KPOPWORLD #5

KPOPWORLD #4

KPOPWORLD #3

KPOPWORLD #2 (Poster Version)

&amp;TEAM is a nine-member Japanese boy group under YX Labels (formerly HYBE Labels Japan). The group was formed through the survival program &quot;&amp;Audition - The Howling&quot; and debuted in December 2022 with their first extended play &quot;First Howling: Me&quot;. The group consists of EJ, Fuma, K, Nicholas, Yuma, Jo, Harua, Taki, and Maki, with EJ serving as the leader. Several members, including K, Nicholas, EJ, and Taki, previously participated in the survival show I-LAND before being selected for HYBE&#x27;s Japanese global debut project. Before their official debut, the group released the digital single Under the Skin, which introduced their storyline and concept. Their debut EP, First Howling,e followed shortly afterward, marking the beginning of the group&#x27;s &quot;First Howling&quot; series of releases. Although primarily active in Japan, &amp;TEAM promoted internationally and later expanded into Korea with Korean-language releases and promotions. Their fandom name is LUNÉ, representing fans who support the group like the moon lighting the night sky.

&TEAM

Issue 5 인쇄 커버 스토리에서 &amp;TEAM의 MAKI가 바이럴이 된다는 것이 어떤 느낌인지, 그리고 왜 그것이 보이는 것보다 더 복잡한지 솔직하게 이야기한다

IN REFLECTION MAKI: &TEAM

MONSTA X is a boy group formed through the survival show No.Mercy and debuted under Starship Entertainment in May 2015. The group is associated with a powerful performance image built around Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Joohoney, and I.M, with Wonho as a former member. Their sound often leans muscular: EDM drops, hip-hop percussion, dark synths, and choruses designed for heavy choreography. MONSTA X became one of the most forceful performance groups of their generation through a run that moved from the breakthrough energy of &quot;Dramarama&quot; to the sharper drama of &quot;Love Killa.&quot; At the same time, their vocal line and later English-language work showed a smoother R&amp;B and pop side that softened the edges without removing the group&#x27;s intensity. MONSTA X became especially important in the bridge between Korean idol promotion and Western touring. They pursued English-language releases, appeared on American media, and built a strong international audience while keeping a clear group identity. Their fandom, Monbebe, is known for loyalty through lineup changes, military service periods, solo work, and long gaps between full-group schedules. The group&#x27;s legacy rests on consistency and stamina. MONSTA X did not need to reinvent themselves every comeback; they refined a recognizable image of power, charisma, and emotional loyalty. That made them a template for later boy groups that wanted to look tough on stage while still building a close, fan-centered identity off it.

MONSTA X

MINHYUK는 MONSTA X와 함께 무대 위에서 보여준 에너지로 늘 잘 알려져 있었지만, Reaching은 한층 더 절제된 무드를 들려준다. 따뜻함, 진심, 그리고 누군가와 연결되고 싶은 단순한 바람을 중심에 둔 곡이다.

MINHYUK의 “Reaching”, 솔직한 음악, 그리고 다음은?

Cortis, is a South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Music. The group consists of five members: Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, and Keonho. They debuted on August 18, 2025, with the digital single “What You Want&quot; followed by their first EP, &quot;Color Outside the Lines&quot;. The group’s name is derived from the phrase “Color Outside the Lines,” reflecting their concept of creative freedom and nonconformity. Cortis has been promoted as a self-producing “creator crew,” with members participating in songwriting, choreography, and visual direction. Blending pop, hip-hop, and experimental elements, the group gained early attention for their performance skills, self-produced content, and strong rookie-year sales, establishing them as one of Big Hit Music’s newer generation acts.

CORTIS

CORTIS가 8월 13일과 14일, LA의 YouTube Theater에서 생중계되는 데뷔 월드 투어를 전 세계 영화관 스크린으로 가져온다. 이번 상영을 위해 30분 길이의 프리쇼도 특별 제작됐다.

CORTIS, 8월 전 세계 극장서 데뷔 월드 투어 상영

WONHO가 KPOPWORLD에 새 앨범 CORE의 제작 과정을 엿볼 수 있는 독점적인 이야기를 전했다. 앨범을 완성한 곡들과 최근 자주 찾게 되는 트랙들을 함께 소개했다.

