K-Pop, or Korean Pop, is a musical genre that originated in South Korea and has quickly become a global phenomenon. Over the past decade, K-Pop has grown from a niche genre to a multi-billion dollar industry, with groups like BTS, BLACKPINK, and EXO taking the world by storm. One of the key ways K-Pop groups have been able to reach global audiences is through their world tours. In this article, we will explore the K-Pop world tour, from how it started to how it has become an integral part of the K-Pop industry.
The first K-Pop world tour took place in 2009, when 2PM, a boy group from South Korea, embarked on a world tour that took them to several countries in Asia. Since then, the number of K-Pop world tours has continued to grow, with more and more groups traveling to more and more countries. Today, K-Pop groups are traveling to every corner of the globe, from South America to Europe to Africa, performing for millions of fans.
One of the reasons K-Pop has become so popular globally is due to the internet and social media. With the rise of platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, K-Pop groups have been able to connect with fans all over the world, and their world tours have allowed them to meet those fans in person. Many K-Pop groups have large online fan bases, and their world tours are a way for those fans to see their idols perform live.
The K-Pop world tour is also a way for groups to showcase their music and dance skills to new audiences. K-Pop is known for its high-energy, synchronized dance routines and catchy pop songs. During their world tours, K-Pop groups perform a mix of their biggest hits, as well as new music that they are promoting. The world tour is also an opportunity for K-Pop groups to connect with their fans and interact with them in a more personal way.
The K-Pop world tour is not just about the performances, however. It is also about the experience. Many K-Pop groups have made a point of incorporating elements of Korean culture into their tours, such as traditional Korean music, dance, and food. This helps to introduce fans to Korean culture and helps to create a deeper connection between the fans and the groups.
The K-Pop world tour is also a major source of revenue for the industry. The cost of producing a world tour can be substantial, but the return on investment is usually worth it. K-Pop world tours sell out quickly, and tickets can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. This has led to K-Pop groups becoming some of the highest-earning musicians in the world.
The K-Pop world tour has also had a major impact on the global music industry. The success of K-Pop groups has inspired other musicians from around the world to incorporate elements of Korean culture into their music, such as the use of synchronized dance routines and visual effects. This has led to a new genre of music that is sometimes referred to as “global pop”.
In conclusion, the K-Pop world tour is an integral part of the K-Pop industry, allowing groups to showcase their music and connect with fans all over the world. It has also had a major impact on the global music industry, inspiring other musicians and helping to introduce Korean culture to audiences around the world. With the continued growth of the K-Pop industry, it is likely that the K-Pop world tour will continue to evolve and expand, reaching even more audiences in the future.
The case of DIA is very curious because they seem to have what it takes to become the breakout group of 2016, especially since they had a member from I.O.I: Chaeyeon. She was one of the visual centers of I.O.I who was anticipated to become the next Bae Suzy. These factors certainly beg the question, why had DIA languished seven years into their careers? Why can’t the group seem to catch a break?
The History of DIA
It was February 2015 and the entire industry of Korean pop music was reeling from a rather eventful 2014. Ladies’ Code met an accident where two of its members passed away; 25 people died after a ventilation grate collapses during a 4minute concert; members quit their groups – Kris and Luhan from EXO, Jessica from SNSD, Thunder and Lee Joon from MBLAQ, and Jiyoung and Nicole from Kara, among others; B.A.P files lawsuit against their agency for maltreatment; the father of Super Junior‘s Leeteuk murders his parents before ending his own life; and alas, Park Bom gets embroiled in a drug scandal. All of these happened amidst the national tragedy of the MV Sewol sinking. By this time, it seemed that the entire country deserved a break from all these unfortunate events.
So, it was rather auspicious for MBK to announce plans of debuting a new girl group. MBK, the company of T-ara, a group that was still very much detested by the public in 2015 after the “bullying scandal” between Hwayoung and the other members, said that they are planning to stage a reality show entitled T-ara’s Little Sister Girl Group and form a new group. Months after, the company decided to cancel the plan and decided to choose from among their current trainees who the members of the new group will be. MBK announced a line-up with six members: Eunice, Huihyeon (aka Cathy), Jenny, Yebin, Eunjin, and Chaeyeon, with Seunghee added to the line-up before the group’s debut in September. The group released their self-titled debut studio album, Do It Amazing with the single Somehow, whose music video was filmed in Hong Kong.
The album peaked at number 11 on the Gaon Album Chart and the song charted at #152. The performance was promising for a debut group, which means it wasn’t really considered a flop, but definitely far from the group making a splash. Also, considering that DIA was marketed as the new T-ara, Make It Amazing and Somehow definitely paled in comparison to their sunbaenim’s debut Absolute First Album, which peaked at number 2, and their debut single Lie, which charted in Billboard’s K-pop Hot 100, all amidst of early line-up changes in the highly competitive year of 2009. But then, many commented on the group members’ freshness and Chaeyeon’s beauty, so people were reasonably optimistic about the group’s future.
But then, as what their senior group experienced, DIA also became subject to line-up changes as soon as their debut activities ended. Eunchae (introduced as Chaewon) joined as a new member in March 2016, virtually replacing Seunghee, who was confirmed to have left the group a month later. Before that, Cathay and Chaeyeong took a hiatus from group activities to participate in Produce 101, which was quite successful for the girls as both gained a following from the show (although Cathy was a victim of the Mnet evil edit) and Chaeyeon finished 7th. DIA‘s first mini-album Happy Ending was released on June 14, along with the music video for the lead single On the Road on the same day. Chaeyeon did return to her group for this comeback while a sub-init of I.O.I promoted Whatta Man, making the DIA line-up complete for this release. Both EP and single outperformed their debut efforts, with Happy Ending selling close to 10,000 copies by the end of 2016 (compared to only close to 2,5000 Do It Amazing sold) and On the Road downloaded more than 81,000 times at peaking at the charts at #48, which remains the group’s highest-charting song up to date.
In September 2016, the group released a Harry Potter-themed album titled Spell, with Mr. Potter as the lead single. Although the album fared better than its predecessor, the song brought the group back to outside the top 100 in the charts, as Mr. Potter only managed close to 23,000 downloads and peaked at #103.
2017 saw new members, Jueun and Somyi, who participated in the group’s second studio album YOLO, which was released in April. The album contained fourteen tracks, with the lead single titled Will You Go Out with Me?
YOLO peaked at number 3 in the album charts with more than 18,000 units sold, while Will You Go Out With Mebrought back the group to the top 100, as it peaked at #78 with close to 28,000 digital downloads. Four months later, the group released their third mini-album titled Love Generation, with a repackaged version released two months later. Although the album performed better than most of their releases, the singles Can’t Stop and Good Night was nowhere in Gaon’s digital sales charts.
In May the following year, Eunjin announced her departure from the group, citing health problems. With six members remaining, MBK announced a DIA comeback in July, which was already postponed as the comeback was previously announced to happen in April. DIA ultimately released their fourth EP Summer Ade on August 9, 2018, with the title track Woo Woo. Although the release didn’t do much in terms of the group’s standing, they did receive their first music show win on SBS MTV’s The Show, so at the end of the day, the group still benefited from it.
The group did not return until March 2019 with their fifth EP titled Newtro alongside its title track Woowa. Four months later, Jenny left the group due to health problems with her knee.
5 years ago today, DIA released their 2nd Mini Album ‘Spell’ with the title track 'Mr Potter' pic.twitter.com/a1fGML21tw
On May 25, 2020, it was revealed that DIA would make a comeback with their sixth EP Flower 4 Seasons on June 10, marked their first release under PocketDol Studio, which is just MBK rebranded. It was also confirmed that the group will promote with five members as a unit without Chaeyeon and Somyi. Thre was also a bit of intrigue for this comeback as apparently, one of DIA’s former members, Seunghee (as the last member to be included in the original 2015 line-up and also the first one to leave the group in 2016) has returned to PocketDol. However, she has become a producer of the company and only deals with the agency’s boy groups, so she shut down any speculation that she would work with her former group in any capacity.
Since June 2020, the group has not staged any activities. Moreover, PocketDol confirmed that Somyi, the member who didn’t participate in the group’s last comeback, had already terminated her contract with the company and left DIA. On the other hand, Chaeyeon is still under the company, although she has been very active in her acting career, particularly after experiencing a rise in her popularity after appearing as the female lead in the KBS drama The King’s Affection with SF9‘s Rowoon and Park Eunbin (Hot Stove League, Do You Like Brahms?). She is set to star opposite BtoB‘s Sungjae in the MBC drama Golden Spoon.
What went wrong?
With the company finally announcing that the group will release a final album before officially disbanding, we are now left with the question, what went wrong with DIA? Here are some theories that fans themselves have presented as to why the group ultimately flopped.
No opportunity to display their charms
This can all be attributed to MBK’s general incompetence. They were just zero creativity in terms of the concepts DIA showcased during the years they were active. All their music videos showed a lack of storyline, so it felt like the group’s videos only had the camera operator tail the girls on their day off or in whatever activity they could think of. The only music video the group had that was obviously heavy on concept was the one for Mr. Potter. But even that one had people scratching their heads as there was this person with a rabbit’s head, then the girls doing a dance using their suspenders, then some scenes on a train (still with the human rabbit) that finally make people remember the Hogwarts Express, before finally having some of the members ride broomsticks, which can be a reference to Quidditch. The video ends up being disjointed, as people end up not being sure of what the song is all about.
The lineup changes are not justified.
We get it, the group, just like most groups with IOI members, end up being (insert IOI member name) and friends. This is why it was a huge injustice to the group when they added new members to compensate for the departure of a member, only for these new members to not be given the platform to really showcase their talents through a subunit and instead just continue on as Chaeyeon’s back-up girls. Alas, nobody really knew them.
DIA remained a nugu group
Chaeyeon is one of the more popular idols in K-pop and that became a problem for DIA. That is because the majority of Korean public only knows about Chaeyeon as an individual rather than DIA as a whole. Alas, her popularity did not contribute to the group’s popularity, as it seems Chaeyeon’s identity was not tightly knitted with the group’s, unlike for example, how Eunji’s and Naeun’s acting careers further raised Apink’s profile or how Jisoo is recognized as Blackpink’s Jisoo even in (or despite) her debut acting appearance in Snowdrop. So, the question of whether you should already be famous before joining a group or get more recognition as a member of a group first before getting additional popularity for your group is more like a chicken or egg conundrum. Unfortunately, in DIA’s case, Chayeon’s fame did not rub off on her group.
Alas, with the announcement of DIA’s disbandment, we can only wish all the girls good luck in their future endeavors.
Featured Image: Screenshot from DIA’s “Mr Potter” Official Music video.
If you thought that the injustice faced byGugudan and the lackadaisical degree of support still being experienced by Weki Meki and DIA are so enough to give you sleepless nights, you definitely don’t know the entire story of Pristin. The group, composed of produce 101 alumnae Nayoung, Roa, Yuha, Eunwoo, Rena, Kyulkyung, and Xiyeon plus three other members Yehana Sungyeon, and Kyla was off to one of the most promising starts – not just for groups with former I.O.I members but for any idol group in general. They debut with guns blazing, winning awards and getting invited to perform in big events with more established artists.
And then, in true Pledis fashion, the support sputtered. The members started begging off from promotions, and after only just a little over three years since they debuted, they officially disbanded. Just like that.
For a group that showed so much promise even before they debuted, it remains a mystery and just a plain sore issue among fans and even casual observers as to why Pristin ended up that way. So, here’s a trip back in time to remember what actually happened to this initially promising group. Don’t worry, it’s a quick trip since their history only started in 2016.
