KPOPWORLD #5

KPOPWORLD #4

KPOPWORLD #3

KPOPWORLD #2 (Poster Version)

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

MONSTA X 的 KIHYUN 于今年早些时候带着 BORDERLINE 回归，这是他的第二张个人 EP，也是 2025 年 YOUTH 的后续作品。

KIHYUN：KPOPWORLD 数字封面

WONHO 一直都很懂得如何吸引目光。曾在 MONSTA X 活跃四年，如今作为 soloist 已走过六年

KPOPWORLD Festival Spotlight: Wonho

DEAN &amp; Tabber 各自都已在韩国 R&amp;B 和 hip-hop 领域建立起鲜明、独特的音乐身份

KPOPWORLD Festival 焦点：DEAN & Tabber

CRAVITY is a nine-member boy group under Starship Entertainment, consisting of Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung, and Seongmin. They debuted on April 14, 2020, with the mini album &quot;HIDEOUT: REMEMBER WHO WE ARE&quot;. Their name, a blend of &quot;Creativity&quot; and &quot;Gravity&quot;, originally symbolized unity and balance among diverse members. In 2025, the group redefined it as &quot;Craving Gravity&quot;, expressing their goal to draw fans closer through stronger artistry and performances. The group released their second full-length album, &quot;Dare to Crave&quot;, on June 23, 2025, with members Wonjin and Hyeongjun sharing leadership duties for the comeback.

CRAVITY

在去年完成品牌重塑并确立全新艺术身份之后，CRAVITY 将把标志性的 K-pop、初出茅庐般的活力带到 San Antonio 的 KPOPWORLD Festival

KPOPWORLD Festival 聚焦：CRAVITY

82Major (stylized in all caps) is a South Korean boy band formed by Great M Entertainment. The group consists of six members: Cho Seong-il, Yoon Ye-chan, Nam Seong-mo, Hwang Seong-bin, Park Seok-joon and Kim Do-gyun. The group&#x27;s name is a combination of South Korea&#x27;s calling code (+82) and the word ‘major’, expressing their desire to become a group that represents Korea. They debuted on October 11, 2023, with the single album On.

82MAJOR

正在崛起的男团 82MAJOR 凭最新单曲专辑主打歌《HEAT》首次登上实时榜单第一位。

82MAJOR 凭《Like Fire》首次登顶实时榜

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

WakeOne旗下ZEROBASEONE成员Seok Matthew和Park Gunwook宣布，他们备受期待的小分队企划将于9月21日以二人组“EMP”的名义发行

ZEROBASEONE的Seok Matthew和Park Gunwook以小分队“EMP”名义宣布将发行Mixtape

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

Circle Chart 2026年9月6日至12日的数据表明，CORTIS的第二张迷你专辑GREENGREEN销量已突破410万张

CORTIS 凭借《GREENGREEN》成为四百万销量歌手

在今年迎来出道10周年后，WJSN的Seola和Eunseo已正式与Starship Entertainment终止合约

WJSN的Seola和Eunseo离开Starship Entertainment

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.

Jimin 的“Like Crazy”成为首支在 Spotify 上突破 10 亿次过滤流媒体播放的纯韩语歌曲

BTS’ Jimin 凭借“Like Crazy”创下韩语歌曲流媒体纪录

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

当 Dolce &amp; Gabbana 宣布 SOOBIN 成为品牌最新大使时，他们选择从护肤切入。除了符合预期的时尚大片，他的首波形象还把玻璃肌和产品本身放在了最核心的位置。这绝不是随意的选择

SOOBIN、Dolce & Gabbana 与男性 K-Beauty 日益增强的影响力

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

人气女团 TWICE 已宣布推出全新 Special Vinyl &lt;THIS IS FOR&gt; WORLD TOUR FINALE in SEOUL - LIVE，收录她们在 7 月三场演出中表演歌曲的现场版本。

TWICE 将发行 <THIS IS FOR> 世界巡演 Finale Live 黑胶唱片

BIGHIT MUSIC 刚刚开启了 2026 Global Audition，机会全面开放。任何 2008 年及之后出生的男性都可申请，地点不限，类别也没有限制——无论是唱歌、舞蹈、制作，还是最能展现你才华的任何领域都可以报名。

BIGHIT MUSIC 面向男性人才开启 2026 Global Audition

BTS将首次把他们的“ARIRANG”世界巡演带到南美，而全球粉丝也不会错过任何一刻。今年10月，组合在Buenos Aires和São Paulo的演唱会将同步直播至全球影院

