We have seen numerous K-pop disbandments or heartbreaks, often due to agency mismanagement or members suffering as a result of poor leadership or prolonged legal battles. It takes a lot of effort and resources to form a successful K-pop group, and if the group fails after reaching the peak of popularity within two, three, or four years, it hurts K-pop idols and fans equally. There is a coincidence, rumour, or whatever you label it, related to K-pop disbandments that most of the K-pop groups cannot pass the 7-year boundary and disband before reaching their 7th birthday. This rumor is popularly known as the 7-year K-pop curse.
We request our readers not to get emotional as we embark on seeing the most painful K-pop disbandments of all time, including those of 2NE1, GFRIEND, PRISTIN, and many more. Let’s get started.
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Devastating Betrayal to 2NE1
New Evolution for 21st Century, or 2NE1, was a four-member K-pop group active from 2009 to 2016, when they suddenly disbanded, and here’s the shocking part is CL, leader of 2NE1, admitted that she didn’t know 2NE1 disbanded and learned about the issue through the news. The K-pop group 2NE1 debuted with “Fire” in 2009 and gave consecutive hits to Blackjacks until the group finally disbanded in 2016 following a lack of creative freedom, mismanagement under YG Entertainment, and contractual issues between the agency and individual members.
CL says she found out about 2NE1’s disbandment through media reports @ AP Entertainment (211215)
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YG Entertainment was not able to manage the group properly, with Minzy not renewing her contract with the music agency, so the seeds of disbandment were sown way earlier than the sudden announcement. Reports suggest 2NE1 was in the middle of the new album recording, and the whole K-pop group was having a Thanksgiving dinner when the sudden termination of contract news came out without any formal announcement from YG Entertainment and a proper farewell for the OG K-pop group.
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X1 Destroyed Overnight
X1 was formed after multiple rounds of voting with 11 contestants as its members. The members included Kim Yo-han, Kim Woo-seok, Lee Han-gyul, Nam Do-hyon, Cha Jun-ho, Kang Min-heeHan Seung-woo, Song Hyeong-jun, Cho Seung-youn, Son Dong-pyo, and Lee Eun-sang. They debuted as X1 with the album “Quantum Leap.” They enjoyed all the love and support from the fans before the vote-rigging scandal.
The saddest part about X1 disbanding is the fact that all of the members want to be together, but cant.
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Due to the vote-fixing scandal, X1 is popularly known by the innocent victims because they were not the active part of the scam, but were embroiled as a result of being part of the competition show, “Produce 101.” The management decides to dissolve the group after failing to determine the future course for the K-pop boy band. It was really unfortunate for the group to get disbanded within six months of its debut and after reaching the peak of its career.
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B.A.P Lawsuit Made Strides
Fans accuse TS Entertainment of the dissolution of the K-pop group B.A.P. The B.A.P. peaked on the Billboard charts with 3 out of 8 EPs ranking 1 on the Billboard world music charts. Their first album debuted at 10th place on the Billboard world albums chart. The K-pop group even won MAMA, MMA, and SMA awards in their debut year. This shows clearly where the problem lies. The issue was not the members or the performance, but the mismanagement and the agency’s behaviour towards the K-pop idols.
Why did b.a.p disbanded ?
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All the B.A.P. members filed a lawsuit against the company in 2014, highlighting the low payment standards, excessive working conditions, and erroneous profit sharing. They even termed the TS Entertainment management as “slave contracts.” According to reports, B.A.P generated profits of around 9.1 Billion Won for the company, but paid only 18 million Won as salary, much less than they actually deserved. The group was forced to overwork and perform even in injury and illness, with hospital bills paid by the members. Album profits were also meagre, 1:9 between B.A.P. and TS Entertainment, which then rose to 2:8, still low. All this led to their disbandment in early 2019, though they reunited in 2024 after 5 long years.
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GFRIEND Shocking Disbandment
GFRIEND disbandment was so sudden that even its social media team didn’t know what was going on. Before the disbandment date, Source Music scheduled music to be released after GFRIEND’s comeback with “MAGO.” Umji was doing a three-hour live the night before the news broke out, and Superstar GFRIEND, a gaming app, changed their anniversary event to a farewell event following the news. Nobody knows the reason for the sudden disbandment, but it deeply impacted the K-pop fans and GFRIEND members.
What happened to GFriend?
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It seems GFRIEND’s six members wanted to stay together and are in touch even after dissolution. So the internal feud may not be the reason for the GFRIEND disbandment. It is possible that GFRIEND members willingly left Source Music because of the working conditions, low remuneration, and other contract issues. In response, Source Music gave them a jolt with sudden disbandment news and no formal farewell for the much popular K-pop group, which made Source Music from the ground up.
TVXQ Split Changed the Scene
Have you ever thought about your favorite K-pop group shrinking from a member powerhouse to a two-member group? This is what happened with TVXQ. The K-pop group TVXQ suffered a split, which tore the group apart. The group first appeared in 2003 under SM Entertainment and debuted with the hit song “Hug.” The five-member group made headlines with their hit song “Rising Sun” and rose to immense popularity while topping the charts across the world.
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However, in 2009, three of five members, Kim Junsu, Park Yoochun, and Kim Jaejoong, called to terminate their contract with SM Entertainment due to 13-year-long contracts and meagre remuneration, and inadequate profit sharing for their work. This request for termination resulted in a long-drawn legal battle and led to a temporary hiatus. In 2010, the legal battle ended with a historic split in the K-pop group TVXQ and gave birth to a new boy band, JYJ, under Avex Media. The TVXQ remained a two-member group since then.
Which K-pop group is disbanding?
According to reports, Purple Kiss, Weeekly, Everglow, IHOTEU, and Nature may get disbanded or on hiatus due to rising production costs and minimal investments.
Is K-pop losing its popularity?
K-pop is making strides in the international market, but losing its shine in the domestic market due to fans’ overinvolvement in K-pop idols’ lives and irrelevant controversies.
Will AI replace K-pop idols?
According to Supertone founder and chief executive Kyogu Lee, “AI will not replace K-pop idols but expand creative possibilities for the K-pop artists in more efficient ways.”