Early Beginnings
From the start, there was already a lot of anticipation for the group Pledis was forming. The members Nayoung, Roa, Yuha, Eunwoo, Rena, Kyulkyung and Xiyeon competed together on Mnet’s survival television show Produce 101, which aired from January 22 to April 1, 2016. In the show, five of the members were eliminated, while Nayoung and Kyulkyung became part of the final line-up for the project girl group I.O.I, which made its debut on May 4. Just like Kim Nayoung of what was going to be Jellyfish Entertainment’s Gugudan, all seven members actually gained a lot of public attention because of their all-around skills. These were very capable contestants who joined the show with skills to boot! Although it can be argued that seven is too many for one company and that it is a bit obvious that they were sent to the show to raise the awareness of the public on their impending activities, it cannot also be denied that all seven members definitely weren’t just space fillers.
Aside from Kyulkyung (who was at that time pushed to international audiences as Pinky), members like Nayoung and Xiyeon went on to be recognized for their leadership skills and pointed commentary. In the end, Nayoung placed 10th and Kyulkyung placed 6th, making them members of the project group I.O.I.
On the other hand, Pledis officially announced the formation of a group to be known as Pledis Girlz on March 23, 2016. The group held concerts from May 14 to September 10 where one member performed weekly, with the exception of Nayoung and Kyulkyung, who were promoting with I.O.I at the time. Although some I.O.I members opted to promote with their respective groups (Mina and Sejeong with Gugudan, Yeojung with WJSN, and Chaeyeon with DIA), somehow Pledis did not deem the importance of Pinky and Nayoung to start promoting with Pledis Girlz.
On June 27, they released the promotional single “We“, which was written by Roa, Eunwoo, Sungyeon and Xiyeon. The music video for the song was used to introduce the members’ profiles. They then held their last concert as Pledis Girlz on January 6, 2017, and then renamed to Pristin, a mashup of the words “prismatic” (bright and clear) and “elastin” (flawless strength). I.O.I finally disbanded on January 25, which then already allowed Nayoung and Kyulkyung to devote 100% of their energies to their group. On March 21, Pristin debuted and released their first mini album Hi! Pristin, accompanied by the title track “Wee Woo“. They became the first rookie girl group to perform their debut song on a live broadcast during Mnet Present and was also part of the line-up for the KCON festival held in Japan on May 19. A remixed version of “Black Widow” was released as the album’s second and final single, which the group performed on a few music shows in order to conclude Hi! Pristin‘s promotions.
So, how did the debut fare? Very well. Hi! Pristin entered the Gaon Album Chart at number 4 and at number 10 on the Billboard’s World Albums Chart. As of June 2017, the album had sold 42,299 copies, which is not too bad at all for a debuting girl group not from the Big 3.
On June 3, Pristin performed at the 2017 Dream Concert at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. Two months later (which makes it five months after they debuted), the group’s second mini album Schxxl Out was released on August 23, along with the single “We Like“. Schxxl Out debuted on the Gaon Album Chart at number 4 (same rank as its predecessor), number 5 on Billboard’s World Albums Chart, and at number 116 on the Oricon Albums Chart (Hi! Pristin peaked at #157 in Oricon).
Many expressed that We Like Woo is a bit redundant, considering it sounded similar to the group’s debut single Wee Woo. But then, two arguments in favor of Pristin: 1) If it worked the first time, why fix it? I mean, Wee Woo was very catchy and if the follow-up comeback can be as catchy in the similar thread, why not go with it? Better to save the group from a sophomore slump than to insist on an altogether different sound that may end up sabotaging the group (i,e, Gugudan with Chococo), right?
2) Pledis was on track with establishing the “Pristin sound”. It’s one of those things that experienced companies are known to be good at: Make sure the initial singles of the group would help in establishing that distinct sound that would make any listener go, “That’s a (insert group name) song!” Give a a catty “Hey hey” intro and I would automatically assume I’m going to listen to an AOA song. Start with a disco background mixed with a sophisticated sound that never gets into girl crush category and I would say that’s an Apink single. Sweet melodies with hard-hitting dance breaks? That’s got to be Gfriend! By the time We Like came out, it did feel like Pristin is going for the very repetitive but catchy sound. While people would comment, “Why do they just keep on repeating du-du-du-du-du-du in the chorus,” chances are they were also the ones who commented “Why do they just keep on repeating wee woo, wee woo, wee?” That’s the distinctly Pristin sound!
So going back to the group, after August 2017, there was radio silence despite them closing 2017 with rookie and new artist nominations and awards from Asia Artist Awards, Mnet Asian Music Awards, Seoul Music Awards, and V Live Awards. For a group that garnered a lot of attention only to have one of its members’ on hiatus as the last piece of news is blatant mismanagement. Finally, on May 8, it was announced that Pristin would not be having a comeback but instead would be debuting a sub-unit called Pristin V, consisting of members Nayoung, Roa, Eunwoo, Rena and Kyulkyung. Pristin V made their debut on May 28, 2018 with single album Like A V. Which slapped hard.
The, radio silence once again.
Then finally, on May 24, 2019, four days short of a year after the debut of Pristin V, Pledis Entertainment announced a Pristin comeback.
Not.
The company announced the group’s official disbandment. Pledis Entertainment announced that while Kyulkyung, Yehana, and Sungyeon would stay with the company, the remaining seven (Xiyeon, Rena, Roa, Kyla, Eunwoo, Yuha, and leader Nayoung) have left their stable.
What happened to Pristin? Two things.
And that was it! The short, bitter, and complete history of Pristin! So, what happened?
1) It’s just Pledis being Pledis – a company that freezes with success.
In other words, a company that doesn’t know how to manage their groups. As in they dont know how to captialize on what they have, as seen in After School and NU’EST. I mean, people were practically holding on to the last thread of belief they had with the company when SEVENTEEN thrived despite the group continuously being under their management. People thought, if Pledis can succeed with SVT, they can do it as well with Pristin. But then, Pledis showed utmost consistency when they didn’t know how to keep NU’EST‘s newfound fame after their phenomenal return to public consciousness after the members’ PD101 Season 2 appearance.
But it seems the company gets frazzled when their talents find success. The company just doesn’t know what to do with successful talent! It’s a good thing that SVT are practically self-producing, as it is like 99% sure that if the group was left to Pledis’ devices, the company wouldn’t have the strategy on how to prolong their success. Suffice to say, SVT not only survived but thrived because Woozi kept on making songs, S.Coups and the rappers kept on supplying raps, and Hoshi is quick to implement choreographies once the songs are done. Nayeong and company (and by extension, JR and his boys) were mostly dependent on Pledis, a company that doesn’t do strategy at all.
2) Pledis doesn’t know how to deal with imperfect members.
As early as October 2017, it was announced that Kyla would take a break from Pristin activities due to health issues. She returned temporarily to the United States to focus on her recovery. But then we’ll never know what happened once she recovered because she wasn’t included in the Pristin V sub-unit and the group was eventually disbanded. All the while, Kyla had already gone back to studying in high school! She did express sadness in her social media accounts with regarding her wasted years as a trainee in Pledis for 7 (read: S-E-V-E-N) years, but when your agency doesn’t know how to deal with you, then what are you gonna do?
The same thing happened to Kyulkyung, when she left for China and just never came back to Korea. Pledis has sued her for unlawful termination of her contract (she didn’t leave with the seven in 2019) because she just let her contract run as she wasn’t active in Korea anyway. So, for whatever reason, Pledis suddenly remembered her and sued her. But then, girl is making bank in her home country, so I guess she’s just letting things run their course. In other words, not deal with Pledis and the Korean market at all. After all, her last activities in Korea did leave a bitter taste in her mouth.
This brings us to Pledis’ lousy treatment of Kyla and Kyulkyung. As mentioned earlier, Kyulkyung’s last activities with Pledis and Pristin was with Pristin V and by this time, even fans were getting mad at Chinese idols for a number of reasons. With a good number of Chinese members usually leaving their groups once they become a bit popular around the world and the awkward relations between China and South Korea led Korean fans to conclude that Chinese idols are opportunistic when it comes to their careers in Korea and that they eventually quit once they get a certain level of popularity. And when push comes to shove that Korea and China get into disagreements, that these Chinese idols will always be loyal to China and altogether forget that they would be nobodies had it not been for their Korean companies and fans. Thus, when Kyulkyung became the “center” of Pristin V, fans would usually be quiet or turn their back when it’s her turn singing but would immediately explode into applause and cheers with the other members.
On the other hand, there was Kyla who kept on getting hate comments about her weight as soon as they debuted. It would be fair to say that people were just brutal to her when they commented that no idol look that heavy on camera or have such wide thighs. Even the Korean press would not take pictures of the group when she is in the center and would only resume taking pictures once a member covers Kyla by stepping forward and “hiding” her.
On both occasions with Kyla and Kyulkyung, Pledis Entertainment didn’t do anything. It was almost like not only did they pretend that nothing was happening, but they actually consented to everything by turning a blind eye and a deaf ear.
So yes, should we really be surprised that Pristin actually disbanded after only three years? Unfortunately, all these factors combined to the detriment of the group. So now, we have nothing else but only best wishes to the members who have gone on with their lives.
K-pop idol groups fading from the limelight through disbandment shortly after their debut is a sad but common reality. However, there are a few groups that had things to their advantage at the start but still struggled in terms of popularity and eventually lost their battle against irrelevance. Here are four groups that, unfortunately, we may not see much of anymore.
HOTSHOT
This one is gonna hurt a lot of K-pop observers because HOTSHOT was definitely one of the most talented groups in K-pop. If you need more evidence to prove this, look no further than Produce 101 Season 2, where you can watch Ha Sungwon finishing in the top 11 of the program, and therefore securing a spot in the project group WANNA ONE, while Noh Taehyun being in charge of the choreography of his group’s staging of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You. Oh, and don’t forget that first evaluation performance of the two to Block B’s Very Good. Based on that, you can’t really help but wonder why HOTSHOT, with overly talented members and all, became lukewarm and eventually faded into disbandment.
But Produce 101 Season 2 was not the only program where HOTSHOT’s members were able to display their talents. While Sungwon and Taehyun participated in Produce 101, another two joined another idol survival show, The Unit. Timoteo, who happened to be an SM trainee and was slotted to join EXO, ended up 10th in the show. It was a spot short of the final nine members who made up the show’s project group UNB. On the other hand, Hojung ranked 3rd and therefore promoted with UNB from April 2018 to January 2019. The thing about UNB was that initial plans were for the group to promote for seven months initially and if they proved successful, the project group’s activities would be extended for 25 months. The two EPs sold more than 46,000 copies each, which made people scratch their heads as to why they ceased their activities after only more than nine months.
As for HOTSHOT, they weren’t really popular to begin with, despite having outrageously talented members. They eventually got the boost they need with Taehyun and Sungwon’s exposure in PD101 S2 that their last release in 2018 fared better than their previous releases. However, it should be noted that this EP, Early Flowering, did not include Sungwon, as he was still with WANNA ONE until December of 2018. The EP was released a month before. Which begs the question, “why?’ Didn’t the company want to milk Sungwon’s newfound fame to the group’s benefit?
The group’s last song I Hate You (which was included in Early Flowering) would have greatly benefited from the push that Sungwon could have provided, had he been included. But then, Star Crew might have already envisioned a solo career for him post-WANNA ONE and may have already given up on HOTSHOT. What is more curious is that they included Hojung despite him still promoting with UNB. Moreover, Star Crew gave Taehyun his first solo project, an EP in January 2019 after promoting with JBJ from October 2017 to April 2018.
Finally, in March 2021, Star Crew formally announced the group’s disbandment, after more than two years of the group’s inactivity. Just like that.
Essential song: Real talk: Not one song in the group’s six-year-old discography really gave justice to Sungwon’s vocals, Taehyun’s dance moves, and Yoonsan’s rap skills, all of which are top-notch. Take a look at Step by Stepand I’m a Hotshot for their better songs.
