Whether you are a new K-Pop fan or a veteran, chances are you’ve probably witnessed a K-Pop group or two disband. While many K-Pop groups debut every year to great success, others sadly don’t last longer than seven years, unable to survive the “seven-year curse” in the K-Pop industry. There are some exceptions to this “curse” or “rule,” look at BTS, Red Velvet, Super Junior, and GOT7, who undoubtedly created a new standard that you can still be a group but under seven different agencies.
But for every K-Pop group that survives the seven-year curse, others don’t even make it that long. Here are 7 K-Pop groups that fans still mourn the loss of (and where you can find some of the members now).
2NE1
2NE1 debuted on May 17, 2009, under YG Entertainment. The four-member girl group included CL, Dara, Bom, and Minzy. Though the group made it past their seventh debut anniversary, they didn’t survive much longer than that. Minzy left the group in April 2016, with the group officially announcing its disbandment seven months later in November 2016. Rumors as to why the group quite include Minzy’s departure, Bom’s drug scandal, and YG shifting focus on debuting CL in the US as a soloist and Dara as an actress.
These days, CL is a thriving solo artist, Dara (Sandra Park) is a hugely successful actress and both are regulars at international Fashion Shows. Bom is a soloist signed to D-Nation Entertainment, but not much is known about her career. While Minzy doesn’t spend much time in front of the camera as an entertainer, she runs her own agency, MZ Entertainment. All four members are also fairly active on Instagram.
B.A.P
B.A.P debuted on January 26, 2012, under TS Ent. The six-member boy group included Yongguk, Himchan, Daehyun, Youngjae, Jongup, and Zelo, however, when the contracts of leader Yongguk and rapper Zelo expired towards the end of 2018, it was clear where the group was headed. Just three weeks after their seventh debut anniversary, all the remaining members’ contracts had been terminated and B.A.P disband.
These days, the only active member of B.A.P seems to be Youngjae, who acted in the 2021 K-Dramas Mr. Queen and Police University. Daehyun is currently completing his required military enlistment, Himchan recently served time in prison for sexual harassment, while Youngguk, Jongup, and Zelo are soloists who have fans eagerly awaiting new music (they haven’t released anything since 2019). All six members are also fairly active on Instagram.
Miss A
Miss A debuted on July 1, 2010, under YG Entertainment. Though the four-member girl group included Min, Jia, Suzy, and Fei, only two members remain. Another girl group made on our list that made may have made it their seventh debut anniversary but didn’t survive much longer than that. Jia left the group in May 2016 and Min left the group in November 2017, with the group officially announcing its disbandment in December 2017. There are mixed reasons behind why Miss A disbanded, but the main reason is JYP showed a lot of favoritism and offered “unequal development opportunities” to the group.
Today the members are pursuing individual careers, some of which are quite successful. Suzy is not only a model but also a largely sought-after actress, acting alongside the likes of Lee Jong Suk, Kim Seon Ho, and Lee Seung Gi to name a few. Fei has a successful career as a model, YouTuber, and Chinese solo artist under Huayi Brothers. Both Jia and Min are also pursuing solo careers in China, however, Min has yet to debut. All four members are also fairly active on Instagram.
4Minute
4Minute debuted on June 18, 2009, under CUBE Entertainment. The five-member girl group included Jihyun, Gayoon, Jiyoon, Hyuna, and Sohyun. The group disbanded just three days shy of their seventh debut anniversary after all the members aside from Hyuna decided not to renew their contracts. An insider stated that the reason 4Minute disbanded was that iHQ saw them as unprofitable even though CUBE Entertainment CEO Hong Seung-sung thought of them as his own. Unfortunately, Hyuna didn’t last long at Cube after resigning, as her secret relationship with Pentagon member E’Dawn was revealed and they were both ousted.
These days, Hyuna is a thriving solo artist at P-Nation alongside her beau Dawn, Jihyun (who goes by Son Ji Hyun) is a successful actress who can be seen acting alongside Kim Seon Ho, Hwang In Youp, and Ji Sung. While the Sohyun, Jiyoon, and Gayoon may not be as successful as Hyuna and Jihyun, they are successful in their own right as actresses (Gayoon and Sohyun) and a soloist (JENYER). All five members are also fairly active on Instagram.
SPECTRUM
SPECTRUM debuted on May 10, 2010, under WYNN Entertainment. The six-member boy group included Minjae, Dongkyu, Jaehan, Hwarang, Villain, Eunjun, and Dongyoon (who passed away on July 27, 2018). After releasing just two albums and a single album, the management at WYNN Entertainment had deteriorated and by July 2020 they canceled the members’ contracts, citing the ongoing pandemic for disbanding the group.
Today little is known about the current activities of the members aside from Jaehan. Jaehan is currently signed under Spire Entertainment and debuted with the hot new group OMEGA X last year. None of the members have active social media accounts, however, Jaehan can be seen on Omega X’s accounts with his new groupmates as well as solo.
GFRIEND
GFRIEND debuted on January 15, 2016, under Source Music. The six-member girl group included Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB, and Umji. When 2019 Source Music became a subsidiary of BigHit Entertainment (now HYBE Labels), things were looking up for the group. However, on May 22, 2021 the group announced their disbandment following the expiration of their contracts.
These days, the members are focused on pursuing solo careers in the entertainment industry. Umji, Eunha, and SinB are signed under BPM Entertainment and Yerin in signed under Sublime Artist Agency with no future dates for activities yet. Sowon is set to make her acting debut in the upcoming film-drama series “Chilling Together,” while Yuju is set to make her anticipated solo debut under KONNECT Entertainment on January 18th, 2022. All six members are active on Instagram.
Wanna One
Wanna One was formed from the top eleven contestants from the second season of Produce 101. The group consisted of Jisung, Sungwoon, Minhyun, Seongwoo, Jaehwan, Daniel, Jihoon, Woojin, Jinyoung, Daehwi, and Kuanlin, who debuted on August 7, 2017, under Swing Entertainment. Unfortunately, fans only got one album from Wanna One as the group disbanded on December 31, 2018, when their contract expired.
Don’t worry though, today most of the members have successful careers in other areas of the entertainment industry. Daniel is a thriving solo artist under his own agency KONNECT, Park Jihoon is a successful soloist and actor on the rise, and Seong-woo is a successful actor who can be seen acting alongside Shin Ye Eun, Park Ho San, and Kim Hee Jung. While Jisung and Jaehwan soloists, Sungwoon is a member of HOTSHOT, Woojin and Daehwi are members of the K-Pop group AB6IX, Jinyoung is a member of CIX, and Mihyun is a member of NU’EST. Kuanlin debuted in the unit Wooseok X Kuanlin with Pentagon’s Wooseok in March 2019, but hasn’t done anything since. All eleven members are also fairly active on Instagram.
Did you catch the Wanna One reunion performance at MAMA 2021?
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