KPOPWORLD #5

KPOPWORLD #4

KPOPWORLD #3

KPOPWORLD #2 (Poster Version)

TNX (an acronym for The New Six) is a five-member boy group under P NATION. Originally debuting as six members, the group was formed through the SBS survival program LOUD, a collaboration project between J.Y. Park and PSY. They officially debuted on May 17, 2022 with their first mini album Way Up. The group’s lineup was finalized during the finale of LOUD in 2021, where Kyung Jun, Tae Hun, Hyun Soo, Jun Hyeok, Hwi, Sung Jun, and Tanaka Koki were selected for P NATION’s upcoming boy group. However, in January 2022, P NATION announced that Tanaka Koki would not debut with the team in order to continue training, leading the group to debut as six members under the name TNX. On their debut day, they also introduced their fandom name THX, meaning “Together with TNX.” Following their debut, TNX continued building their discography with releases such as Love Never Dies, Boyhood, and the digital single &quot;Fuego&quot;, while also participating in the survival competition Road to Kingdom : Ace of Ace in 2024. During this period, member Jun Hyeok temporarily paused activities due to anxiety before later returning to the group. In October 2024, it was announced that member Kyung Jun would enlist in the military and depart from the group following the completion of his service, reducing TNX to five members. The group continued activities with releases including the mini album For Real? in 2025 and the digital single &quot;Call Me Back&quot; in 2026, maintaining their growth under P NATION.

TNX는 4년 동안 퍼포먼스로 이름을 쌓아왔다. "Die Another Day"를 통해 그들은 그 이름을 전혀 새로운 곳에서 찾고자 했다

TNX, 록·라이브 보컬·그리고 물러서지 않겠다는 태도에 대해 말하다

K-pop을 넘어, P-pop 같은 동남아시아 장르가 국제적인 주목을 받고 있다. 그 흐름을 이끄는 보이그룹 SB19는 왜 그런지 직접 보여주기 위해 San Antonio를 찾는다.

KPOPWORLD Festival Spotlight: SB19

XLOV is a South Korean boy group formed by 257 Entertainment and currently managed by [WM Entertainment]. The group consists of four members: Wumuti, Rui, Hyun, and Haru. They debuted on January 7, 2025, with the single album I&#x27;mma Be. XLOV gained attention for promoting a genderless concept, incorporating androgynous styling and performances that challenge traditional gender norms in Kpop. The group&#x27;s name combines &quot;X,&quot; representing the unknown and negation, with &quot;LOV,&quot; symbolizing incomplete love, while their fandom name, EVOL, represents the completion of that concept. Several members were previously known through survival programs before debut. Wumuti, Rui, and Haru participated in Boys Planet, while Wumuti was also active in the project group WATERFIRE before helping form XLOV. The group is particularly noted for Wumuti&#x27;s involvement in songwriting and production, including contributions to their debut release. Since debuting, XLOV has released music including I&#x27;mma Be and I ONE, earning recognition for their distinctive concept, performance style, and growing international fanbase. In 2026, the group&#x27;s management structure changed following the acquisition of 257 Entertainment by WM Entertainment through RBW. Their music primarily incorporates elements of hip-hop, R&amp;B, and pop, while their visual identity and performances have distinguished them as one of the more unconventional rookie acts of the fifth generation of Kpop.

XLOV

2025년 1월 데뷔 이후, XLOV는 특정 멤버가 가끔 시도하는 룩이 아니라, 젠더리스 스타일링을 팀의 정체성 전체를 이루는 기반으로 삼아왔다

XLOV의 젠더리스 스타일링이 K-pop의 틀을 깨고 있는 방식

WHIB is a seven-member boy group under C-JeS Entertainment, consisting of members Kim Junmin, Haseung, Jinbeom, UGeon, Leejeong, Jaeha, and Wonjun. Originally an octet, they debuted on November 8, 2023, with the single album Cut-Out. The group was first teased in November 2021 as the trainee group M.I.C, which stood for “Made in C-JeS.” On September 7, 2023, it was revealed that the group would debut as an eight-member group under the name WHIB, along with introductions to the new members. In 2025, members LeeJeong, Junmin and Wonjun competed on the Mnet survival show Boys II Planet, ranking 12th, 13th, and 62nd, respectively. On October 16, it was announced that member Inhong had departed from the group. WHIB released their first mini album, ROCK THE NATION, on January 29, 2026.