Where are they now: Military enlistment was last heard of three members: Junhyuk enlisted in the military in January 2020, Hojung in May 2020, and Yoonsan also enlisted in 2021. Timoteo contributed a song to the Mr. Boss OST in 2021 and has been a guest in a couple of TV shows. Meanwhile, Taehyun and Sungwoon have launched solo careers. Sungwoon has also signed with BPM Entertainment (agency to Soyou, Huh Gak, three former members of GFriend, and Sungwoon’s PD101 castmate Samuel) and is set to release his latest EP with his new agency in February.
SNUPER
This is one group that did not really count on a lot of factors save for the songs that were meant to bring the group to the top. The six-member group was the first talents created by Windmay Entertainment, a company established by former JYP employees who had previously worked with Miss A and 2PM. The name of the group is actually short for “Higher than Super” which according to the group means that the goal is to come together as a group to enhance their strengths as individual supermen. The group also alluded to the similarity of their name to the cartoon character Snoopy who has a cute side, with their intense nature reflected in the word Super. So, Snoopy + Super = Snuper!
The six members of Snuper are quite interesting as well, which may have assured the group of at least a bit of public interest. Taewoong, the leader and rapper, was born in Japan to a Japanese dad and Korean mom and was a child actor before training as a singer-idol for a full seven years. Suhyun, the group’s main vocalist, named himself after his favorite actor Kim Soohyun and trained under Jellyfish Entertainment before shifting to Windmay. Sangil, the group’s other main vocalist, was working in a cafe when he was scouted for Snuper. Since his debut in Snuper, he has joined various singing and reality competitions such as The Unit, King of the Masked Singer, and Mr. Trot.
There’s also Woosung, who is the tallest in the group and has earned a reputation for his athletic prowess by winning the 60-meter dash in the ISACs three times. Sangho, the main dancer, was Sangil’s co-worker in the cafe and was also discovered there. Finally, there’s Sebin, the main rapper who is also the maknae and like Taewoong, was also a child actor before training to become an idol. He joined The Unit with Sangil.
Snuper’s last Japanese comeback was on August 8th, 2019 with Come Over, while their Korean comeback was even earlier, on October 8th, 2018 with You In My Eyes, which is is actually a re-release of a B-side from their Blossom EP. Perhaps their most popular songs are Platonic Love, Back:Hug, and You=Heaven, which are all produced by Sweetune, and thus have that retro-disco sound that should have assured the group of a cult following.
And that they did, but unfortunately, the group didn’t really garner traction in the Korean market. Their fandom, Swing, did not expand much in Korea, while the group became more popular in Korea. The group didn’t really face controversy, save for this one outfit guffaw when Starlights, VIXX’s fandom, pointed out that the outfits for their “It’s Raining” promotions resembled VIXX stage outfits too much. Other than that, Snuper pretty much had consistent comebacks and has actually toured overseas, performing in countries like Canada, the UAE, Russia, and Mexico.
So with members who sort of guaranteed international success (those Japanese members are moneymakers, for sure) and songs produced by Sweetune, architects of a number of career-defining songs for Infinite and Secret, why has Snuper not experienced breakthrough success even after six years? It may all be attributed to the inexperience of the company when it comes to promoting an idol group. With so much competition going on with the third generation of idol groups, there must be something for a group to specialize in so that they can be set apart from others. Otherwise, they will just blend in with other groups, which may have exactly happened to Snuper.
Essential songs: According to fans, the group’s three best songs include Platonic Love, Back: Hug, and The Star of Stars.
Where are they now: There has been no official disbandment announcement from the group’s agency and most members are supposed to be focusing on their military service. Member Sebin has been promoting with the group Omega X since its debut in June 2021.
CROSS GENE
Cross Gene is another group that somehow found success in Japan but not in Korea. This boy group started off very promising in 2012 with six members. The multiple ethnicities of the six members also may have made followers of k-pop music very curious, making their first release peak at a very respectable number 8 on the Gaon album charts. So, what exactly went wrong? It can be argued that the things that the group had to their advantage were also precisely what caused their popularity to not quite take off, at least in Korea. Thus, sad to say that to the newer fans of K-pop, the mention of this group’s name will elicit a few “nugu?” reactions.
As mentioned earlier, Cross Gene was a highly anticipated group to debut. The group’s agency, Amuse Korea, is originally a Japanese company that had Cross Gene as its first project in the Korean market. The company announced in 2012 that it will debut a group with members from Korea, China, and Japan. Among the members is Shin Wonho, who has already made TV appearances and ads, and Terada Takuya, who has been with the company as an actor and model. Thus, when the group debuted, there were three South Koreans (Shin, Sangmin, and Yongseok), two Chinese (Casper and J. G.), and one Japanese (Takuya). The difference in nationalities of the members also became the reason for the group’s name, as they are supposed to be a cross of various genes that will form one perfect group.
Six months after debuting, J.G. departed from the group to start a career as a solo artist, and Amuse immediately replaced him with Seyoung. Takuya was also relieved of his position as a leader and was replaced by Shin. After the member and position changes, the group debuted and promoted in Japan throughout 2013 with a debut single in February, a digital single in March, a concert in May, another digital single in August, a special photobook CD weeks later, two more concerts also in August, a Japanese website in September, three more Japanese digital singles, and three more live shows before 2013 ended. This meant that after debuting in Korea in June 2012, the group has not had any activity in the country since then.
The first half of 2014 was not packed with activity for the group’s Korean fandom either, as the group spent the first months of the year in the US to film a movie. Finally, Korean-based Cross Gene followers saw some activity when a visual teaser for their Korean comeback was released on April 6. Finally, a few days short of a two-year absence in the Korean music scene, the digital single Amazing (Bad Lady) was released on June 9. Casper had to beg off from promotions though, as he had an injury during preparations.
The song was passable, albeit going a bit under the radar as it doesn’t sound as flashy as their other previous songs. However, the group got a lot of buzz because of the song’s choreography, which involves a number of movements that were deemed by some TV stations as too racy for public exhibition. One such move involves the members motioning their golden-gloved hands in front of their crotch area in a circular motion. Another move involved the members raising their hips from a lying position. Now, if that’s not a sure-fire way to get the Korean TV censors’ tongues a-wagging, nothing will!
Another thing Cross Gene did that was the opposite of the common practice was that they translated their Japanese singles into Korean. In 2014, groups like Girl’s Day, Apink, and INFINITE, among others, debuted in the Japanese market by releasing Japanese versions of their Korean hits, and after charting with these songs, they finally came up with original Japanese songs. The opposite happened to Cross Gene, who released a Korean version of their Japanese hit Shooting Staras a follow-up to the controversial Amazing.
But while this era produced three singles – Amazing, Shooting Star, and Billion Dollar for Korea, the boys did not forget about their Japanese fanbase as they continued to conduct live Japanese performances and participate in music festivals in Japan. This continued in 2015, with the group starting the year with a Japanese single, Future. The single charted high in the country’s Oricon Charts, cementing the group’s popularity in Japan. The group did stage a comeback for Korea, the highly addictive and catchy Play With Me, which peaked at number 7 in the Gaon Album Charts. Then the group returned to Japan to release a new single.
Despite the obvious preference the group (or the company?) showed for conducting Japanese activities, the group still enjoyed relative success in Korea, where after three and half years since debuting, they successfully sold out their first Korean concert on December 23, 2015.
In 2016, it was revealed that Casper has left the group. Two years later, Takuya also left the group to focus on his modeling and acting careers. Before the pandemic hit in early 2020, it was revealed that Yongseok and Sangmin have not renewed their contracts with Amuse. But nothing has been formally announced in relation to Cross Gene’s disbandment, as the three have since then enlisted in the military.
Hi this is your annual reminder that Cross Gene is the most underrated group in the history of kpop pic.twitter.com/271Nqmjo1b
So, suffice to say that Cross Gene did not really live up to their potential in Korea because of their company’s decision to be more active in the Japanese market at the start of their careers. By the time they chose to increase their promotional activities more in Korea at the same level as their Japanese promotions in 2017 to 2019, they had to share the spotlight with new groups.
Essential songs: The group’s debut single, La-Di Da-Diwas catchy and is among a few K-pop debut singles that actually charted in Gaon. You cannot hear Amazingwithout remembering the iconic controversial circular crotch choreography. Finally, that “ppa ppa ppira ppa ppa ppira ppa” hook of Play With Me’s chorus is the stuff of legends.
Where are they now: With Seyoung’s formal announcement in December 2020 that he has left the group and not just the company, Cross Gene is down to three members – Shin, Sangmin, and Yongseok. And with the latter two not signed to Amuse anymore, expecting them to successfully conduct reunion projects with Shin once they all finish military service may be unrealistic.
DAL SHABET
The story of Dal Shabet is a rather sad tale of finding direction a tad too late and not striking while the iron is hot. Moreover, it is a bit unjust that the group had to endure bullying and harassment from a fandom of another group. All in all, this underrated group had tons of missed opportunities and was a victim of a series of unfortunate events that they don’t really deserve.
Dal Shabet debuted in 2011. It was a year that also debuted Brave Girls, Rania, and Apink and had groups like SISTAR and Girl’s Day started cementing their popularity. While Apink had cornered the public that longs for the cutesy and innocent concepts the 1st girl groups popularized, Dal Shabet had a shaky situation from the start. The thing about the group’s debut single, Supa Dupa Diva is that it was a “love it or hate it” kind of song. While its supporters propelled it to rank decently on music shows like Music Bank, where it went on to peak at 5th place, its haters declared it as not just the worst debut song, but the “worst song ever.”
But then, music industry people later voted for it as 2011’s second most addicting song with the second most popular choreography. Even unforgiving k-netz announced their change of hearts.
In August 2011, the group announced that their first comeback would be “funky” and the hate they received for releasing an incomprehensible debut single was added as their concept photos for the comeback. They were deemed “too sexual” for live television, which prompted the company to overhaul the concept to a more quirky and cutesy one with just a touch of naughtiness. Dal Shabet scored its first top 10 single in the Gaon Charts with Bling Bling.
The group had a run-on with fans of another group before the year ended, which left a somewhat bad taste to everything. It all started at the end of December 2011 at the SBS Gayo Daejun, when Dal Shabet and B1A4 had a collab stage. There was a lot of touching between the groups, which caused Bana, B1A4’s fandom to spread rumors about Darlings (Dal Shabet’s fandom) harassing Banas. The rumors heightened during the Idol Star Athletics Championships when rumors circulated that Darlings assaulted, kidnapped, and raped Banas. Police interfered and revealed that no such incidents took place. Happyface Entertainment released a statement about the rumors, imploring people to stop. And B1A4 fans took things a step further by hacking Dal Shabet’s website. Visitors to the website were met with pop-ups asking why Banas were being harassed by Darlings.
Serri responded to the rumors by posting requests on Twitter for people to stop spreading lies and rumors. More harassment incidences happened before Serri and the company threatened legal action. Then things died a natural death (or maybe people got scared?).
2012 had the group return with the powerful Hit U, which became Dal Shabet’s first album to reach number one in the Gaon Charts. But two months after ending activities for the comeback, the group’s leader Viki left the group to pursue a solo career. She was quickly replaced with a new member, Woohee. Serri then assumed leadership of the group as they staged their comeback in July with the single Mr. BangBang. By November, Dal Shabet staged another comeback with the EP Have, Don’t Have, and up to this point, the group had relatively been quite successful.
It was in their summer 2013 comeback that Dal Shabet had their first brush of controversy as TV stations announced that the lyrics to their single Be Ambitious were unfit for public broadcast due to sexual content, and therefore they would not allow the song to be played in their shows or allow the group to promote it in their music programs. Happy Face Entertainment did comply by changing the lyrics in questions. However, weeks after, a men’s rights group ‘Man of Korea’ filed an injunction to completely ban the further distribution of the song claiming it deprecates Korean men who are subject to the country’s mandatory enlistment. Days later, Man of Korea and Happy Face came to an agreement with the former dropping their injunction request.
