2012–2014: Pre-debut Vernon joined
Pledis Entertainment in 2012, after being scouted on the street, and received training for the next three years. Beginning in 2013, he participated in
Seventeen TV, an online reality show that introduced Pledis' trainees and showed potential members of the boy group
Seventeen before their official debut. The show was broadcast periodically on
Ustream, where the trainees showed themselves training, singing, creating choreographies, and playing games. The online show also included participation in concerts, such as Like Seventeen. Before his official debut as an idol, Vernon made multiple appearances on South Korean television, including
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation's
Hello Stranger!, a program about foreigners in South Korea, and
Song Eun-i's
Eye to Eye, where he appeared as an elementary school student who was an expert in dating.
2015–present: Seventeen and solo activities In 2015, Vernon debuted as a member of the South Korean boy group
Seventeen with the
extended play 17 Carat on May 26, on which he contributed to lyrics for four out of the five songs. Since debuting, Vernon has participated in the songwriting of over 90 songs, making him the Seventeen member with the second-most writing credits after
Woozi. In August 2017, Vernon, alongside
Pentagon's
Kino, was introduced as a member of the musical collective M.O.L.A consisting of
15&'s
Jamie,
Uniq's
Woodz, and producer Nathan. Guitarist Hoho later joined the collective. In November 2021, Vernon released his first solo track since 2015, titled "Bands Boy", written by himself. In February 2022, English singer
Charli XCX reached out to Vernon on
Twitter to collaborate on a remix for "
Beg for You". The remix was released February 26, 2022, with a review from
Nylon's Steffanee Wang describing Vernon's verse as a "grand slam", with "heavy distortion before his silvery falsetto breaks through the digital veil". In December 2022 it was announced that Vernon would release the third mixtape for Seventeen's
The Thirteen Tapes series: a self-composed and self-written single titled "Black Eye". It was released on December 23, 2022. In July 2023, Vernon, alongside bandmate
Joshua, hosted an
Apple Music 1 summer themed radio show titled
Summer Vacation With Joshua and Vernon of Seventeen. He later joined
Blink-182's
Mark Hoppus' own Apple Music show
After School Radio for episode 169. In 2024, Vernon was promoted to a regular member of the Korean Music Copyright Association (
KOMCA). Later that year he was confirmed to have a cameo appearance in
Anderson .Paak's comedy film
K-Pops!. ==Artistry and image==