BTS将把Buenos Aires和São Paulo演唱会全球影院直播

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

THEBLACKLABEL已宣布，ROSÉ将与Apple合作发行全新单曲“new trick”，定于9月18日上线

BLACKPINK的ROSÉ将与Apple合作推出“new trick”

Red Velvet is a five-member girl group formed by SM Entertainment, debuting in August 2014. The group -- Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy, and Yeri (who joined in 2015) -- is built around a dual-concept identity: the bright, playful &quot;Red&quot; side and the darker, experimental &quot;Velvet&quot; side. This duality gave them enormous creative range and became their defining artistic trademark. The &quot;Red&quot; side gave the group some of K-pop&#x27;s most vivid pop singles, including &quot;Dumb Dumb,&quot; &quot;Russian Roulette,&quot; &quot;Red Flavor,&quot; and &quot;Power Up.&quot; The &quot;Velvet&quot; side leaned toward smoother R&amp;B, darker synth textures, and slower-burning drama on songs such as &quot;Automatic,&quot; &quot;Bad Boy,&quot; and &quot;Psycho.&quot; Instead of treating those modes as separate eras, Red Velvet made the contrast part of the brand: sweet could turn strange, elegant could become unsettling, and experimental choices could still land as pop. That range made Red Velvet especially important as an album group. Their title tracks often drew the most attention, but fans and critics also paid close attention to B-sides, vocal arrangements, and the way the members&#x27; tones fit together. Wendy&#x27;s vocal clarity, Seulgi&#x27;s performance edge, Joy&#x27;s color, Irene&#x27;s cool center, and Yeri&#x27;s later addition gave the group a layered sound that could handle both bright hooks and more atmospheric material. Red Velvet&#x27;s influence comes from their refusal to settle into one easy lane. They could be playful without feeling lightweight, polished without becoming predictable, and weird without losing the listener. Their fandom is known as ReVeluv, and the group&#x27;s place in K-pop rests on that balance: a major SM girl group with mainstream hits, deep-cut credibility, and a catalog that made adventurous pop feel normal.

Red Velvet

Red Velvet 的 Irene 和 Seulgi 将于 2026 年 11 月 4 日携首张日本迷你专辑《Cheetah》正式以日本小分队形式出道

Red Velvet的 Irene & Seulgi 将发行首张日本 EP《Cheetah》

SEVENTEEN is a thirteen-member boy group formed by Pledis Entertainment, debuting in May 2015. The group is organized into three internal teams: hip-hop, vocal, and performance. That structure is more than branding; it explains how SEVENTEEN functions, with members contributing to songwriting, choreography, staging, and the division of energy across a very large lineup. The members are S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino. Their nickname as &quot;self-producing idols&quot; comes especially from Woozi&#x27;s central role in music and Hoshi&#x27;s role in performance direction, but the larger appeal is how the group makes thirteen people feel coordinated rather than crowded. SEVENTEEN&#x27;s early music leaned bright, youthful, and rhythmically nimble, with songs like &quot;Adore U,&quot; &quot;Mansae,&quot; and &quot;Very Nice&quot; presenting them as a group with unusual stage chemistry. Later releases such as &quot;Don&#x27;t Wanna Cry,&quot; &quot;Home,&quot; &quot;Left &amp; Right,&quot; &quot;Rock with you,&quot; and &quot;Super&quot; widened the scale while keeping the choreography and vocal distribution clear. Their best songs often turn teamwork itself into the hook: repeated gestures, fast transitions, and formations that reward watching the whole stage. The group&#x27;s growth into one of K-pop&#x27;s top album sellers came from consistency as much as spectacle. SEVENTEEN built trust through steady comebacks, strong variety content, and concerts that emphasized the members&#x27; humor as well as precision. Their fandom, CARAT, became part of that identity, following a group that could be technically impressive without losing warmth. SEVENTEEN&#x27;s legacy is tied to durability. Few large idol groups have kept such a clear group image while allowing so many individual personalities to stand out. As their scale expanded under the wider HYBE era, they remained recognizably Pledis-born: performance-first, member-driven, and unusually good at turning the mechanics of a big team into something emotionally easy to understand.

SEVENTEEN

PLEDIS Entertainment 宣布，SEVENTEEN 的 Jun 已被选为中国爱情电影《Summer Never Ends》的男主角，该片由金马奖得主 Bao Jingjing 执导。

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