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· Bryan Ke
South Korea is Sending K-pop Stars to Perform in North Korea
Last month, North Korea sent some of their artists to perform during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea; now, the latter is now planning to send their own performers to the north for a concert. The art troupe, which consists of 160 members — including K-pop…
· Carl Samson
K-Pop Group Wanna One’s Live Stream Accidentally Goes Live Too Early, Regret Ensues
An 11-member boy group that accidentally went live before a performance is the latest casualty in the K-Pop industry, where a spotless reputation is paramount to a stable career. Wanna One, the group formed straight out of reality show “Produce 101,” is currently promoting their…
· Carl Samson
K-Pop Superstar Taeyang Just Shaved His Head For the Army and… Damn
Nearly two weeks after G-Dragon, it’s Taeyang’s turn to join the South Korean army! As scheduled, Taeyang enlisted on March 12 into the 6th Infantry Division’s training center, located in Cheorwon County of Gangwon Province, South Korea.
· Bryan Ke
The ‘Kings of K-Pop’ Are About to Disappear for Almost 2 Years
K-Pop band Big Bang, known as the “Kings of K-pop,” will be on official hiatus as YG Entertainment recently confirmed that all of its members are either preparing for the mandatory military service or have already begun theirs. The first member of Big Bang to enlist was T.O.P,…
· Bryan Ke
Three Japanese Porn Stars are Debuting as a K-Pop Group
A new K-pop group composed of three Japanese adult video (JAV) actresses is set to make its debut performance next month. The group, known as Honey Popcorn, was first brought to the public’s attention last week when Korean news outlet Sports Chosun reported that Japanese porn…
· Carl Samson
The Biggest Name in K-Pop is About to Be Silenced for Almost 2 Years
K-Pop megastar G-Dragon is enlisting in South Korea’s mandatory military program on February 27, according to local media. The BIGBANG leader and Chanel Ambassador will reportedly join the 3rd Infantry Division Recruit Training Center, also known as the “White Skull,” in…
· Carl Samson
Evgenia Medvedeva Finally Meets K-Pop Group EXO at the Winter Olympics
Russian figure skater and silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva may not have won a gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics, but her dreams as a K-Pop fangirl definitely became true. To recap, Medvedeva placed second to teammate Alina Zagitova in the ladies’ singles event with scores of…
· Khier Casino
Australian K-Pop Star is the First Asian to Be Awarded Cosmopolitan Bachelor of the Year
Korean-Australian K-pop star Kevin Kim was named 2018’s Cosmopolitan and Tinder Bachelor of the Year in Sydney on Thursday night, making him the first Asian to ever be awarded the title. The 29-year-old singer beat out 30 other men including “Home And Away” star Orpheus Pledger,…
· Carl Samson
K-Pop Idol Battled Racism as a Child For Having a White Mother
A video of a K-Pop idol talking about racial discrimination as a child resurfaced on the internet, causing a buzz in the Korean community. For the uninitiated, Vernon, born Han-sol Vernon Choi, is one of the 13 boys of the popular K-Pop group SEVENTEEN.
· Carl Samson
He’s the First Openly-Gay K-Pop Idol in Korea
The first K-Pop idol to come out of the closet before his debut released his first single earlier this week! Meet Holland, y’all.
· Bryan Ke
K-Pop Star Jonghyun Leaves Fans With One Last Gift After Taking His Own Life
SM Entertainment, the label that represents former SHINee member Kim Jong-hyun, known simply as Jonghyun, officially released the late artist’s posthumous album “Poet | Artist,” and the title song’s music video “Shinin”. Jonghyun, the lead singer of the Korean pop group SHINee,…
· Bryan Ke
K-Pop Star Amber Liu is Giving a Lecture at UC Riverside
Lead rapper and singer of the South Korean female pop group f(x), Amber Liu, is going to University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside) later this month to give the school’s first lecture of 2018. “Kick off Winter 2018 with our first lecture…FUNCTION OF AMBER! Amber Liu is…
· Carl Samson
Grieving K-Pop Stars Get Together to Carry SHINee’s Jonghyun to Funeral
Fellow SHINee members and Super Junior labelmates carried the coffin of Kim Jong-hyun to his funeral on December 21. Jonghyun, main vocalist of the esteemed K-Pop male group, committed suicide on December 18 via carbon monoxide poisoning in his apartment in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul.
· Carl Samson
Heartbroken K-Pop Stars and Fans Unite in Memory of SHINee’s Jonghyun
Family, friends, labelmates, fellow K-pop idols and fans continue to mourn SHINee’s Jonghyun, whose unfortunate passing shook the world earlier this week. Kim Jong-hyun, main vocalist of the quintet, died by attempted suicide on Dec. 18, authorities confirmed.
· Editorial Staff
K-Pop Superstar Jonghyun of SHINee Dies at 27 in Apparent Suicide
Jonghyun, the lead singer of K-pop group SHINee, died in an apparent suicide. His sister became concerned after he sent a troubling text message to her.