In 2014, the group went full-fledged sexy with their comeback B.B.B, which they first performed in the celebrity military reality show Real Men. By this time, the girls were quite popular throughout the country, but a couple of medical incidents affected some members. Subin got into a car accident in May 2014, where she had to undergo surgery for injuries. In September, Woohee was also hospitalized for a collapsed lung.
2015 saw the group embroiled in another controversy as the title track of their comeback Joker was banned by KBS because of its explicit choreography, with the song’s lyrics pointed out as being suggestive. You see, the English word “joker” sounds similar to the Korean expletive “jot kuh” which refers to the enormity of the male anatomy. Considering the group’s previous single B. B. B., which stands for “Big Baby Baby”, people were quick to point out the sexual innuendo “Joker” implied.
The end of 2015 revealed that Jiyul and Kaeun would be leaving the group, which would reduce the member count of the group to four. The group staged their comeback on January 5 with the retro-sounding Someone Like U, which actually charted in Japan and China. Nine months later, they released FRI. SAT. SUN. This would be the last comeback of the group.
In 2017, Happy Face Entertainment announced that Subin will be joining the reality television series The Unit, but because of schedule conflicts, she was replaced by Serri and Woohee.
However, before the year ended, the company announced that members Serri, Subin, and Ahyoung decided to leave the company after their contracts expired. Ahyoung transferred to SidusHQ, Serri was eliminated from The Unit and placed 23rd, while Woohee placed seventh and secured herself a place in the show’s female team.
Since then, the group has held a photo exhibition and a mini-concert in October 2019, with six members, including Jiyul and Kaeun. But then the company has already become more focused on promoting its new girl group, Dreamcatcher. Due to this, a lot of supposed Happy Face support for Dal Shabet has been diverted.
Essential songs:Dal Shabet definitely has a great discography Mr. BangBang, B. B. B., Pink Rocket, Have Don’t Have, Joker, and Someone Like U are all catchy AF.
Where are they now? All members are pursuing acting careers, with Subin and Serrri the only ones also doing a lot of music work.
With a good number of programs featuring the “golden age of K-pop” such as Jaejae’s MMTG, Ms. Back, and Mamadol, it is a fervent wish for these groups to experience a return to popularity because they truly deserve it.
Out of hundreds of idol groups being launched every year, it is believed that only a handful survive the first year. That figure is reduced to the number of fingers on both hands if you consider how many continue to become household names and amass not only a national but international fandom. After all, not just any group can be at the level of BTS, EXO, Girl’s Generation, TWICE, or Blackpink.
So, for groups that miss the goal of gaining worldwide popularity, what options do they have aside from disbanding, getting signed by another agency, or shifting careers to acting or being a television personality? There have been reality shows whose sole aim is to give “has-been” idols the spotlight in the hopes of revitalizing their careers. Here’s a look at a couple of them:
The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project
The show, which ran from October 2017 to February 2018, had the concept of giving idols who have already debuted before in not-so-successful groups a second chance. The show eventually formed two unit groups (one male and one female) of nine members each with the aim of providing them a fair chance to demonstrate their talents that they may not have been able to display before for in their old groups.
The Winners
For the female groups, it was Euijin of SONAMOO who got top ranking by the end of the last episode. For the men, it was U.KISS’ maknae, Jun, who got the most votes.
Euijin was joined by eight other contestants, including DIA’s Yebin, Dal Shabet’s Woohee (who became the leader), April’s Hyunjoo, soloist NC.A, The Ark’s Suji, Spica’s Jiwon, Hello Venus’ Yoonjo, and Laboum’s ZN to form UNi.T, which was promoted for six months and released two EPs. ZN was not part of the group’s second EP, as she returned to Laboum after the group’s first EP.
As of the moment, only Yebin and ZN have returned to their groups, while Woohee is currently active as an actress. Euijin has left SONAMOO’s agency, TS Entertainment as of early September to sign with Mellow Entertainment, a new agency established by Lee Jung Min. He had previously been in charge of managing groups like Wonder Girls, 2PM,2AM, and miss A at JYP Entertainment.
On the other hand, Jun was joined by Bigflo‘s Euijin (not to be mistaken with Uni.T‘s Eunjin), Big Star’s Feeldog (who was the leader of the group), Madtown‘s Daewon, Hot Blood Youth‘s Marco, Hotshot‘s Ko Hojung, Newkidd‘s Hansol, A.C.E‘s Chan, and IM‘s Kijung to form UNB. The male group was promoted longer, only disbanding in January 2019. As of the moment, only Chan is active with A.C.E while the other groups are on hiatus or have been disbanded. Marco was in the news months ago when he confirmed rumors of dating MOMOLAND’s Hyebin.
Miss Back
Another show, Miss Back ran from October 2020 to January 2021 on MBN. It featured seven female idols who previously debuted with girl groups but slowly faded away from the limelight.
What made Miss Back different from similar idol “survival programs” that always emphasized competition was that the show did not eliminate its contestants. The members were able to compete in good faith to win “life songs” or songs written . This allowed the contestants to display growth and put them in the spotlight without having to crush the dreams of the other participants.
Baek Ji-young, Yoon Il-sang, and Song Eun-i became mentors. And weekly appearances by idol guests such as EXID, 2NE1’s Dara, and Junggigo made the show extra special.
The contestants include 9MUSES‘ Sera, After School‘s Raina, Crayon Pop‘s Soyul, WA$$UP‘s Nada, Stellar‘s Gayoung, Dal Shabet‘s Subin (who went by Dalsoobin throughout the show as a nod to her girl group origins), The Ark‘s Yujin, and T-ara‘s Soyeon, who was featured in episodes 1-3 only. Soyeon dropped out in episode 4 after confessing that she felt the other contestants were more deserving of the spotlight provided by the show than her.
The program also provided the contestants with time to tell viewers of their struggles and concerns as former idols who were in groups that were somehow treated unfairly by the Korean public. For example, T-ara‘s Soyeon talked about her group’s bullying scandal where the girls ended up getting cleared, but too late. 9MUSES‘ Sera also narrated about being publicly humiliated (as their pre-debut activities were filmed in a documentary).
The Miss Back cast are FLAWLESS like I would much rather see kpop veterans on a show than teenage trainees on Produce shows 😭😭 https://t.co/GE6u19Z9fK
The show ended with the ladies having been given the spotlight weekly and Dalsoobin recording the final solo song. The other contestants have been busy with individual careers, with Sera running a YouTube channel, Soyul being the wife of H.O.T’s Moon Heejoon, Gayoung managing her own cafe restaurant, and Raina was last seen in June with four other After School members in Jaejae’s popular YouTube program MMTG, performing live stages of the group’s two hits, Divaand Bang.
But then, the public may be divided as to whether these second-chance idols really deserve a new lease in their careers or if their time is really over. After all, a lot of audiences still adhere to the idea that if an idol did not reach household name status, there may be several factors that went against them. They may have been under a no-good entertainment agency that exploited them or didn’t really support their full potential. It may also be that they figured in a scandal or an issue that turned their fans off and facilitated their fall from grace. Finally, it can also be that they were already criticized in the past as being not-so-good idols who may have only relied on their looks to get in idol groups. But if we are to look at the two programs, there may indeed be second chances for idols who want to jumpstart their careers anew.
Wonder how some idols not only survived, but thrived amidst competition from their own groupmates? Here are four trajectories to take notes from.
1. Shinee’s Key: The Pioneer All-Rounder
I have said it before and I’ll say it again – SHINee is the perfect boy group. Jonghyun (may he rest in peace) and Onew are some of the industry’s best vocalists, Minho is a striking center and visual who also happens to be good at rapping, and before the world met what it now considers the Golden Maknae Jungkook of BTS, there was Taemin who danced like a dream and sung like a main vocalist.
So, in a group that’s deep with talent, what does a member like Key do? Be the best in all three areas – dancing, rapping, and slinging, plus include a good “variety show” sense and comedic timing. Count on Key to also contribute to the group’s singing prowess, especially after Jonghyun’s demise. Key has also done some rap parts to add variety so that Minho doesn’t do all the rapping. And we can certainly applaud anyone who can hold his own without getting overshadowed all the time by THE Taemin. With Key’s extroverted nature, he is a natural in variety shows. If you’re not convinced, watch any Amazing Saturday episode and get ready for a ton of laughs.
In SHINee’s heyday, members of groups that didn’t specialize in anything don’t really get viewed favorably. For example in Shinhwa, Dongwan had to give way to Eric, Minwoo, and Hyesung, who were the main members in rapping, dancing, and singing, respectively. Sunny kept on getting dismissed as the ‘relative of the CEO” as to her inclusion in Girls’ Generation, though her vocal skills have always been comparable to the group’s four other main vocalists, TaTiSeo and Jessica. Lucky for us, Key didn’t allow himself to get lost in the hype for the other SHINee members and instead gave us practically the first idol who was just good in anything.
2. Apink’s Namjoo: The Unbothered Queen of Reinvention
As with a lot of idols in groups, Apink’s Namjoo found herself in the middle of a really tight spot – how to set herself apart from a group with members so talented that leaves not much room for members who can be best described as… middling. Jung Eunji is generally accepted as one of k-pop’s most talented vocalists, former member Son Naeun’s visuals are often described as goddess-level, Bomi is just a breath of fresh air with top-notch dancing skills, and Chorong and Hayoung are recognized for being in positions that defy first impressions, with baby-faced and voiced Chorong actually being the eldest and the group’s leader, while tall and sophisticated-looking Hayoung actually being the maknae of the group, with her appearance betraying her ever since Apink debuted in 2011.
Thus, Namjoo was left in a very precarious position as frankly speaking, she had really no distinguishing characteristic that allowed her to stand out. Unfortunately, this has caused a bit of distress on Apink’s fake maknae, who was the subject of numerous not-so-favorable comments throughout their career. As she was often regarded as the “dispensable member” with no outstanding features, she went drastic by having cosmetic surgery done in 2018, right in between promoting their annual fan song and their I’m So Sick comeback. People quickly presented their disparaging comments on how Namjoo’s face didn’t look right, dismissing the obvious procedure as a “disaster”. It seemed that the group’s agency IST Entertainment (then called Plan A) and particularly Namjoo went for the unbothered reaction, which for most observers was justified, as people getting plastic surgery was common already and that Namjoo went on to rank second in the monthly girl group member brand ranking for May 2018 goes to show that any form of publicity, as long as it is not about unlawful behavior, ends up benefiting the artist.
Anyway, Namjoo coincidentally had the fewest exposure in the I’m So Sick comeback, having the least number of lines and appearances on the MV. But on the next comeback, Dhumdhurum, Namjoo sang a lot of lines, killing parts, and had a lot of music video exposure. You can think of it as a case of perfect timing as by that time, her features had settled already and the public eventually got used to her “reinvention”, which coincided with Apink’s evolution into a group that has become more sophisticated both in sound and image. TV personality Hwang Hyun Hee said it best when he commented on the issue on a TV show, “Noise is the best for marketing indeed.”
3. SEVENTEEN’s Dino: The Triple Threat Maknae
In any large group, it is inevitable that some members will get the shorter end of the attention stick. I mean, what are the chances of thirteen different people having the same degree of popularity when they are ideally put together in similar circumstances, recording the same songs and performing in the same stages? As mentioned in the two featured members we had earlier, it is already a challenge having to share the spotlight with four or five other people and still stand out, how much more with twelve other members, each gifted with his own set of unique charms and talents? This is what actually Seventeen maknae Dino has to deal with. With twelve super talented hyungs that also happen to have larger-than-life personalities as well, Dino was set to get lost in the crowd.
But then, he hasn’t. From the start, Dino wasn’t the typical boy group member. One, he ended up Seventeen’s maknae when he wasn’t at the start. During the formation of the group, Dino was part of the maknae line, but one of the four trainees who eventually quit the group, aka the reason why 17 became 13, was the actual maknae Kim Samuel (aka Samuel of Produce 101 Season 2). So, Dino isn’t your typical maknae who is the fount of aegyo and innocent charms. In fact, Dino’s sharp looks and talents have allowed him to be a valuable all-rounder in Seventeen.