Kurated: WONHO가 엄선한 독점 ‘CORE’ 플레이리스트

BIGBANG is a South Korean boy group formed by YG Entertainment, debuting in 2006 and becoming one of the most influential acts in K-pop history. The current profile centers on G-Dragon, Taeyang, and Daesung, with T.O.P and Seungri tied to earlier chapters of the group. The group&#x27;s importance comes from how strongly it changed expectations for idol music and image. BIGBANG made self-production, individual fashion identity, and genre-blending central to its appeal, with G-Dragon&#x27;s songwriting and public style playing a major role in the group&#x27;s reputation. Musically, BIGBANG moved through hip-hop, R&amp;B, electronic pop, ballads, and festival-sized dance tracks without losing a recognizable identity. Songs such as &quot;Lies,&quot; &quot;Haru Haru,&quot; &quot;Fantastic Baby,&quot; and &quot;Bang Bang Bang&quot; became reference points for later idol groups trying to balance mainstream hooks with stronger artist branding. The members also became major solo figures, which helped the group feel less like a standard idol team and more like a collection of distinct pop stars. That individual power brought both longevity and complications, especially as military service, controversies, and member departures changed the group&#x27;s public shape. The fandom is known as V.I.P. BIGBANG is a defining second-generation group whose impact on K-pop music, fashion, performance, and global ambition is difficult to separate from the genre&#x27;s modern history.

BIGBANG

G-Dragon은 2019년 Nike 역사상 처음으로 Swoosh와의 크리에이티브 협업을 성사시킨 아시아 래퍼가 됐다. 단순한 앰배서더 계약이 아니라, 그의 고유한 미학적 논리를 중심으로 완전히 구축된 파트너십이었다.

G-Dragon이 K-Pop 역사상 가장 중요한 Nike 파트너십을 구축한 방법

Park Jin Young이 JYP Entertainment의 사내 이사직에서 물러난다 — 그리고 그 결정은 전적으로 이해가 간다

JYP는 언제나 예술가였다 — 그리고 이제 그걸 증명하고 있다

ENHYPEN is a boy group formed through the 2020 survival show I-LAND and managed by Belift Lab. The current lineup consists of Jungwon, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-ki. They debuted in November 2020 with Border: Day One, arriving with a built-in global audience from the show and a concept built around connection, transformation, and fate. The group&#x27;s early work used dark, dramatic imagery to separate them from brighter rookie-boy-group formulas. &quot;Given-Taken,&quot; &quot;Drunk-Dazed,&quot; &quot;Fever,&quot; and later songs in the Dimension and Dark Blood eras leaned into supernatural metaphors, sharp choreography, and a tension between elegance and danger. That made ENHYPEN feel less like a simple survival-show product and more like a group with a continuing storyline. ENHYPEN&#x27;s member appeal is strongly performance-based. Jungwon gives the team a steady center as leader, Jay and Jake bring international texture, Sunghoon&#x27;s skating background informs his clean stage image, Sunoo adds brightness and contrast, and Ni-ki anchors the dance line with unusual precision for a maknae. Their fandom, ENGENE, grew quickly because the group&#x27;s identity invited close reading: fans could follow the music, the lore, and the members&#x27; development at the same time. As a fourth-generation act, ENHYPEN&#x27;s importance sits between survival-show fandom and global idol scale. They showed how a group could debut with a transnational audience already watching, then keep that audience through consistent visual storytelling, polished performance, and songs that made adolescence feel mythic rather than ordinary.

ENHYPEN

HEESEUNG가 떠난다. 계약 종료 시점이 아니라, 정점에 있을 때다. 그가 ENGENEs에게 쓴 편지에는 사적으로 진행해 온 개인 작업, 팀보다 앞세우고 싶지 않았던 야망, 그리고 "오랜 고민 끝"에 내린 결정이 담겨 있다.