WHIB

그룹 내 송라이터이자 작곡가인 JUNMIN은 멜로디부터 음악을 시작하며, WHIB가 다양한 사운드와 스타일을 오갈 수 있는 힘을 소중히 여긴다

WHIB의 KIM JUNMIN 인터뷰 – 멜로디 중심의 음악 메이커

Jay Park는 첫 KPOPWORLD Festival의 헤드라이너를 맡는다. 그의 이야기를 알고 있다면, 이 섭외가 얼마나 완벽한지 금방 이해할 수 있다.

KPOPWORLD Festival Spotlight: Jay Park

&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

&amp;TEAM의 첫 미국 공연은 단순한 KCON 데뷔가 아니었다. 하나의 시험대였다. Artist Stage에서 이들은 바리케이드 바로 앞까지 가득 찬 관객들 앞에 섰다.

&TEAM의 KCON 2026 데뷔가 돋보였다

NCT 127 is the Seoul-based fixed unit of NCT, formed by SM Entertainment and debuting in July 2016. The &quot;127&quot; refers to Seoul&#x27;s longitude, grounding the unit in the city even as the broader NCT project was designed around expansion. From the beginning, NCT 127 carried the more urban, experimental side of the NCT system. The unit&#x27;s music is known for abrasive textures, unusual structures, and a heavy emphasis on rhythm. &quot;Limitless,&quot; &quot;Cherry Bomb,&quot; &quot;Regular,&quot; &quot;Kick It,&quot; and &quot;Sticker&quot; are not built like neutral pop singles; they use chants, distorted synths, sparse hooks, and strong rap sections to create a sound that can feel challenging before it becomes addictive. That willingness to be strange became the group&#x27;s signature rather than a side effect. NCT 127&#x27;s lineup has included members such as Taeyong, Johnny, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Mark, and Haechan. The unit works because those personalities pull in different directions: rap, vocal polish, dance sharpness, humor, and a fashion-forward public image all sit inside one brand. Their fandom falls under the wider NCTzen name, often shortened to Czennie. NCT 127&#x27;s importance is not just that they promoted globally or charted internationally; it is that they made SM&#x27;s most experimental boy-group ideas commercially visible. They turned risk into identity, making songs that sounded unmistakably like NCT 127 even when they divided listeners at first.

NCT 127

NCT 127은 KCON LA 2026 Day 1의 마지막 무대를 장식하며, 헤드라이너 자리는 결코 멤버 수로 결정되는 게 아니라는 걸 증명했다. Jaehyun이 "Lemonade"로 공연의 포문을 열자, 그룹이 본격적으로 달아오르기도 전에 관객들은 Neo Bong의 빛으로 응답했다.

NCT 127, KCON LA 2026에서 다섯 명이어도 여전히 강력한 팀임을 증명하다

Islington Assembly Hall의 문이 열리기 전, KANG YUCHAN과 from20이 두 떠오르는 스타가 무대에 오르기 전의 순간을 함께하며 백스테이지를 공개했다

KANG YUCHAN & from20의 Body Talk Tour 런던 백스테이지

Saja Boys is a fictional 5-member Korean boy group, created for the Netflix animation film, KPop Demon Hunters. The group consists of Jinu, Mystery, Abby, Romance, and Baby. They debuted on June 20, 2025, with Soda Pop.

Saja Boys

2025년 6월 Netflix의 Kpop Demon Hunters에 첫 등장한 데몬 K-pop 보이 밴드 Saja Boys가 4월 26일 McDonald’s의 Battle of the Bands 콜라보 일환으로 첫 실물 공연을 선보일 예정이다.

Saja Boys, McDonald’s 콜라보로 첫 실물 공연 선보인다

BTOB (Born to Beat) is a boy group formed by Cube Entertainment, debuting in March 2012. The group — consisting of Eunkwang, Minhyuk, Changsub, Hyunsik, Peniel, Ilhoon (departed), and Sungjae — established themselves as one of K-pop&#x27;s premier vocal groups. While many boy groups lean on dance performance, BTOB made their name through extraordinary vocal ability and emotional ballad delivery that set a gold standard in the industry. BTOB&#x27;s signature ballads, including &quot;It&#x27;s Okay,&quot; &quot;Missing You,&quot; and &quot;Beautiful Pain,&quot; are some of the most iconic in K-pop, consistently topping charts and dominating noraebang (karaoke) playlists across South Korea. But the group is equally known for their hilarious, unfiltered variety show personalities — they are one of the funniest groups in the industry. Their fandom, Melody, cherishes this duality of genuine musical talent and chaotic humor. BTOB has maintained remarkable longevity, weathering military enlistments and lineup changes while remaining a respected and commercially viable act well over a decade into their career.

