The sub-unit debuted on August 25, 2016, with the single "Chewing Gum" and a lineup of seven members—Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung—whose average age was 15.6 years old.

[7][8] NCT Dream achieved major commercial success with the release of their first studio album, Hot Sauce (2021), whose pre-orders surpassed 1.71 million copies.

Known for music reflecting youth and adolescence, growth, and the transition from innocence to rebellion,[12] the sub-unit has been recognized internationally as one of the most notable teenaged artists of their time.

They are the first and only Asian artist to appear three consecutive times on Billboard's "21 Under 21" list for their industry impact on sales, streaming and social media, placing at numbers 20, 13 and 19 from 2018 to 2020.

Jisung was also previously a child actor with roles in films such as Boys, Be Curious (2012), and Go, Stop, Murder (2013) and a member of Poppin' Hyun Joon Kids Crew.

From July through December 2015, the five boys were Mouseketeers on Disney Channel Korea's The Mickey Mouse Club, where they performed music and dances, played games, and participated in skits.

SM Rookies Boys eventually held their own showcase, the SMRookies Show, which took place in Seoul in September 2015 and later expanded to Bangkok, Thailand in February 2016.

NCT was first announced in January 2016 by Lee Soo-man at a presentation outlining plans for a group that would debut different sub-units around the world.

On February 1, 2017, SM Entertainment announced NCT Dream's first single album, although member Jaemin would not participate in order to recover from his herniated disc injury.

[25] In the same month, NCT Dream was appointed the official ambassadors for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, hosted in South Korea in the summer of 2017.

On March 15, NCT Dream released the official song for the tournament, "Trigger the Fever", and performed it at different promotional events and at the opening ceremony of the U-20 World Cup.

[31] The song marked a transition in the narrative of NCT Dream's music from the portrayal of innocence to the "more defiant attitude" of teenagers.

[32] On August 27, it was confirmed that the album would be Mark's last comeback with the group before graduating in 2019 upon turning 19 years old, the age of majority in South Korea.

[14] In November, the group featured on American-Canadian boy band PrettyMuch's INTL:EP with the song "Up To You", its lyrics praised for promoting consent.

At the end of the album's promotion period, the graduation system would be abolished, and NCT Dream would continue with all seven members upon the return of Mark.

[61][62] In South Korea, "Ridin'" reached number one on its largest music site, Melon, making it the first track released by an NCT unit to top the chart.

[66] Metro praised "Déjà Vu" for blending the youthful sound of NCT Dream with more edge and ranked it among the top 20 K-pop comebacks of 2020.

[71] On June 28, 2021, the group released the repackage of their first studio album Hello Future, which contained three new tracks, including the lead single of the same name.

[73]On February 28, 2022, it was announced that the group would release their second studio album, Glitch Mode, on March 28, which contained eleven new tracks, including the lead single of the same name.

[77] On May 30, 2022, the group released the repackage of their second studio album Beatbox, which contained four new tracks, including the lead single of the same name.

The tracks on the EP, including the lead single of the same name originally released by H.O.T., were made available on streaming services on December 16.

[84] On July 17, 2023, NCT Dream released their third studio album, ISTJ, which contains 10 tracks including the lead single, "Broken Melodies".

A music video was released at the same time for the song "Smoothie", which depicts the band members playing the game Fruit Ninja.