한 시대의 끝: HEESEUNG, ENHYPEN 탈퇴 — 아무도 예상하지 못했다

BLACKPINK is a four-member South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, consisting of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. They debuted on August 8, 2016 with Square One, led by &quot;Boombayah&quot; and &quot;Whistle,&quot; and arrived as YG&#x27;s first new girl group after 2NE1. From the beginning, the group was presented less as a large idol ensemble and more as four sharply individualized performers, each with a distinct vocal tone, visual identity, and public role. The group&#x27;s name captures the tension that became central to their image: &quot;black&quot; for a harder, more self-assured edge and &quot;pink&quot; for glamour, playfulness, and pop accessibility. Their music often builds around that contrast. Jennie and Lisa&#x27;s rap sections give many songs a clipped, percussive center, while Jisoo and Rosé&#x27;s vocals provide melodic lift and emotional color. This structure made BLACKPINK songs easy to recognize even across different producers, languages, and markets; the group could move from the spare whistle hook of their debut to the maximal drops of &quot;DDU-DU DDU-DU&quot; and still feel like the same act. BLACKPINK&#x27;s rise was also shaped by scarcity. Compared with many idol groups, they released relatively few songs in their first several years, which made each comeback feel closer to an event than a routine promotional cycle. That strategy had tradeoffs, but it concentrated public attention on a small set of songs, videos, styling choices, and stage moments. Tracks such as Kill This Love, How You Like That, Pink Venom, and Shut Down became reference points for a global-facing K-pop style built around impact, visual clarity, and immediately repeatable hooks. Their international growth came from more than chart performance. BLACKPINK connected K-pop&#x27;s idol system with the language of global pop, luxury fashion, digital fandom, and festival stages. They were the first Korean girl group to perform at Coachella in 2019 and returned in 2023 as the first K-pop act to headline the festival. Collaborations with Western pop artists, major fashion-house relationships, and an unusually large YouTube and social-media footprint helped make the members visible to audiences who did not necessarily follow Korean music closely. As individual artists, all four members developed major careers in music, acting, fashion, and brand work, making BLACKPINK one of the clearest examples of a modern K-pop group whose group identity and solo identities reinforce each other. After renewing with YG for group activities, the members&#x27; individual paths became more independent while BLACKPINK remained active as a shared brand and performance unit. Their significance is not only that they broke records, but that they helped normalize a model where a K-pop girl group could operate simultaneously as an idol act, a global pop project, and a set of four standalone celebrity careers. The fandom is known as BLINK.

BLACKPINK

사람들에게 K-pop 그룹 하나를 말해보라고 하면 대다수가 BLACKPINK를 꼽을 것이다. 덜 명확한 점은 거의 10년 가까이 활동했음에도 그룹의 정식 카탈로그가 얼마나 적은가다 — 그럼에도 스타디움 투어, Coachella 헤드라인, 전 세계 브랜드 지배력이 이어졌다

BLACKPINK의 역설: 40곡 미만의 곡이 어떻게 글로벌 제국을 만들었나

지난주 벨파스트의 SSE Arena에서 열린 KPop Forever!의 관객들은 놀라운 질문을 반복하고 있었습니다: “K-pop은 언제 나오나요?”

맥락 없는 K-pop: 벨파스트 반발 분석

BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Music in 2010 and debuting on June 12, 2013, with the single album &quot;2 Cool 4 Skool&quot;. The group consists of seven members: RM (leader), Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. The name BTS stands for Bangtan Sonyeondan (“Bulletproof Boy Scouts”), reflecting the group’s original concept of resisting societal expectations and criticism aimed at youth. Members RM, Suga, and J-Hope have played significant roles in songwriting and production throughout the group’s career. BTS first gained widespread attention with the [The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1 era], particularly the single I Need U, which earned the group their first Korean music show win in 2015. Their international breakthrough followed with releases such as Wings and the Love Yourself series. In 2018, &quot;Love Yourself: Tear&quot; became the first album by a Korean act to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The group achieved further global success with singles including &quot;Dynamite&quot;, &quot;Butter&quot;, and &quot;Permission to Dance&#x27;&quot;, all of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. BTS is among the best-selling artists in South Korean history and has received numerous international awards, while also participating in global initiatives such as the UNICEF Love Myself campaign. Between 2022 and 2025, BTS paused full-group activities as the members completed South Korea’s mandatory military service. The last member, Suga, was discharged in June 2025, marking the completion of service for all seven members. Following their reunion, the group confirmed they were preparing a new album and world tour for 2026. Their tenth studio album, &quot;ARIRANG&quot;, recorded between July and November 2025, was released on March 20, 2026, marking their first group release in more than three years. The album will be supported by the Arirang World Tour, beginning in April 2026.

BTS는 새 앨범 ARIRANG을 트랙리스트나 티저 사진으로 소개하지 않습니다. 대신 하나의 질문으로 알리고 있습니다: WHAT IS YOUR LOVE SONG?

BTS의 글로벌 'Love Song' 액티베이션 내부: ARIRANG이 세계에 소개되는 방식

거의 모든 K-pop 콘서트 영화가 개봉할 때마다 같은 논쟁이 되풀이된다. 영화관 상영은 라이브 공연처럼 느껴져야 할까, 아니면 다른 영화들처럼 기능해야 할까? 콘서트 영화는 콘서트인가 — 아니면 영화인가?