BTOB

데뷔 15년 차, HUTA의 런던 데뷔는 첫 공연이라기보다 오랜 시간 밀려왔던 도착에 가까웠다

HUTA Live in London: 오래 기다려온 도착

ONEUS (원어스) is a five-member boy group currently under B.WAVE Entertainment. Formed by RBW as a six-member group, they debuted on January 9, 2019, with their first mini album, Light Us. The group&#x27;s name carries the meaning of &quot;one us,&quot; symbolizing unity between the members and their fans, and is also interpreted as &quot;one world&quot; in Korean. RBW introduced ONEUS in 2018 alongside their brother group ONEWE. Prior to debut, the two groups released the collaboration single &quot;Last Song.&quot; ONEUS officially debuted in January 2019 with Light Us and later released the mini albums Raise Us and Fly With Us. They made their Japanese debut in August 2019 with the single &quot;Twilight&quot; and subsequently released the Japanese single &quot;808.&quot; During this period, member Ravn temporarily halted activities due to health concerns before later rejoining the group. In 2020, ONEUS released the single album In Its Time and participated in Mnet&#x27;s competition program Road to Kingdom, where they ultimately ranked fifth. They later released the mini album Lived and the digital single &quot;Bbusyeo.&quot; In 2021, the group released their first studio album Devil, followed by the mini album Binary Code and additional Japanese releases. They launched the ONEUS Theatre project and released the mini album Blood Moon in November, earning their first music show win with &quot;Luna.&quot; They also collaborated with ONEWE on the single &quot;Stay.&quot; Toward the end of the year, Ravn temporarily suspended activities.

ONEUS

ONEUS는 12월 13일 런던의 Indigo at The O2에서 2025 헤드라인 월드투어 H_OUR, US의 영국 공연으로 무대를 달궜다

ONEUS 런던 라이브: TOMOON에게 더할 나위 없이 완벽한 밤

TOMORROW X TOGETHER, often shortened to TXT, is a five-member boy group under BIGHIT MUSIC. The group consists of Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai. They debuted in March 2019 with The Dream Chapter: Star, becoming BigHit&#x27;s first boy group after BTS and immediately attracting heavy attention. TXT&#x27;s early identity centered on youth, friendship, imagination, and the strange emotional weather of growing up. Instead of debuting with a hard-edged performance image, they leaned into brightness, fantasy, and vulnerability on songs such as &quot;Crown,&quot; &quot;Run Away,&quot; and &quot;Blue Hour.&quot; That made the group feel distinct within fourth-generation boy-group trends, especially because their storytelling often treated adolescence as magical, confusing, and a little unstable. As their catalog developed, TXT added sharper pop-rock, emo, and dance influences through songs like &quot;0X1=LOVESONG,&quot; &quot;LO$ER=LOVER,&quot; &quot;Sugar Rush Ride,&quot; and &quot;Chasing That Feeling.&quot; The members&#x27; strengths map cleanly onto that evolution: Soobin&#x27;s calm leadership, Yeonjun&#x27;s performance charisma, Beomgyu&#x27;s color, Taehyun&#x27;s vocal focus, and Huening Kai&#x27;s bright tone all help the group move between softness and intensity. TXT&#x27;s fandom is known as MOA, short for Moments of Alwaysness. The group&#x27;s significance is tied to how carefully they built a coming-of-age identity across albums, videos, and performances. Rather than defining themselves through a single sound, TXT became a group about transition itself: childhood into adulthood, fantasy into reality, and polished idol pop into something more emotionally restless.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER

Gayo Daejeon 2025의 YEONJUN: 스타, 다시 태어나다

SHINee is a boy group formed by SM Entertainment, debuting in May 2008 with &quot;Replay.&quot; The group consists of Onew, Jonghyun, Key, Minho, and Taemin. SM promoted them as a &quot;contemporary band,&quot; a phrase that fit their role as trendsetters in music, choreography, styling, and performance. SHINee&#x27;s catalog moved quickly from the smooth youthfulness of &quot;Replay&quot; into sharper electronic pop and hybrid performance tracks. Later records like &quot;View&quot; and &quot;1 of 1&quot; showed how far they could push taste while staying accessible, bringing deep house, retro R&amp;B, and fashion-conscious presentation into mainstream idol pop. Their dances were often technical without feeling stiff, and their vocals gave even experimental tracks a polished center. The members built unusually strong individual identities: Onew as a warm vocalist, Jonghyun as a songwriter and one of K-pop&#x27;s most expressive singers, Key as a style and variety standout, Minho as an athletic performer and actor, and Taemin as a solo performer whose work influenced later idols. Jonghyun&#x27;s death in 2017 remains an important and painful part of SHINee&#x27;s history, and the group&#x27;s later activities are often understood through both grief and continuity. SHINee&#x27;s fandom is known as Shawol. Their legacy is deep because they were not only popular; they were influential in ways that became part of K-pop&#x27;s basic vocabulary. Later groups inherited their emphasis on difficult choreography, distinctive styling, strong solo identities, and the idea that idol pop could be both polished and genuinely adventurous.