· Heather Johnson Yu
K-Pop Star Amber Liu Rips Apart Trolls Criticizing Her ‘Flat Chest’
“Oh my gad AMBER where ur chest?” “Wai amber’s chest so flat?”
· Kyle Encina
K-Pop Powerhouse BTS Just Made History AGAIN
K-pop group BTS will become the first-ever Korean group to perform at ABC’s prestigious annual event “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” 2018. It’s reported that BTS has already recorded their upcoming act as early as November at the time their thrilling AMA performance went…
· Heather Johnson Yu
Rich K-Pop Fans Have Spent Hundreds of Thousands This Year To Buy Ads in NYC’s Times Square
Remember when BTS was featured on the Times Square billboard in New York City celebrating their fourth anniversary earlier this year? Or like back in October for Jimin’s birthday, when his face was again front and center in the busiest square in the U.S.?
· Carl Samson
Chinese Actress’s Mother Doesn’t Want Her to Marry K-Pop Star Luhan Over Plastic Surgery Rumor
Convinced that his beauty is unnatural, the mother of Chinese actress Guan Xiaotong is opposing her daughter’s marriage to former EXO member Luhan, according to AllKpop. In an October announcement that literally broke Weibo, Luhan revealed that Guan, also known as Traey Miley,…
· Ryan General
Fan Bingbing’s Teen Brother is About To Be a K-Pop Star
A new K-Pop idol from China is gearing up for a massive debut soon in South Korea. But he is no ordinary super-stardom hopeful: Fan Chengcheng, a 17-year-old idol trainee, was recently revealed to be the younger brother of popular Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.
Answer
BTS connects to HYBE, Weverse, memberships, merch, and tickets.
People & Works
Open
Artist · K-pop
&TEAM
&TEAM is HYBE's first homegrown Japanese boy group -- a localization play that plants the HYBE system directly inside the world's second-biggest music market rather than exporting Korean acts into it.
Artist · K-pop
2PM
2PM invented the 'beast idol' -- JYP's masculine, acrobatic counter-brand that opened the Japanese arena market for K-pop boy groups and made Thai member Nichkhun one of the first non-Korean idols engineered as a pan-Asian sales asset.
Artist · K-pop
aespa
SM's flagship 4th-gen group turned streaming dominance into arena-scale global touring — the clearest sign K-pop's next tier can headline, not just chart.
Artist · K-pop
AKMU
AKMU are the sibling duo who won K-Pop Star and picked YG on their own terms -- 'The Nation's Siblings' whose songwriting-first model gave YG a rare non-idol prestige asset that outlasted a full 12-year label run.
Artist · K-pop
BABYMONSTER
YG built BABYMONSTER as its designated BLACKPINK successor, and the pressure is the point -- the label bet its next decade of revenue on a seven-member group that had to shatter rookie sales records just to justify the comparison.
Artist · K-pop
BIGBANG
BigBang were the original architects of K-pop as a global export business -- the first mainstream Korean hip-hop idols whose stadium tours and merch empire proved a Korean act could out-earn Western pop stars and became the template YG monetized for a decade.
Artist · K-pop
BLACKPINK
The genre's biggest girl group returned as a group after years of solo dominance — testing whether K-pop's Western peak was a moment or a plateau. 'GO' answered.
Artist · K-pop
BOYNEXTDOOR
BOYNEXTDOOR is rapper Zico's KOZ Entertainment absorbed into the HYBE machine -- an artist-founded label that HYBE bought and turned into a hit factory, showing how HYBE grows by acquiring creative shops, not just building them.
Artist · K-pop
BTS
BTS didn't just come back — they re-coronated K-pop's top tier. 'Arirang' fuses Korean folk roots with global pop, and the tour proved the machine HYBE built scales to stadiums worldwide.
Results
Culture · artist
BTS
BTS connects to HYBE, the company behind BTS, Weverse, albums, merch, memberships, tickets, and concerts.
Company · Korea · KOSDAQ:035760
CJ ENM
CJ ENM is behind TV, music, film, award shows, and major cultural exports that shape what people watch.
Company · Korea · KRX:352820
HYBE
One of the layers behind BTS, SEVENTEEN, TXT.
Company · Korea · KOSDAQ:035900
JYP Entertainment
JYP is tied to groups that drive albums, tours, subscriptions, merch, and international fan activity.
Company · Korea · KOSDAQ:041510
SM Entertainment
SM is tied to idol groups, tours, fan clubs, and the long-running system behind some of K-pop's most recognizable acts.
Company · Korea · KOSDAQ:122870
YG Entertainment
YG connects global K-pop attention to touring, brand deals, fan demand, and artist-centered entertainment revenue.
Company · Korea · KRX:251270
Netmarble
Netmarble is Korea's mobile-game powerhouse that turns pop-culture IP into games — from BTS titles to Marvel — and is one of HYBE's largest shareholders, linking K-pop and gamin...
HYBE · K-pop · KRX:352820
A BTS comeback is not just songs. It’s albums, merch, tickets, and Weverse.
A BTS comeback can start with one stream on your phone, then turn into a fan-club sign-up, merch order, livestream ticket, and more time spent inside Weverse.