While Dino` is technically part of the Performance Team with Hoshi, Jun, and The8, he has also exhibited his skills in rapping in some of Seventeen songs (e.g., Boom Boom, Left and Right, among others). And nobody in Seventeen cannot sing – even the rappers have had to sing in almost every other SVT release. So take it from Dino: The only way to survive in a thirteen-member group is to do everything in top-notch quality. He may be referred to in jest and in teasing (although we can see that he likes this) in a number of Going Seventeen episodes as the “furture of k-pop”, but really, in a market with too much talent, you can only thrive if you can be a multi-hyphenate triple threat!
4. EXO’s D.O: Acting His Way to Public Recognition
Just like Dino, D.O also had to deal with being just one of the members of a very big group. Actually, Exo was more or less just like Seventeen in terms of the number of members, but SM marketed them in such a way that the group appeared big. From the start, the group is supposed to come from an EXO-planet. Also, remember that Tree of Life concept in Mama where the tree got divided into 2 and 12 and 2 worlds again and 12 forces, which most probably may have referred to Exo-K and Exo-M. Anyway, all those twelve forces inhabiting those two worlds are hella talented and deserve the spotlight individually. And one of those forces was D.O, whose main strength is his vocals. But then, Chen, Baekhyun, and Luhan are also very skilled vocalists, which means that unless D.O could find a niche that would allow him to stand out, he could very well be lost in the midst of the other members who may be more charismatic, and thus more appealing to the public.
What D.O did was a bit similar to what Siwon of Super Junior did, although much later in his idol career – turn to acting. While most of his members furthered the mastery of their “idol-related” talents with Chen and Baekhyun making their own subunit with Xiumin called Exo-CBX before finally releasing solo material, D.O debuted as an actor both on TV and in the movies only two years after launching his idol career via Exo. The main difference between D.O and most idols who have also turned into acting as a sideline is that our Exo main vocal turned out to be actually good in acting. As with other idols turned actors, people were quick to dismiss D.O’s initial appearances in the drama It’s Okay, That’s Love and his first film Cart, which was also released in 2014. While acknowledging the promise of D.O’s acting skills, they also brought up some factors like beginner’s luck and the possibility of his performances being fulkes.
Six films and two dramas later, all of which he played main roles, Kyungsoo’s talents have become undeniable. Moreover, as there is no one else in Exo who acts, it may seem that D.O has created a niche for himself that allowed him to distinguish himself from his bandmates. Alas, SM has also allowed him to keep the fans of singer D.O happy by finally launching him as a solo artist in 2019, before he started his military service through an SM Station single. When he came back as a regular citizen in 2021, he released his first EP Empathy, which had him sing in Korean, English, and Spanish! How’s that for talent and standing out?
See? There’s definitely more than one way of standing out as a member of a group. Take it from these four all-rounders: A mix of talent, hard work, and the right course of action can make people notice while you thrive on your own.
Featured image: D.O. and everyone at EXO celebrating their 10th debut anniversary. Source: @weareoneEXO/Twitter
It is with a sense of sadness coupled with a huge wave of nostalgia that this has to be said: The second generation of idol groups are setting their careers off into the sunset. Save for a few active ones (considering those groups haven’t been as active as they once were) a lot of groups belonging to the second generation have done their “last” efforts over the past years. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and see if you can still remember these events:
What was the last title track that featured Hoya in the group before he decided to leave both the agency, Woolim, and the group?
Tell Me
Top Seed
The Eye
Trick Question: Hoya is still with the group.
The Nation’s Girl Group: SNSD
In 2018, Girl’s Generation aired their final reality series on VLive before three of its members decided to not renew their contracts with SM, although they are still part of the group that is currently on hiatus. What is the name of their last reality show?
Girl’s for Rest
Factory Girl
Girls’ Generation and the Dangerous Boys
Does Girl’s Generation do variety shows?
BEAST is the B2ST: HIGHLIGHT
The group released a full-length album titled Highlight before all remaining members at that time left CUBE Entertainment to establish their own agency, Around Us Entertainment. Why did they change their group’s name to the last album they did with their former agency?
They wanted a new feel and image for their new group.
They felt that the name B2st is too attached to their old agency, so they wanted a change.
CUBE Entertainment claimed they will be re-launching B2st with new members.
CUBE Entertainment has trademarked the name BEAST /B2ST.
The Pioneers of Korean Girl Crush: 2NE1
📊 | 2NE1 reaches a new peak of 1.8 MILLION monthly listeners on Spotify
With member Park Bom’s scandal in 2014, the group was not given a comeback since. However, they performed in a show, unbeknownst to us all that it would be the final performance of the group as four. Minzy departed from YG in 2016 and the group subsequently disbanded. In which event was this performance?
2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong
Power (YG Family) World Tour in Taiwan
All or Nothing World Tour in Macau
2015 Golden Disk Awards in Seoul
The Eternal Rookies: TEEN TOP
Teen Top is the first K-pop boy group to have celebrated their 10th year in the Korean music industry without losing members to conscription. What was the first online concert of the group? (It was also their last concert as a full group in a while as Chunji enlisted in the military on August 10, 2020)
Teen on Top
Teen Top 10 Live
Party To.N9ne
10th Anniversary Concert
K-Pop’s Top Performers: AFTER SCHOOL
After School is a group best known for incorporating unique elements in their performances, whether it is on their music videos or their live performances. What unique element did they inject into their last title track, First Love?
Tap dancing
Pole dancing
Drum playing
Dressing up like sushi
Hallyu Kings: SUPER JUNIOR
Picture credit: Paula Abiog
One of the most challenging things about having a group that has 13 members is having them all present in a project. This is especially true with Super Junior, a group that cannot seem to catch a break because of differences in schedules, scandals, injuries, and members leaving, getting dismissed, or having to fulfill their mandatory military service. What was the last Super Junior music video with all 13 members – Leeteuk, Siwon, Donghae, Eunhyuk, Shindong, Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, Yesung, Heechul, Sungmin, Kibum, Kangin, and Hangeng – together?
Neorago (It’s You)
No Other
Mamacita (Ayaya)
Mr. Simple
Korean Power Celebrities: GIRL’S DAY
Although all four members haven’t renewed their contracts with their original agency, they claim that Girl’s Day has not disbanded. What was the group’s only single to have charted #1 in the national Gaon charts?
Something
I’ll Be Yours
Ring My Bell
Darling
The Kings of K-Pop: BIGBANG
What was the last music video released by BIGBANG?
Last Dance
Flower Road
Fxxk It
Girlfriend
The Eternal Fairies of K-Pop: APINK
Image credit: Official Apink Twitter
The group that banked on a sweet, innocent image throughout their careers has also had a strong Japanese career with all their Japanese singles charting at the country’s Oricon singles chart. What was the group’s last single released specifically to the Japanese market?
More! Go! Go!
Dumhdurum (Japanese version)
Thank You (Japanese version)
Orion
Answer key:
Woolim’s Pride: INFINITE The Eye was Hoya’s last title track with the group.
The Nation’s Girl Group: SNSD Girl’s for Rest was GG’s last reality show, which aired on VLive.
BEAST is the B2ST: HIGHLIGHT CUBE Entertainment has trademarked the name BEAST /B2ST.
The Pioneers of Korean Girl Crush: 2NE1 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong
The Eternal Rookies: TEEN TOP They aired Teen Top 10 Live during the pandemic, before Chungji entered the military.
K-Pop’s Top Performers: AFTER SCHOOL The members pole danced on both the music video and their live performances.
Hallyu Kings: SUPER JUNIOR Neorago (It’s You). After Neorago, Kibim started to be an inactive member, Hangeng left the group, the rest got conscripted, Sungmin started to be an inactive member in 2016, and Kangin left the group in 2019.
Korean Power Celebrities: GIRL’S DAY Darling is the only Girl’s Day single that went to the top of the Gaon charts.
The Kings of K-Pop: BIGBANG Last Dance. Flower Road only had a lyric video, Fxxk It came before Last Dance, and Girlfriend didn’t have a music video.
The Eternal Fairies of K-Pop: APINK Orion. More! Go! Go! was released before Orion and Dumhdurum and Thank You did not have Japanese versions.
So, how did you fare? If you scored at least a 7, consider yourself a true blue Second Gen K-pop fan! Nothing to be ashamed of as the Second Gen groups were really something!
One of the most tragic events in the recent history of K-pop is the disbandment of the otherwise promising group, X1. Following the career trajectories of the project groups that resulted from the first three seasons of the Produce series – I.O.I, WANNA ONE and Iz*one, success for X1 was almost inevitable. And actually, if you consider the five months that the group was active, you could say that they did experience success albeit their limited lifespan. 657,000+ copies of their debut album sold, 11 music show wins for a single song (their only release, Flash), 100 million views on YouTube for their debut music video, numerous rookie of the year wins, all despite the persistent issue of vote manipulation that hounded them throughout their short-lived stint. And to think they were supposed to be promote as a group for five years, huh?
Let’s take a look back on what happened to X1 as they trekked their way to the top and start their careers individually as the rug was unceremoniously pulled from under them.
The initial phenomenon and the sudden pause
After Produce X 101’s run, the winning eleven contestants formed X1 and debuted under Stone Music’s Swing Entertainment, the same label that produced the music of Wanna One, the winners of Produce 101 Season 2. Amidst the brewing anticipation for the group’s debut, issues arose as a civil lawsuit was filed against Mnet as soon as allegations arose regarding producers of the show manipulating the votes and thus, the final lineup of the group. As early as that time, several brands have already pulled out of their endorsement deals with X1. Moreover, the agencies of some of the members refused to sign their talents to the X1 commitment until all allegations are cleared. Despite the delays and the unresolved issues, the group’s debut proceeded as planned.
On August 1, it was revealed that the group’s debut album would have the title Emergency: Quantum Leap and would have Flash as its title track, a song composed by Megatone, Score, and Onestar (producers of Taemin’s Criminal and Golden Child’s Burn It, among others) To further ingratiate the group to the public, their reality show, X1 Flash, premiered on August 21 on Mnet. Six days after the premiere of their reality show, the group’s debut showcase was held at Gocheok Sky Done.
The group’s first ever music show win happened during the second week of their promotions, on September 1 in SBS MTV’s The Show. This proved to be a record breaking moment for X1 as it made them the group to win in a music show the fastest – August 27 to September 1, which is a measly five days! Not even WANNA ONE, who had to wait for nine days to win. Thus, they broke the record previously held by WINNER who only had to wait for six days from debut to win for Empty. The song won ten more times, their 11th and final win happening on M Countdown on Spetember 19.
The EP and song also broke records as Emergency: Quantum Leap debuted into the Billboard World Albums Chart at number 15 and number 9 at the World Digital Songs Chart. So, not only was the group experiencing local success, but was also making a name in the international market. Also, by this time, aside from the vote manipulation accusations, the only controversy the group was involved in was connected to their debut song, Flash. Several sources then voiced out that K-Pop group’s song has very notable similarities to Tiesto’s remix of Chris Lake’s ‘Helium’. However, expert music producers also opined that the two songs have an intro in the same key while having very similar rhythmical and sound elements. Thus, the observations may not be conclusive enough to consider it as 100% plagiarism, although the song’s producers can be accused of being unoriginal.
As for the voting manipulation scandal, the civil case filed was due to allegations that label and entertainment company executives would supposedly wine and dine the producers of the show Produce 101 to make their trainee contestants rank higher and eventually become part of the final lineup for the group the show produced. So, it may appear that if these allegations were true, the results of the show were already determined by the producers even before the first episode aired, and the votes of the “public producers” will all be just for show and profits.
After their promotions for Emergency: Quantum Leap, the group had a lull in activities as the calls to investigate what really happened in the show intensified instead of dying out as expected, despite the group’s soaring popularity. For once, it seemed Mnet’s usual tactic of sweeping everything under the rug didn’t yield the expected results.
