Top Songs chart in Argentina, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
Those early chart results don’t tell us what Mark’s independent career will ultimately become.
But they answer one important question.
His audience didn’t disappear when he left NCT.
Leaving NCT May Have Been Only Half the Story
When Mark’s departure was first announced, the obvious headline was:
MARK LEAVES NCT.
That’s huge news by itself.
But five months later, the more interesting story may be what happened after he left.
He didn’t disappear.
He didn’t simply move from one giant entertainment company to another.
He built Upper Room.
He became a co-CEO.
He released music with extensive creative involvement.
And he began building new ways to communicate directly with fans.
That makes his departure look less like the end of a K-pop career…
and more like an attempt to redesign one.
From NCT Member to CEO
Mark debuted in NCT in 2016.
Ten years later, he’s sitting on the other side of the entertainment business.
Artist.
Songwriter.
Composer.
And now company executive.
There are still plenty of unanswered questions.
How big does Mark want Upper Room to become?
Will it remain a company built only around him?
Will he eventually work with or sign other artists?
And how closely will his future releases resemble traditional K-pop?
Those answers haven’t been announced.
But that’s exactly why Mark’s next chapter is worth watching.
Because the biggest surprise wasn’t simply that Mark left NCT after 10 years.
It was what he did next.
He became his own boss.