SHINee

유럽은 오랜 시간 ONEW를 기다려 왔다. SHINee의 메인 보컬로서 — 2011년에 잠깐 런던에 들렀던 뒤로 이 지역의 라이브 무대에서 자취를 감췄던 그룹 — 그는 유럽 무대에서 거의 모습을 보이지 않았다

ONEW, 런던 라이브: 목소리·본능·스타 파워가 이끈 밤

EVNNE is a 5-member boy group under Jellyfish Entertainment. They debuted on September 19th 2023 with the mini-album “Target: Me”. The group name is an acronym for &quot;EVENing&#x27;s Newest Etoiles&quot;. The group originally consisted of seven trainees who were previously contestants on the survival show Boys Planet. The members were Park Han Bin, Lee Jeong Hyeon, Mun Jung Hyun, and Park Ji Hoo from WAKEONE; Yoo Seung Eon and Ji Yun Seo from YH Entertainment; and Keita from Rain Company. The group formerly went with the name &quot;BLIT&quot; an acronym for &quot;Boldly Leaping Into Tomorrow&quot; but was changed after fans raised concerns of misinterpretation. On December 8 2025, Jellyfish Entertainment announced that Yoo Seung Eon and Ji Yun Seo would end their activities with EVNNE after finishing the [OUR EVNNEing] fanmeeting in January 2026 and would thereafter return to YH Entertainment.

EVNNE

라이징 스타 EVNNE는 'SET N GO' 월드 투어로 런던 EartH에서 영국 데뷔를 치렀고, 이 쇼 이름만큼 잘 어울리는 경우도 드물다

런던 리캡: EVNNE, ‘SET N GO’ 월드 투어로 베팅할 가치 있음을 증명하다

TWICE is a nine-member girl group formed by JYP Entertainment through the survival show Sixteen. The lineup consists of Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu, with members from South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. They debuted in October 2015 with &quot;Like Ooh-Ahh,&quot; introducing the bright, kinetic identity that would make them one of the central girl groups of K-pop&#x27;s third generation. The group&#x27;s early rise was built on an unusually clear pop formula: big choruses, memorable gestures, colorful styling, and personalities that were easy for viewers to distinguish. A run led by &quot;Cheer Up&quot; and &quot;TT&quot; turned TWICE into a national-level phenomenon in Korea, while their Japanese members helped the group cross naturally into Japan&#x27;s idol and pop markets. Rather than relying on a single vocal or dance center, TWICE worked because the lineup felt balanced as a whole: playful, approachable, and tightly rehearsed. As the members grew older, TWICE gradually expanded beyond the cute and school-age image attached to their first hits. The move from &quot;Fancy&quot; through &quot;I Can&#x27;t Stop Me&quot; kept the group&#x27;s melodic accessibility while bringing in sleeker dance-pop, disco, synth-pop, and more mature performance styling. That evolution mattered because it let TWICE remain recognizable without staying frozen in their debut concept. TWICE also became one of the clearest examples of a K-pop girl group building a long international career without losing its domestic base. Their Korean and Japanese discographies developed side by side, and later global touring brought the group to arenas and stadiums far beyond East Asia. The fandom is known as ONCE, a name that matches the group&#x27;s long-running emphasis on mutual loyalty between the members and their audience. Their legacy is not only commercial. TWICE helped define what a modern large girl group could be: member-driven, visually bright, musically immediate, and durable enough to age into a second phase. They normalized the idea that a top K-pop girl group could keep all members active across many years, shift concepts without abandoning its core warmth, and still feel like a complete team even as individual members developed solo work, acting, modeling, and unit activities.

TWICE

트와이스가 어디든 간다: 북미, 유럽, 오세아니아를 아우르는 360° 이즈 포 아레나 투어

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.

Live Performance