Alas, things went awry as Ahn Joonyoung, the producer of the show where X1 came from, was arrested on November 5. During the investigation, he admitted to manipulating the rankings of the contestants to favor those who he wants to join the final lineup for X1. With that, Mnet decided to cancel all of the group’s appearances and put on hold all promotional activities. The year ended with CJ ENM announcing that Stone Music, the members, and their respective agencies were in discussion as to the group’s future.
As for the investigations, it was found that there was fraud in the first, third, and final rounds of voting for the show. As early as the first round, Timothee Anzardi was eliminated when he should have not. On the third round of voting, eliminated contestants were Kim Kookheon (of Music Works, formerly of the duo B.O.Y with fellow Produce X 101 contestant Song Yuvin) and Lee Jinwoo (of Maroo Entertainment, most known to have developed a close friendship with Up10TiON’s Jinhyuk during the show, now with GHOST9). With the final episode, three contestants were excluded from the final lineup of X1: Koo Jungmo (of Starship Entertainment, now with CRAVITY with Minhee and Hyeongjun), Lee Jinhyuk (of TOP Media with Wooseok,as in the “dad of Lee Jinwoo, still with UP10TION and has also debuted as a solo artist and actor), and Keum Donghyun (of C9 Entertainment, now known as Keum of the group Epex).
The bitter end of X1
The start of the year was tragic to say the least for X1 and their fans. Even before the world would be hit by the pandemic, the group was already in a crisis situation as representatives of the agencies and Swing Music stakeholders met on January 6 to decide the group’s future once and for all. After an hour of deliberations, a secret ballot was held by the nine agencies of the the eleven members (Hyeongjun, Minhee, Dohyun and Hangyul were under one agency). Prior to the vote, all agencies agreed that the group will continue only if the decision for them to stay as a group is unanimous, meaning if even just one agency objects to the group’s continuation, then the group would have to be disbanded.
Only four agencies voted for the continuation of X1, with four voting to disband and one agency casting an unclear vote. It should be noted that the members were not invited to the meeting, despite them wanting to attend. After the decision of the group’s disbandment, CJ ENM representatives suggested for the release of a winter song the group has already recorded to serve as their goodbye song. One agency representative also suggested to have the members record a final video. Both ideas were not agreed upon unanimously, with one of two agencies objecting to the suggestions. So, both did not push through.
A PR agency representing the group released a statement on the same day the meeting was adjourned, announcing the disbandment of X1. The fanbase of the group, One It, felt the action was unfair to the group and their members. They staged protests on the CJ ENM complex, demanding for the group to be relaunched. One It groups sent trucks with LED screens flashing their demands to the demonstration area to clarify their demands and close to 1,000 fans attended the three-hour long protest. All stakeholders stuck to their (dis)agreement and thus, X1 met its untimely end.
Where’s X1 now?
Yohan: The top-ranked trainee contestant joining the ranks of Somi, Daniel, and Winyoungm was packaged as a taekwondo expert who abandoned his career in athletics to start a new one as an idol trainee. Thus, when X1 was disbanded in the most anti-climatic of fashions, the first activity Yohan was rumored to participate in was a lead role in the School series as a taekwondo student athlete who had to undergo a life overhaul because of an injury. While his participation in the drama was confirmed as early as February 2020 for the series to be aired starting August, the pandemic and a casting controversy over the female lead forced KBS to cancel the series. But things have turned for the better since, with recastings and final agreements made. So, School 2020 became School 2021 and the drama finally saw the light of day in November 2021.
While the future of School 2021 was a bit unsure in 2020, Yohan was given another opportunity to flex his acting muscles with the web drama A Love So Beautiful, which is a Korean remake of a Chinese program of the same title. The drama ran on the Kakao TV platform from the end of 2020 to early 2021, and Yohan was also given the chance to showcase his singing talents by contributing to the show’s OST with the song Recently, released on January 11.
Apart from his acting debut, Yohan has also been a common fixture in variety shows, thanks to his relatable personality. Among his variety show appearances are Chick High Kick along with HaHa and Na Taejoo and The Greater Ocean Territory of Korea with Jung Sunghwa. He has also dabbled into hosting, starting with being the MC for the first day of the 26th Dream Concert “CONNECT:D“. Currently, he is one of the main hosts for SBS MTV’s music program The Show alongside Ateez’s Yeosang and Weeekly’s Jihan.
As for his idol career, on June 17, 2020, Oui Entertainment announced that they will be debuting a new boy group where he was expected to be part of with his labelmates Kim Donghan and Jang Daehyeon (of Produce 101 Season 2 and RAINZ fame), and Kang Seokhwa (who was with Yohan in Produce X 101 and finished 35th). A month later, the company launched social media accounts for their new boy group called “WEi” which Yohan has been confirmed to be a member of. He released a digital single with the title No More on August 25, 2020, ahead of his future debut with WEi. Finally, on October 5, 2020, he debuted with WEi with the mini album IDENTITY: First Sight, with title track “Twilight“. The group has so far released 3 EPs and a single Starry Night in October 2021.
Wooseok: Not to be confused with Pentagon’s Jung Wooseok, UP10TION’s Kim Wooseok finished second in Produce 101. As with Yohan, his first reported activity outside X1 was also a web drama, Twenty-Twenty, which premiered in August 15. However, his solo debut single came before, on May 25, to be exact. His debut extended play 1st Desire (Greed) along with the lead single Red Moon was released to favorable reception, as his EP peaked at #3 in the Gaon Albums Chart, selling more than 117,000 copies, which is quite a feat for a debuting idol coming from a group that was disgraced very recently. With this release, he was awarded New K-Wave Voice Award at the 4th Soribada Best K-Music Awards in 2020.
Close to nine months after, Wooseok made a comeback with 2nd Desire (Tasty), which peaked on top of the Gaon charts. The lead single Sugar gave Wooseok further recognition as he won his first music show trophy with the song on M Countdown and the song actually charted and peaked at #16 in the Gaon Digital Chart.
On the acting front, Wooseok has also made some strides with the drama Bulgasal, where he played Nam Doyoon, a high school student who becomes a sort of disciple of the show’s main character Dan Hwal (played by Lee Jinwook). The show is set to premiere in December on tvN and will also be available for streaming on Netflix.
Sengwoo: Third-ranked in Produce X 101 and eventual leader of X1, Seungwoo was one of the two members of Play M Entertainment boy group VICTON to join the Produce X 101, the other being Byungchan. It was actually Byungchan who started off the show in high ranking, but towards the end of the show, fans were treated to Seungwoo’s display of talent and leadership skills. Moreover, Byungchan pulled out of the show in the finale due an injury, which left Seungwoo the be the sole recipient of Alice’s (the name of VICTON’s fanbase) love and support.
But when X1 was dissolved after only six months since their debut, Han held a solo fan meeting and returned to VICTON, where he participated in the group’s EP Continuous, which was released in March. Seungwoo and Byungchan’s exposure in Produce X 101 proved to be beneficial for the group, as it was at that time the highest charting VICTON album, peaking at #2 and selling over 95,000 copies.
From April 14, 2020, he started a new career venture as a DJ with his groupmate Seungsik as they co-hosted the radio show Blanket Kick, which airs on Naver’s streaming app Naver NOW. Four months later, Seungwoo finally made his solo debut with the EP Fame and the single Sacrifice, which he wrote the lyrics for. 30,000 copies of the EP were sold on the first say and peaked at number 2 in the Gaon Album Chart. The EP would go on to sell more than 80,000 copies to date. Seungwoo’s acting debut also came via the web drama Love #Hashtag, which premiered in April 2021 and co-starred AOA’s Hyejung. In June, he released his second EP Fade, with the single See You Again. See You Again is his first song that charted in Gaon’s Digital Chart. Then, he announced his enlistment for mandatory military service to start in July. So, his groupmate Heochan took over his DJ duties in Blanket Kick and he is the first member of both Victon and X1 to enter the military. He is set to be discharged in late January 2023.
Hyeongjun and Minhee: Ranking 4th and 10th respectively, Starship Entertainment’s Hyeongjun and Minhee were announced to debut in a new boy group with their two labelmates who also participated in PDX101, Jungmo and Wonjin. Cravity, which debuted in April (three months after X1’s official disbandment), had the reputation of being 2020’s “Monster Rookies” as they were the first group to debut PDX101 members (VICTON is not considered since they already debuted before Byungchan and Seungwoo joined the show). They became the first rookie artists of the pandemic year to debut on the Billboard K-pop Hot 100 while also earned numerous awards including “New Artist of the Year” at the 12th Melon Music Awards, “Best of Next” at the 2020 Mnet Asian Music Awards and “Rookie Award” in the 4th Soribada Awards.
People did cast doubts on Minhee who was nowhere at the top 12 of PDX101 before the final episode, but once he was grouped together with Hyengjun and the other members to form Cravity (an amalgamation of the words “creativity” and “gravity”), it seems all those doubts have been set aside. The group has proven to be very successful, in line with other Starship groups such as SISTAR,Monsta X, and WJSN. All their albums, which include three EPs and one full album, have sold more than 110,000 copies. Their latest release, The Awakening: Written in the Stars, is their the full-length album released in August and peaked at #3 in Gaon’s Album Chart and has sold more than 164,000 copies.
Seungyoun aka Woodz: Prior to joining PDX101, Cho Seungyoun already started building his music career, having joined the group UNIQ in 2014 before joining the fifth season of the rap competition show Show Me the Money. While his groupmates in UNIQ opted to diversify their careers by taking on acting jobs, Seungyoun remained steadfast in developing his career in music. After successfully claiming a spot in X1, he actually thought his career as a “mainstream pop” idol would finally take off, but alas, fate had other plans.
After X1’s disbandment, Seungyoun took six months to finally launch his solo career as a solo artist. Taking Woodz as his artistic nom de guerre, his released Equal, his first EP on June 29, 2020, with the lead single Love Me Harder. His first official comeback as Woodz was done close to five months after Equal with Woops! being released on November 17, with the title track Bump Bump. His second comeback was launched on March 15, with the single album Set and the title track Feel Like. Finally, his third EP Only Lovers Left was released on October 5 and featured the double title tracks Kiss of Fire and Waiting. He co-produced and co-wrote three songs in English for the international fans as well as to leap himself globally and with this album, he achieved his first win as a soloist on The Show.
Dongpyo: The center of the PDX101’s Pick Me stage, Dongpyo has gone back to DSP Media, his agency. For the rest of 2020, it seemed that DSP was cooking something in the form of a group and alas, on February 5, 2021, Dongpyo was revealed as the fourth member of a new group, MIRAE. MIRAE debuted on March 17 with their first mini album Killa. The group’s name is also the Korean word for future, as DSP believes that they will be the leaders of K-pop in the future.
Dongpyo’s group has shown promise so far, with their first two comebacks, Killa and Splash, selling 30,000+ and close to 50,000 units, respectively.
Hangyul and Dohyun: The two trainees from MBK who debuted in X1 also started their career outside it together as they formed the duo H&D in April of 2020. The duo released one more special album in September before getting integrated into the Pocketdol Studio’s (an MBK subsidiary) newest boy group, BAE173, which debuted in November the same years with a mini-album Intersection : Spark. The group’s follow-up EP was released on April 8, 2021, entitled Intersection: Trace and its lead single Loved You. The EPs sold close to 19,000 and more than 21,000 copies, respectively.
Junho: Following the success of Eunbi and Chaewon as Woollim representatives in Produce 48, the company succeeded again in PDX101, when Junho, who many regarded as Infinite (which also happens to be a Woollim group) L’s lookalike, also took a spot in X1. It would be ten months after X1’s dissolution when Junho re-debuted, this time as a member of the company’s newest group DRIPPIN. Six of the seven DRIPPIN members joined PDX101 and the company added another trainee, Alex to the group when they debuted with the EP Boyager.
