Category: FEATURES

Enlistment. The dreaded E-word for K-pop fans everywhere. Every year, fans go through the painful process of sending their idols off to serve in the military. South Korean law requires all able-bodied Korean men aged 18 to 28 (or 30, according to the revised military enlistment law that will allow entertainers to apply for deferment, if they are recognized by the government to have elevated South Korea’s image globally) to undergo mandatory military service. 

Most 1993-born idols—who are or will turn 28 this year—have already enlisted, but there are still quite a few who have yet to enter military service. Here are some idols born in 1993 that are due to enlist this year: 

Block B’s P.O. (born 2 February 1993) 

P.O debuted with Block B as one of the group’s rappers in 2011, and in the group’s first sub-unit, Bastarz, in 2015. He is also an actor, making his acting debut in the 2017 SBS drama Temperature of Love. He has since landed roles in other dramas such as Encounter, Hotel Del Luna, and more. 

P.O is also a variety show regular. He has been a fixed cast member of New Journey to the West (NJTTW) with his best friend, Song Mino, Great Escape, and Amazing Saturday since 2018. He is also on Kang’s Kitchen, a NJTTW spin-off program. 

Winner’s Mino (born 30 March 1993)

The rapper and producer has been active as a member of Winner since 2014. Following his runner-up finish on Show Me the Money season 4, Mino has since released numerous singles. He also debuted as a soloist in 2018 with his first studio album, XX. Mino has been a fixed cast member of New Journey to the West since 2017, which his best friend since high school P.O. joined in 2018. He also has his own web variety series on YouTube, Mino’s Pilot. Later this year, he will be appearing as a producer on Show Me the Money season 10. 

Mino made his official debut as a painter at the Special Exhibition for Emerging Artists (SEEA) 2019 art exhibit at the Seongnam Art Center’s 808 Gallery. His works were also displayed at London’s Saatchi Gallery in 2020 as part of the Korean Eye 2020: Creativity Daydream exhibit. 

VIXX’s Ravi (born 15 February 1993)

VIXX’s Ravi has had an active career both as the group’s main rapper and as a solo artist. The group known as the “Concept Kings” may be on hiatus due to military enlistment, but Ravi has made sure that he and his group stay firmly on top of Starlights’ radar. He has released several solo EPs and mixtapes since 2016; in 2020, he released his first full-length album. He has also been busy collaborating with various artists as a featured rapper, songwriter, and producer. Ravi is currently a regular cast member of the popular travel-variety show 2 Days 1 Night and has guested in other TV and web variety shows.

Ravi has also been busy as the CEO of his own hip-hop label, GROOVL1N, which he set up in 2019. This year, he set up The L1VE, an agency that supports artists across different genres. 

B1A4’s Gongchan (born 14 August 1993) 

Singer and actor Gongchan has been active as the maknae of B1A4 since 2011. He debuted as an actor in the web drama Delicious Love in 2015. His most recent dramas include Lonely Enough to Love and the web series Mokkoji Kitchen. 

Gongchan has also been active in the variety show circuit, appearing as a guest on shows such as Celebrity Bromance and Knowing Brothers. He also hosted the music variety show Global Request Show: A Song for You season 4 with former Super Junior Kangin and f(x)’s Amber in 2015.

DAY6’s Young K (born 19 December 1993) 

Young K is a member of the pop-rock band DAY6 as the group’s bassist, rapper and vocalist. He is also part of the group’s first sub-unit, Even of Day, with fellow members Dowoon and Wonpil. The sub-unit debuted in 2020. 

Young K is enlisting as a Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) soldier on 12 October. Before his enlistment, he will be releasing his first solo EP Eternal in September.  

Of these ’93-liners, who will you miss the most?

Featured image: Best friends Mino and P.O. in New Journey to The West. Photo: tvN Asia/YouTube

Since we’ve already covered some iconic performance stages from boy groups, it’s just right for the ladies to get some attention. Here are a number of performances that prove that girl power is indeed alive and well in k-pop. 

SNSD Grants Wishes From a Helipad

There was a time (c. 2009-2012, to be exact) when the music show Music Core blessed fans with “outdoor performances,” which for the most part… worked in their “fresh” approach. Infinite danced on water to their debut song Come Back Again (probably a tribute to their MV where the boys danced in the rain?), Rainbow sang To Me with colored fountains as background, SISTAR sang Push Push in a waterpark (yes, Music Core producers had a water fixation for a time), A-Jax in a clearing in the middle of a field, APink in what looked like a countryside garden with white statues guarding them. And who can forget the iconic Sunny Hill performance of Midnight Circus in a condemned garage with flattened cars piled on top of each other serving as their background? But that is totally dangerous and deserves its own article. 

We are here to talk about the Nation’s Girl Group singing Genie, wearing their navy uniform costumes in a skyscraper rooftop helipad! As the girls were in their sexy navy garb, one would expect Music Core to exploit that element to their advantage, bringing the SNSD live performance to a marina maybe, or an oil tanker? But no, they opted to have the girls sing while kicking imaginary dirt (that choreography actually has a name – leg beauty dance) in a helipad.