콘서트 영화는 콘서트가 아니다: K-pop 영화관에서의 관객 행동 재고

ZEROBASEONE, commonly known as ZB1, is a five-member boy group formed through the Mnet survival show &quot;Boys Planet&quot; in 2023. They originally debuted as a nine-member group — along with AND2BLE&#x27;s members Zhang Hao, Ricky, Kim Gyuvin and Han Yujin — under WAKEONE Entertainment, with &quot;In Bloom&quot; setting first-week sales records that demonstrated the massive anticipation built through the survival show. As a project group with a limited contract period, ZB1 operates with an urgency to make every comeback count, and they have delivered with consistent chart-topping releases and sold-out concerts. The group&#x27;s strength lies in their strong individual star power combined with impressive group synergy, cultivated through the intense bonding of their competition experience. Their fandom, ZEROSE, mobilized quickly into one of the most organized fan bases in fourth-generation K-pop. ZB1 represents the continued power of the survival show format to create commercially dominant groups with built-in passionate audiences. On March 15, 2026, they held their last concert as a nine-member boy group, sparking sadness among fans, who had grown fond of the relationship that had developed between the nine boys. As YH Entertainment did not renew the contracts of Zhang Hao, Ricky, Kim Gyuvin, and Han Yujin with WAKEONE, ZB1 are now promoting their career as a five-member boy group, with Sung Hanbin, Kim Jiwoong, Seok Matthew, Kim Taerae, and Park Gunwook.

ZEROBASEONE

ZEROBASEONE의 다섯 멤버 체제가 '임시' 시대의 종말에 대해 보여주는 것

SM Entertainment의 설립자이자 K-pop의 현대적 아이돌 시스템을 설계한 주요 인물 중 한 명인 Lee Soo-man이 한국 내 음악 제작에서 사실상 자취를 감춘 3년간의 경업 금지 계약 종료를 앞두고 있다

LEE SOO-MAN의 경업 금지 조항이 종료된다

i-dle, formerly known as (G)I-DLE, is a girl group formed by Cube Entertainment, debuting in May 2018. The current lineup consists of Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua, with Soojin as a former member. From debut, the group stood out because leader Soyeon played a central creative role in songwriting, production, and concept direction. Their first single, &quot;LATATA,&quot; introduced a group that could feel stylish without being anonymous. Over time, i-dle became known for concepts that were easy to name and hard to confuse: the dark elegance of &quot;HANN,&quot; the theatrical fire imagery of &quot;HWAA,&quot; the blunt rebellion of &quot;TOMBOY,&quot; and the satire and confidence of later hits. The group often treats a comeback like a thesis statement, with styling, lyrics, and stage language all pointing toward the same idea. i-dle&#x27;s member contrast is central to that impact. Miyeon gives the group a clean vocal center, Minnie adds a dreamy tone and international texture, Soyeon brings rap and creative direction, Yuqi gives warmth and a distinctive low voice, and Shuhua contributes visual and performance presence. The result is a group that can be sharp, funny, dramatic, or strange without losing its center. Their fandom is known as Neverland. i-dle&#x27;s importance lies in how visibly they challenged expectations around girl-group authorship. They helped make it normal to talk about a female idol group not only as performers of a concept, but as artists shaping the concept itself.

i-dle

One Track, One Take는 KPOPWORLD의 주간 칼럼으로 한 번에 한 곡을 조명합니다. 이번 주 그 디테일은 i-dle의 “MONO” 후렴구입니다.

한 곡, 한 테이크: i-dle - “Mono”

dodree is the first Subunit of the girl group DDDD 25. The unit is composed of members Na Yeongjoo and Lee Songhyun. They debuted on January 21, 2026, with the single album &quot;Just Like A Dream&quot;.

dodree

One Track, One Take는 KPOPWORLD의 주간 칼럼으로 한 번에 하나의 곡을 조명합니다 — 곡을 철저히 리뷰하려는 것이 아니라, 곡을 곱씹게 만드는 한 가지 디테일, 분위기, 혹은 아이디어에 잠시 머무르는 것입니다

원 트랙, 원 테이크: dodree - Just Like a Dream

1세대 K-pop 걸그룹을 되돌아보며, 장르의 초기 틀이 확신이 아니라 실험과 적응을 통해 어떻게 형성되었는지를 살펴본다

1세대 걸그룹, 재조명

BTS가 2018–2019년 이후 첫 OT7 글로벌 투어로 돌아오면서, 기대감과 함께 익숙한 긴장이 찾아왔습니다. 우리는 BTS 티켓팅이 유독 스트레스로 느껴지는 이유를 팬 행동이 아니라, 전례 없는 규모의 수요를 관리하지 못하는 시스템 측면에서 살펴봅니다.

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