Five months after their debut, the group released their second EP, A Better Tomorrow. Their three release have so far met considerable success, selling 52,000+, 47,000+, and 37,000+ copies, respectively.
I just realized that memories were released in their birth month too, Kim Wooseok and Lee Eunsang
Eunsang: The X of X1, Eunsang chose to debut as a solo artist in August 2020 with the single album Beautiful Scar, the title track of which was a collaboration with Brand New Music labelmate and former WANNA ONE and current AB6IX member Park Woojin. In October 2020, Eunsang collaborated with former X1 groupmate Wooseok for the single Memories. Finally, he released his second single album on September 1, 2021, with its lead single Lemonade.
Aside from singing, Eunsang has also embarked on an acting career, starring in the web drama Part-Time Melo with SF9’s Dawon and the drama Idol: The Coup, where he shares the screen with idols Hani (as in EXID Hani), Solbin (Laboum), Exy (WJSN), and Green (Redsquare).
Looks like everyone from X1 has recovered beautifully since that mess of a scandal. Here’s hoping we can still see then reunite on stage in the future.
Featured Image: Still from X1’s music video “Flash” on Youtube.
Having deep SNSD nostalgia? Do you miss them so much that you wish you can see them again? Well, we may not see them as a group together really soon (although rumors are rife regarding a 15th anniversary reunion single), but we can see them in some movies and dramas. Yes, a good number of them (four to be exact) have starred in numerous dramas and feature films. We’re not talking about cameo appearances here, but lead parts! So, get on your favorite streaming apps and try to look for these to tide you over your SNSD separation anxiety:
Sooyoung
What she’s most known for: Next to being one of the visuals of Girls’ Generation, Sooyung recently made herself viral for being the “presenter in the red dress” in the 2020 MAMAs. While the 2020 edition of the awards show was still pretty toned down as the world was still in the middle of the pandemic, this did not stop Sooyoung from arousing the curiosity of the audience from the red carpet up to her moment on stage as the presenter of the Worldwide Fans Choice Award. Dressed in a gorgeous red sleeveless satin dress from Rasario with matching bangs, Sooyoung caused a lot of gasps, especially since she has kept a low profile after leaving SM Entertainment in 2017 to pursue other careers — as an actress and a police officer, no joke!
Sooyoung’s acting trajectory: Like most idols turned actresses, she first started by essaying small roles and cameo appearances, including KBS2’s sitcom Unstoppable Marriage (with Kim Soomi and Kim Dongwook) in 2007, the romantic comedy film Hello, Schoolgirl in 2008 (her first movie role with Lee Yeonhee and Kangin), SBS’s drama Oh! My Lady (a cameo appearance in a drama starring Chae Rim and Super Junior’s Siwon) in 2010, another SBS drama Paradise Ranch (another cameo appearance also with Lee Yeonhee and TVXQ’s Changmin) in 2011, and an SBS drama anew with A Gentleman’s Dignity (another cameo appearance with Jang Donggun) in 2012.
Later that year, Sooyoung landed her first major acting role in tvN’s medical drama The Third Hospital, where she played Oh Jihoi’s love interest. Her senior co-stars praised her skills and viewers pointed out her capacity as an actress in emotional scenes, which they pointed as very natural. She was then cast in tvN’s romantic comedy-drama, Dating Agency: Cyrano as Minyoung, an employee of the dating agency who is attracted to her colleague Byunghoon, played by Lee Jonghyuk.
Sooyoung scored another lead role in MBC’s melodrama, My Spring Days, where she played a terminally ill patient who gets a heart transplant and falls in love with the widower of her donor. This role cemented Sooyoung’s position as a dependable actress as she won the “Best Actress in a Miniseries” award at the 2014 MBC Drama Awards and the “Excellence Award for Actress” at the 2015 Korea Drama Awards. The next year, Sooyoung starred as the female lead in KBS2’s special drama Perfect Sense, where she portrayed the role of Ahyeon, a blind teacher. Her next role then was kin the OCN crime drama Squad 38, which she starred with Ma Dongseok and Seo Inguk.
Even when Sooyoung left SM to join Echo Global Group in November 2017, the acting roles kept pouring. Her last acting roles while she was still in SM include in the JTBC web drama Someone You Might Know, where she starred opposite Lee Wongun (cheer Up, One the Woman). Later in August, she return to TV as the female lead in the MBC drama series Man in the Kitchen with On Joowan.
2018 had Sooyoung take part in the Korean-Japanese film Memories of a Dead End with Ahn Bohyun, the action comedy film Girl Cops with THE Ra Miran and Lee Sungkyung, and the romcom TV series So I Married the Anti-fan, based on the manhwa of the same name, alongside Choi Taejoon (as in Park Shinhye’s husband). In May 2019, Sooyoung signed with her agency Saram Entertainment (same agency with Pachinko’s Kim Minha and Refund Sister’s Uhm Junghwa).
Sooyoung has been seen lately in the OCN suspense thriller Tell Me What You Saw with Jang Hyuk, JTBC’s romance drama Run On with ZE:A’s Siwan, and Move to Heaven with Lee Jehoon in a special appearance. On the movie front, she was part of the enable cast of 2021’s New Year Blues.
Next on the plate for Sooyoung is the JTBC drama If You Say Your Wish with Ji Changwook and Sung Dongil (as in the dad in all the Reply seasons). The release date of the drama may not be until later in the year, as Chanwook’s Netflix miniseries The Sound of Magic is already set to be released in May.
Seohyun
https://youtu.be/hVsAzlFeTpc
What she’s most known for: Remember Prank Cam Project with baby Seo’s super awkward but stellar (not to mention intense) acting audtions with Sooyoung and Hyoyeon? While she did start off her acting career just like most idol actress by doing bit parts and cameos, soon enough she did start getting lead roles. Perhaps the most memorable of this isn’t much of the roles she has portrayed but that incident that eventually contributed to the major scandal affecting It’s Okay to Not be Okay star Seo Yeaji and her former boyfriend Kim Junghyun.
Throughout the promotion of their drama Time, Junghyun acted very coldly towards his leading lady, making it obvious that he didn’t really appreciate being around her. No skinship, no fan service, and it really looked like Jonghyun looked like he wasn’t having a good time in these events with Seohyun, as he even refused to smile when the press took photos of them together. This was a complete 180 turn from his warm and friendly relationship with Seo Yeaji, who he would take pictures with and even sometimes hug after a successful day at shooting.
It wasn’t until 2021 when Junghyun finally penned an apology letter to everyone in the staff of the drama and his fans for all the discomfort he caused. During this time, messages between Junghyun and his alleged girlfriend at that time Seo Yeaji were leaked, where the latter kept on pressuring Junghyun to act stiff and cold towards all his female staff and co-stars.
Seohyun debuted as an actress in 2013 through a supporting role in SBS’s drama Passionate Love, where she played Yurim, a veterinary student and first love of the male lead character played by Lee Wonkeun. She was then seen in the Chinese romantic film So I Married An Anti-fan and SBS’s historical drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, which earned her a Special Acting Award at the 2016 SBS Drama Awards.
For some reason, Seohyun’s acting skills were more honed in the theatre from 2015 to around 2017, as she took part in numerous stage plays and musicals. Then, after taking part in OnStyle’s web-drama Ruby Ruby Love with Lee Yikyung and Lee Chulwoo, she starred in MBC’s weekend drama Bad Thief, Good Thief as Kang So-joo, a police-woman-turned-investigator who struggles to fight against the abusive officials with Kim Jihoon and Ji Hyunwoo. This portrayal won her the Best New Actress award at the 2017 MBC Drama Awards. After leaving SM Entertainment in 2017, her first major acting job was 2018’s Time, as in the show mentioned above where she shared a whole lot of awkward experiences with Kim Junghyun.
In March 2019, Seohyun signed with Namoo Actors, the agency of actors such as Lee Joongi and Song Kang. Since joining a new agency, she has since then starred in the short drama Hello Dracula with Lee Jihyun and Lee Joobin and the JTBC television series Private Lives with Go Kyungpyo (Reply 1988, Chicago Typewriter). In February 2022, she debuted as a lead actress in a movie via Netflix’s Love and Leashes, based on the webtoon Moral Sense. Her portrayal of the role earned her a nomination for the Best New Actress award in the Film category at the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards.
Acting jobs for Seohyun has been non-stop, as she has been announced as a part of a movie, Holy Night: Demon Hunters with Ma Dongseuk and two dramas, KBS’ Jinx’s Lover with Na Inwoo and Netflix’s Song of the Bandits with Kim Namgil (One the Woman, The Fiery Priest).
Yuri
Along with Seohyun, it seems that Yuri’s acting career was not as known as Sooyoung’s or Yoona’s, but she was actually one of the earliest among the eight Soshes in starting their thespian ventures. Could it be because she started it too early that fans today wouldn’t remember her acting debut? Not only did she did start acting in 2012, she did it with a splash in SBS’ Fashion King, where she acted alongside some of the industry’s biggest names these days – Yoo Ahin, Lee Jehoon, and Shibn Sekyung. Her performance was acknowledged as it earned her nominations at the 5th Korea Drama Awards and the 2012 SBS Drama Awards. She won the New Star Award at the SBS event.
In 2013, Yuri made her film debut as she was cast as the female lead in South Korea’s first swimming-themed film, No Breathing. In the movie, Yuri was Jungeun, a girl caught in a love triangle with the two male leads, Lee Jongsuk and Seo Inguk. She also participated in the movie’s OST with two songs.
It wasn’t until three years later that SNSD’s Black Pearl returned to acting via the OCN spy thriller, Local Hero, which she starred alongside Park Sihoo (Confession of Murder, Queen of Reversals) and veteran actor Jo Sungha (The Yellow Sea, The K2). In the same year, she also starred in her first web drama Gogh, The Starry Night with Kim Youngkwang (On Your Wedding Day, Hello, Me!). The following year, she headlined the SBS’ drama Innocent Defendant with Ji Sung, a role that gave her another nomination in an Excellence Award in the Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Drama category at the 2017 SBS Drama Awards.
The following year, Yuri appeared in the second season of the sitcom, The Sound of Your Heart with Sung Hoon and in MBC’s Dae Jang Geum Is Watching with Shin Dongwook and BtoB’s Minhyuk. While Seohyun started acting onstage in 2015, it wasn’t until 2019, when Yuri acted in her first stage play, Grandpa Henry and Me. From 2020 to 2021, Yuri was part of two projects: SBS’ Breakup Probation with Hyun Woo (Pasta, Bravo My Life) and perhaps her most popular TV show to date, Bossam: Steal the Fate as the female lead with Jung Ilwoo (Haechi).
Yuri is set to star in two Chinese dramas and Dolphin, an indie movie set for release this year.
Yoona
Finally, we have the SNSD member with the most high-profile acting career. Even before her debut as a girl group member, she had already appeared in minor roles in dramas such as MBC’s Two Outs in the Ninth Inning and Woman of Matchless Beauty (2008). Her first leading role in a TV show was in KBS’ You are My Destiny with Park Jaejung (Queen Seondeok) and Lee Jihoon (My Fair Lady), which won her two “Best New Actress” awards at the 2008 KBS Drama Awards and 45th Baeksang Arts Awards and made her a household name as the show reached ratings of more than 41%. Her next program was MBC’s drama Cinderella Man with Kwon Sangwoo, then KBS2’s drama Love Rain with Jang Geunseuk, a drama that was heavily criticized for its unbelieveable storyline but generated praises for its leads’ performances.
In 2014, Yoona starred in KBS2’s romantic comedy drama Prime Minister & I with Lee Beomsoo (The Beauty Inside). Loosely based on the musical film The Sound of Music, Yoona continued to garner positive reviews for her portrayal of a reporter who falls in love with the prime minister although the drama received low ratings. She also she won an Excellence Award at the 2013 KBS Drama Awards for the role. Two years later, she was cast in her debut Chinese drama God of War, Zhao Yun, based on the Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Along with her Chinese drama, Yoona starred in tvN’s action thriller The K2 with Ji Changwook.
