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· Daniel Anderson
Twice becomes first K-pop girl group to headline and sell out US stadium show
Twice’s upcoming two-night encore concert at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles sold out both nights, making them the first-ever K-pop girl group to headline a U.S. stadium as well as sell out a show. After completing and selling out all seven shows of the U.S. leg of…
· Daniel Anderson
K-pop boy group Epex’s new song under fire for reference to Nazi pogrom Kristallnacht
Twitter is in a frenzy over K-pop boy group EPEX’s new song “Anthem of Teen Spirit,” which makes direct reference to the Nazi-led massacre, or pogrom, known as Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht, also called “Crystal Night,” “Night of Broken Glass or the November pogrom, was an event…
· Rebecca Moon
BTS’ label Hybe reveals members of its first-ever K-pop girl group, Le Sserafim
Music label Hybe Corporation, which manages popular K-pop groups like BTS, revealed all six members of the company’s first K-pop girl group, Le Sserafim. Hybe introduced each member in a series of video clips posted to the company’s official YouTube channel. The group’s name…
· Daniel Anderson
Naeun of Apink officially leaves the K-pop girl group after 11 years
Son Naeun announced her departure from Apink Friday just ahead of the K-pop girl group’s 11th anniversary. Son and Apink leader Park Chorong broke the news to fans by sharing handwritten letters. Son was the only member of Apink not to renew her contract with their company last…
· Jane Nam
K-pop agency SM Entertainment to help Saudi Arabia develop its own idol training program
A partnership between K-pop agency SM Entertainment and the Saudi Arabian government is reportedly in the works. SM founder Lee Soo-man met with Saudi Arabia’s Princess Haifa bint Faisal Al-Saud and other government officials in Riyadh on March 23 to discuss exporting South…
· Michelle De Pacina
K-pop boy group Seventeen announces collaboration with Apple for their first English-language single
Apple is set to launch their largest Korean outlet, Apple Myeongdong, in central Seoul this Saturday, which will also serve as a stage for South Korean performing artists. Apple Myeongdong will debut Apple’s first-ever “Today At Apple” K-pop session on April 15, where they’re…
· Rebecca Moon
‘Elvis’ biopic director Baz Luhrmann likens K-pop idols in military to Elvis Presley
Baz Luhrmann, the director of the upcoming “Elvis” biopic, shared a series of photos on social media yesterday comparing Elvis Presley to K-pop idols in military uniforms. Luhrmann uploaded photos to Instagram and Twitter of Presley and K-pop idols such as Big Bang’s G-Dragon in…
· Rebecca Moon
Seoul’s first K-pop concert venue, set for 2025, will have a max capacity of 28,000 people
South Korean IT company Kakao and the Seoul Metropolitan Government have agreed to construct the first K-pop arena in Seoul. The arena, named Seoul Arena, will begin construction in June of this year and is expected to be completed in October 2025 at an estimated cost of $257…
· Michelle De Pacina
‘Kings of K-pop’ Big Bang return with ‘Still Life’ single release after four-year hiatus
K-pop boy band Big Bang has released their comeback single “Spring Summer Fall Winter (Still Life)” following a four-year hiatus. The single is a sentimental, soft rock track that attempts to convey the emotional journey and growth experienced in the four seasons of life. Each…
· Bryan Ke
First openly gay K-pop idol Holland reveals he has a boyfriend that he wants to marry
Holland, K-pop’s first openly gay idol, revealed he now has a boyfriend whom he wants to marry. The 26-year-old singer, whose real name is Go Tae-seob, shared the news during a livestream with fans on March 24. Holland did not reveal the identity of his boyfriend but said he is…
· Michelle De Pacina
K-pop group Stray Kids debut at No. 1 on Billboard 200
K-pop boy band Stray Kids’ latest EP release “Oddinary” has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The seven-track EP garnered the biggest sales week for an album in 2022 with 110,000 sales in the U.S. during its first week of release from March 18 to 24. Stray Kids…
· Michelle De Pacina
KCON 2022 announces its K-pop group lineup for Chicago
The annual global K-pop festival has released the artist lineup for its upcoming KCON 2022 Premiere event on May 21 and 22 at the Rosemont Theater in Chicago. The lineup includes K-pop boy bands BtoB, Cravity and TO1 as well as girl groups STAYC and Nmixx. The KCON 2022 Premiere…
· Michelle De Pacina
‘Kings of K-pop’ Big Bang drop teaser and announce their comeback date
Members of the boy band Big Bang dropped a photo teaser without explanation on their individual Instagram accounts on Monday to announce the midnight release of their new song on April 5. The photo marks the band’s first teaser following their comeback announcement in February…
· Editorial Staff
Korean words are being mistaken for racial slurs in latest trending K-pop song
The latest K-pop song to trend on TikTok, “Darari” by Treasure, has caused misunderstanding among some users, given a particular set of lyrics that sound similar to a racial slur in American English. The song begins with the Korean words “nikka” (“니까”), a conjunction, along with…
· Bryan Ke
BTS is back: K-pop superstar septet play first in-person show in South Korea since 2019
South Korean mega septet BTS kicked off their first concert in South Korea on Thursday since their “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” tour in 2019. The group — consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook — performed 20 songs, including hits “On,” “Burning Up…
· Rebecca Moon
‘The new Sunmi became stronger’: K-pop idol opens up about her struggles with her mental health
K-pop idol Sunmi reflected on her struggles with mental health on the latest podcast episode of “Spotify: Mic Check” in light of her new single “Oh Sorry Ya.” In 2015, Sunmi was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, which she revealed in an episode of Mnet’s reality…
· Jane Nam
11 of K-pop group Loona’s 12 members test positive for COVID-19
Three members of 12-member K-pop girl group Loona tested positive for COVID-19 based on PCR tests taken on Feb. 25. On March 1, Blockberry Creative released a statement confirming that another six members had tested positive, with only member HyunJin testing negative. The group…
· Bryan Ke
K-pop trainee Beomhan alleges he was choked, called slurs by ‘homeless’ man on NYC train
Chinese American K-pop trainee Beomhan was allegedly assaulted by a homeless man and subjected to slurs while riding the subway in New York City. Beomhan, a member of the up-and-coming group M.O.N.T Arena under FM Entertainment, shared details about his experience in a…
· Maina Chen
Apink’s ‘Dilemma’: Legendary K-pop girl group’s comeback song sounds like a Cantonese swear
K-pop girl group Apink’s long-awaited comeback song “Dilemma” has amused Cantonese speakers because of the song name and lyrics’ phonetic similarity to a popular swear. A fan told two members of the group at a recent virtual fan meeting and recorded their shocked reactions.…
· Michelle De Pacina
‘Kings of K-pop’ Big Bang announces comeback after four-year hiatus as member T.O.P leaves YG
Big Bang, the K-pop boy band dubbed the “Kings of K-pop,” announced their long-awaited comeback this spring – following their last release in 2018 – with a new single. YG Entertainment also announced that its contract with member T.O.P would end; however, he will still…
Answer
BTS connects to HYBE, Weverse, memberships, merch, and tickets.
People & Works
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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.