And in an era where drone videography was still an alien concept, the show used actual helicopters to circle around the rooftop, with cameramen taking overhead footage of the performance. Actual helicopters and rooftop rental – that should have cost a leg! Fortunately, the show’s efforts paid off as the SNSD performance holds the record as the most-watched performance in Korean television history, with 8.6 million viewers.

Red Velvet Kills It in Hostile Territory, Twice!

Be warned: This is definitely not your usual live stage. 

It was April 2018 and for the two Koreas to show a warming of their relationship, South Korean musical acts went to Pyongyang to stage a two-day concert entitled “Spring is Coming” . Among those acts was Red Velvet. Yes, Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Yeri went north of the 38th parallel to spread some happiness, and how! Before you complain, Joy had to finish filming scenes for her drama, so her schedule did not permit her to visit Kim Jongun. 

To say that the performances were scary is an understatement. Take note that North and South Korea are still technically at war and are only enjoying an extended ceasefire, so just thinking about that should scare the living hell out of any performer. The girl’s first performance in the 1,500-seater East Pyongyang Grand Theatre was Red Flavor. Song – perfect, outfits – honestly, I was scared for Seulgi and Yeri who were wearing shorts but with knee-length boots, audience – stoic throughout except for this one lady who smiled during Seulgi’s first lines. Seriously, watching that stage made me want to pee in my pants. 

After Red Flavor and a short talk came Bad Boy.. Song – scary. Choreography – scary, with the gun gestures.   And true enough, in an episode of Knowing Bros, Seulgi admitted to having agreed to change the rifle cocking move she was supposed to execute with something like her left hand cupping her mouth, like she was going to whisper something. Alas, during the performance, her nerves got the better of her, so she forgot the agreed replacement, though she had some sense to convert her rifle into a pistol just in time. Luckily, the audience still received it well and no wars were declared. Besides, various credible sources claimed that the supreme leader was so smitten by Red Velvet’s leader that those small incidents can be easily ignored.

GFriend Risks Life for Stage

Idol groups performing under the rain and consequently, a wet stage are not that rare, with countless members getting caught on fancams suffering from all sorts of accidents from small slips to face-first dives.  Examples of “accident-prone” idols include SISTAR’s Bora who famously fractured her thumb in the middle of singing Shady Girl as she used her hand to balance herself as she fell. The performance had to be stopped, the rapper’s thumbs had to be bandaged, and guess what, the group redid the entire performance before the injured member was sent to the hospital. For a group whose footwear options in their live performances were limited to stilettos and chunky platform heels (their choice), almost all members have been victimized by wet stages. 

Oh My Girl, WJSN, and LABOUM have also had a fair share of wet stages, with some performances having the members wear raincoats while dancing. How’s that for dedication?   

But perhaps the most memorable idol wet live stage in history is GFriend’s Me Gustas Tu performance at the 2015 Hyundai Eco-Driving Concert. From the start, you can already see some of the members kick water to the side in vain attempts to dry the stage. For a close to four-minute performance, main vocal Yuju fell not once, not twice, not thrice, not four times, but FIVE times, with the final spill only, milliseconds before she had to do a vocal run adlib. The other members also slipped at least once, but it was simply amazing how Yuju survived without injuries save for some minor bruises and a bit of trauma, for sure. 

Even if the audience cheered them on by chanting “gwenchana” (it’s ok!) as they exited the stage, you can’t help but feel sorry for the girls. But then, these stages give way to the birth of legendary groups, which begs the question, when should death-defying performances be acceptable and when should groups put their foot down and say no for their health and safety? .  

Oh My Girl Makes Destiny Their Own

In one of the most jaw-dropping reversals in Korean television history, the reality competition Queendom had participating girl groups perform trademark songs of their competition. (G)-IDLE performed 2NE1’s Fire, while Park Bom performed (G)-IDLE’s HANN. MAMAMOO went full-throttle sexy with AOA’s Good Luck, while usually-sexy AOA went full-on girl crush with their rendition of Egotistic. 

So, we were supposed to end up with the two remaining groups, Oh My Girl and Lovelyz exchanging songs, a scenario both groups wanted to avoid since their concepts are too similar. However, Lovelyz won a challenge, which rewarded them with their own say on what song they will perform in the next round. Thus, instead of singing an OMG track, they went with Brown Eyed Girls’ militaristic Sixth Sense. With no available options for them, Oh My Girl ended up signing the usually bright Destiny, but with a twist. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5BseJ4fxzA

Instead of doing a teenybopper version of the track as they were expected to do, the girls of WM Entertainment went the mystical route, giving the song an ethnic and mysterious feel with traditional musical instruments. With resident rapper Mimi adding an additional rap verse and the choreography undergoing a major do-over, the OMG is way distinct and unrecognizable from Lovelyz’s version. The performance received overwhelmingly positive reviews from viewers and even from the contestants themselves. Oh My Girl’s cover of Destiny went on to chart as one of the highest songs from the reality show. Not bad at all for a version of a song long identified with another group. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list of iconic girl group stages. So, here’s hoping we can have more iconic stages in the future.

Featured image: Oh My Girl performs Destiny in reality show, Queendom. Photo: Mnet K-POP/YouTube