All these years, Yoona focused on acting in the small screen and it was not until 2017 when she made her film debut in the action film, Confidential Assignment, where she played the sister-in-law of Yoo Haejin, a detective who had to host a North Korean police officer played by Hyun Bin. Two years after, she returned with Exit alongside Jo Jungsuk, a disaster comedy-action film that has went on to become one of the country’s highest-grossing movies. In 2021, she starred in Miracle: Letters to the President with Lee Seungmin (Juvenile Justice) and Park Jeongmin (Deliver Us From Evil) and TVING’s A Year-End Medley, a romcom with Lee Dongwook and Kang Haneul.
Back in 2017, Yoona also starred in MBC’s historical drama The King in Love with Im Siwan. Two years later, she acted alongside Hwang Jungmin in JTBC’s Hush, which was about the print media industry.
Yoona’s next acting assignments will include two TV series, Big Mouse and King the Land, and the sequel to Confidential Assignment and 2 O’Clock Date, which will pair her with Ahn Bohyun (who replaced Kim Seonho).
Now, isn’t that quite an accomplished bunch? Now, if we can also have Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, and Taeyeon (who had repeatedly refused acting roles, saying she is content with singing OSTs), that will be a dream come true for SONEs!
Months ago, the inclusion of IZ*ONE Chaeyeon in the hit reality dancing competition Street Woman Fighter as a member of a dance crew was a hot topic among netizens. Many opined that her inclusion was a disservice to many dancers who breathe, eat, sleep, and live dancing their entire lives while she only has to perform “idol dancing.” In relation to that point, many even questioned her skills in dancing, pointing out that even though Chaeyeon is indeed a skilled dancer, her skill levels are nowhere near the level of the professional dancers participating in the show.
Moreover, show also earned additional flak for having NCT’s Taeyeong act as one of the judges of the show. People questioned what Taeyeong’s qualifications are to judge the competition, knowing that he’s part of a group that hasn’t even been around for ten years. Just like Chaeyeon, both are recognized as very capable dancers in the idol standard, but are definitely out of their depth when it comes to interacting with the legitimate dancers.
But before everybody hates on idols classifying themselves as dancers, there are a select few who may have been and still are active in the pop music scene. They are recognized even by professional dancers as having skills at par with them. Here are six widely-recognized dancers who just happen to be idols, too.
Rain
Even as an auditionee to various entertainment agencies, Rain already tried to present his skills as both a dancer and singer. Unfortunately, he had to face countless rejections because he did not conform to the flower boy image that was then (and still actually is) the preferred standard for hopefuls to be accepted into the Korean entertainment industry. He was once quoted as saying that he failed to make it in auditions because he does not have double eyelids. Eventually, JYP Entertainment recruited him, where he trained and also was a backup dancer for the company’s acts.
Although the company included Jing Jihoon in a boy band called Fanclub in 1998, he eventually debuted as a solo act a couple of years later, as the group disbanded after releasing two albums. It was then that he was introduced as Rain who released the album Bad Guy to moderate success. His second album, How to Avoid the Sun, did not suffer the sophomore slump, allowing him to release his third album It’s Raining, which became his breakthrough album as it topped Korean music charts and allowed Rain to embark on a concert tour in eight Asian countries.
From the start of his solo career, Rain’s songs have constantly been in the R&B genre, which was heavily popular worldwide in the 2000s with the movement being led by artists such as Michael Jackson, Usher, and Justin Timberlake, which served as Rain’s influences. Thus, Rain tweaked the genre to suit his style and allow him to utilize his top-notch dancing skills. Even as he shifted later in his career to more hip-hop-sounding songs, the public has already long accepted that Rain will still make dance a major component of his music. And yes, he may release the most self-indulgent material such as his highly criticized GANG(which somehow saw a resurgence in popularity during the early part of the pandemic), but nobody can deny that 1) any Rain song lets you feel the urge to dance 2) Rain is a good singer, an above-average actor, and an awesome dancer.
BoA
Dancing is a common talent among the Kwon siblings, which is what made BoA’s brother audition for SM Entertainment. As with a lot of chance success stories pop idols anywhere in the world, BoA was in the auditions only to accompany her brother who wanted to join the company with his break dancing skills. However, it was the sister who ended up getting signed by the company before audition day ended, and the rest, as they say, is history.
That BoA was also a pan-East Asian star may have also contributed to her reputation as a formidable dancer. Two years after she debuted in Korea to moderate success, she was sent to Japan to establish a singing career there. At age 16, she may have already been trained in the Japanese language, but of course, the level of comfort she may have had with the language upon her arrival in a new country may not have been that high. But of course, since SM Entertainment placed a lot of confidence behind her Japanese debut, she had to present the best of her talents, which ultimately is dancing. The same thing happened when she tried expanding her career in countries such as China, Singapore, and Taiwan. She may not be a native Chinese speaker (in fact, she only recorded Chinese songs without her knowing the llanguage), but anybody can instantly recognize her superior dancing skills the moment they watch her perform.
And these awe-inspiring dancing skills are what really propelled BoA (and everyone on this article, come to think of it) to international stardom. Save for Taeyang who has a lot of involvement in the composition of his songs and is also known for his strong vocal skills, our dancers here, especially BoA and Rain, do have iconic songs – for K-pop’s queen, there’s Atlantis Princess, Hurricane Venus, Only One, Who are You, but more than them being recognized for their amazing vocal abilities like, for example, Taeyeon, Ailee, or Lee Hi, people remember BoA’s songs and more importantly, the unforgettable choreographies tied to them. And that’s quite an indication that BoA is indeed, not just an idol who is good at dancing, but a dancer who happens to have released several hit pop songs.
SHINee is the perfect boy group. You had members who had superior vocal skills in Jonghyun (RIP) and Onew, a very able rapper who’s also the group’s visual center in Minho, all-around entertainer Key, and the holder of the title “golden” maknae before BTS’ Jungkook, Taemin. And since we’re on the topic of main dancers, let’s talk about Taemin, who from his debut, was already considered a top dancer. And he debuted at 14. So, yes, this is a case of a dance prodigy debuting as an idol.
There are a number of factors that set him apart from many of the others that are also considered as excellent dancers. First is his experience in the industry. He has close to 15 years in the industry, which may not be as long as BoA and Rain, but then considering that he’s the first on our list who is a member of a group, then that is indeed a feat. His length of experience in the industry may have contributed to his smooth and precise dancing style, which is distinctly Taemin and pretty much identifiable even if viewers can only see his shadow.
You may argue, well what about dancers like Eunhyuk of Super Junior and Younho of TVXQ? They’ve been in the business longer than Taemin. This is where the other factor about Taemin’s abilities springs up. Even if Eunhyuk and Younho have been in the music industry longer than Taemin, and some may even argue that the two may be more skilled in the technicalities of dance, Taemin, as mentioned earlier, has somehow used his years in the industry to develop his own distinct style of dancing, which is quite different from the rest, even from the most established idol dancers who we have already mentioned, such as BoA and Rain.
That style is tied with his initiative of incorporating elements of contemporary dance and his frequent use of androgynous fashion and heavy make-up. He popularized this starting 2017 with his single Move, where he dressed in androgynous fashion. But more than his appearance on the video, the choreography also reflected a blurring of what is commonly considered as “masculine” or “macho” choreography performed by male idols and the more “feminine” choreography characterized by more slinky moves usually associated to female idols. And it worked, as more people found Taemin’s style captivating rather than a turn-off. Moving forward in his career, he has made this androgynous style his trademark.
Hyoyeon
What’s a girl got to do when she’s the main dancer of the Nation’s Girl Group? Prove your skills to everyone, obviously. Among the main dancers on this list, it was Hyoyeon who, from the start of her career, was pushed into overdrive by SM Entertainment as a main dancer. To be fair to the company, all members were pushed in their roles for easy recognition by the public right from the start of their careers. So, as early as their debut, people already knew that, for example, Tiffany was the American girlfriend, Yoona was the center, Taeyeon was the main vocalist, and Hyoyeon was the main dancer. If that still wasn’t obvious for anyone, they gave her a full 15-second dance break in the music video of their debut track Into the New World. Obviously, after watching that video, the public was only too ready to recognize Hyo’s dancing skills. And if that still wasn’t enough, the group recorded a pre-release song Dancing Queen ahead of their I Got a Boy comeback, a Korean cover of British singer Duffy’s smash hit, Mercy. Ironically, Hyoyeon only had one line in the song and also had minimal exposure on the music video.
Actually, Hyo has had a very diverse career. She may not have become an actress, which is the most popular side job for any idol, but she went on to become a legit DJ and a skier! But back to being a dancer, her dancing skills have made her a mainstay in various dancing shows and competitions such as the second season of the Korean version of Dancing with the Stars, where she placed second with her partner Kim Hyungsuk); Dancing 9 in 2014; Hit the Stage, where she ranked number 1 in the ninth episode; and Good Girl in 2020.
Hoya
Here is another idol who is recognized throughout the entertainment industry as a top dancer: Lee Howon, formerly known as INFINITE’s Hoya. Even before getting into the idol world as a member of one of the 2nd gen’s most popular groups, Hoya was already dead set on entering the entertainment industry with his dancing skills. When he was still supposed to attend middle school, he would cut class and instead go to dance studios, practice dance routines, and check out other dancers to possibly be part of a dance crew.
He eventually joined a dance crew and auditioned for different entertainment agencies such as JYP (you can see a lot of videos of Hoya auditioning with his crew on YouTube). Although his crew unfortunately didn’t pass these auditions, he eventually entered JYP as a trainee, although he left the company and auditioned for the reality program SuperStar K, while Woollim Entertainment was already calling him after they found out that he had left JYP. As soon as he failed to qualify in the next round of SuperStar K, he trained with Woollim and later accepted a spot in the company’s first idol group, INFINITE.
Like Hyo, Hoya has also displayed his dancing skills in reality shows. Hoya was Hyoyeon’s castmate in 2016’s Hit the Stage, where he appeared from Episodes 1 to 4 and ranked first in the final episode he appeared in. He was also the dance coach of a teen dance crew in 2018’s Dancing High, which was won by the team he mentored.
Minzy
Finally, we have legendary group 2NE1’s maknae and main dancer Minzy. Dancing is in Minzy’s blood, having renowned folk dancer Gong Okjin as her gradnmother. When she was young, she moved to Gwangju with her family, but then her mother brought Minzy and her sister back to Seoul while traveling between Seoul and Gwangju to work with Minzy’s father. It was then when she participated in many dance contests and competitions and was recognized for her talents as she won various awards. She then went, as 2010s language goes, viral with a video of her at a dance competition in Gwangju, where many people who watched it immediately recognized her dancing abilities. This video somehow found its way to the hompage of YG Entertainment, which prompted then-CEO Yang Hyun-suk to contact and recruit her (who was then only in sixth grade) to join the agency. She then debuted with 2NE1 in May 2009 at only 15 years old.
Minzy’s love for the craft of dancing was further solidified when in October 2015, while 2NE1 was on hiatus, Minzy founded her own dance studio (not connected to YG) named the “Millennium Dance Academy.” The Seoul-based studio is very much active with various artists, including Hyoyeon (Punk Right Now), GFriend (Sunrise), and Billie (Siyoon is an alumnae of the academy).
It is safe to say that there are idols that indeed can reach the levels of dancers when it comes to dancing. Although it may be true that idols may need more to beef up their dancer cred, the idols on this list prove that it can be done with a lot of hard work, appreciation for the craft, and connections to the dancing world.
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![[MV] KIM YO HAN(김요한) _ Recently(요즘 자꾸만) (A Love So Beautiful(아름다웠던 우리에게) OST Part.1)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CQ0Dzz2VF3k/hqdefault.jpg)
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