History of K-Pop: Group Disbandment
Although this column is called the ‘“History of” column, this week we will be focusing more on evolution. In light of GOT7’s recent departure from JYP Entertainment, I thought it would be interesting to go through the evolution of group disbandments and separations from their former agencies. Because of the nature of this theme, we will mostly be looking at older groups. The scope of groups in this list are groups that found success but chose to leave their companies or disband over things such as contract issues, members’ desires to go solo and such, not because they did not have enough public support to continue their endeavors. I’ve also tried not to include groups where a member has left with the exception of TVXQ. This article will follow a chronological timeline. Without further ado, let’s get started!
First Generation
In the late 1990s, there were two entertainment companies who reigned the charts: SM Entertainment and DSP Media. Their representative boy and girl groups—H.O.T and S.E.S from SM and SECHSKIES and Fin.KL from DSP—were considered rival groups. All four groups debuted in the late ‘90s and either disbanded or went on an indefinite hiatus by the turn of the century.
H.O.T was formed in 1996 by SM Entertainment’s Lee Sooman and consisted of five members: Kangta, Jaewon, Heejun, Tony, and Woohyuk. They are widely considered as the first ever K-Pop idol group and enjoyed commercial success not only in Korea but also in Japan and China. Before the days of million sellers and Billboard Hot 100s, H.O.T were the golden standard of success for a K-Pop group and set the tone for many groups to come. Their songs “Candy,” “Warrior’s Descent,” and “We Are The Future” are still often covered by newly debuted idol groups. Though they enjoyed an insurmountable level of success, they would go on to disband in May 2001 due to contract disputes with their entertainment label over how much money each member was to earn over each album they produced. Eventually, Kangta and Heejun would go on to sign lucrative deals with SM Entertainment while Jaewon, Tony, and Woohyuk joined Yejeon Media and formed a short-lived threepiece group.
SECHSKIES debuted with DSP Media in 1997 as a six member group: Jiwon, Sunghoon, Jaejin, Jaeduck, Suwon, and Jiyong. Like H.O.T, SECHSKIES was essential in pioneering K-Pop fandom culture and found extreme amounts of success. Their songs “School Anthem,” “Reckless Hit,” and “Couple” were just some of their megahits. Shortly after celebrating their third debut anniversary, the group called a press conference to announce their disbandment. The sudden news was a shock not only to fans, but the media, especially because the group was at the peak of their career and a clear reason for disbandment was not given. Fans began to speculate that DSP Media had forced a disbandment and in a fit of rage destroyed what they thought was the car of DSP Media’s CEO Lee Hoyeon. By 2000, the group had disbanded. It was not until 2016 that the members broadcasted a discussion of why they disbanded.
Both groups cultivated loyal fandoms and compared to today’s groups had short-lived careers. Fan reactions to their disbandments were fierce and it seemed like friction between the members and entertainment companies played a part in their inability to stay together longer. Both groups would also go on to appear in the wildly popular variety show Infinite Challenge for reunion specials in the late 2010s, holding “flashback” concerts for their fans. Since then, SECHSKIES has gone on to regroup and hold regular comebacks. S.E.S and Fin.KL, the female equivalents of H.O.T and Sechskies, also followed similar timelines. Like H.O.T, S.E.S disbanded in 2003 due to contract negotiation issues with SM Entertainment. Fin.KL went on an indefinite hiatus in 2003 and eventually all members left DSP Media in 2006.
Second Generation
Although TVXQ is still an active group in their promotions as a duo, I felt that their addition in this list was important because of how their split up as a group would come to affect entertainment contract laws in Korea, thus being a determinant in idol groups’ career longevity. The original five piece group (Yunho, Changmin, Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu) debuted in 2003, right off the heels of H.O.T’s disbandment. Songs like “Mirotic” pushed them to immense recognition and they found success in the Japanese market, too. After six years of relative peace, three members of the group sued SM Entertainment on the grounds that their 13-year long contracts were excessively long, that schedules were held without the members’ permission, and that profits were distributed unevenly. This lawsuit unearthed the mechanics of the Korean entertainment industry that were previously not widely known. The group were inactive in Korea for a period of time due to the lawsuit and eventually Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu would leave to form JYJ. During this time, there were discussions about recruiting new TVXQ members, but eventually Yunho and Changmin would continue as a duo.
Of the second generation girl group disbandments, KARA, Wonder Girls, and SISTAR stick out the most. KARA debuted with DSP Media in 2007 soon after all Fin.KL members left the company as a quartet consisting of Gyuri, Seungyeon, Sunghee, and Nicole. They were often compared to Fin.KL, but did not meet immediate commercial success. In 2008, the label announced that Sunghee would be leaving KARA due to personal reasons and that their already recorded second album would be shelved and replaced with a new mini-album. They also announced the addition of two new members: Hara and Jiyoung. In 2009, the group finally found success and they continued this way until 2014 when it was revealed that Nicole and Jiyoung would be leaving the group because of the expirations of their contracts. DSP launched a reality series called KARA Project looking for new members for the group amongst their female trainees, and eventually Youngji was added to the line-up. The group continued for two years before formally disbanding in 2016. Members of the group have mentioned the possibility of a reunion.
Wonder Girls also debuted in early 2007 as a five piece from JYP Entertainment originally consisting of Sunhye, Yeeun, Sunmi, Sohee, and HyunA. In July, HyunA left the group due to health issues. Yubin then joined the group to complete the five piece. The next year, the group hit mainstream success with their single “So Hot.” In 2010, Sunmi decided to take a hiatus from idol activities to pursue her academics and Hyerim was added to the Wonder Girls lineup. The group continued this way until 2013 when Sunhye announced she would be getting married. The group went into hiatus and eventually Sunhye would retire from the entertainment industry, leaving the group entirely. Sohee also would leave the group to pursue an acting career. In 2015, the group came back after a three year hiatus as a four piece. This was short-lived as in 2017, Wonder Girls officially disbanded.
KARA and Wonder Girls were similar in that both groups achieved significant success while constantly having changes to their line-ups. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, it seemed like the belief was that the groups belonged to the company and that was something that couldn’t be emancipated. Therefore, if members within the group wanted to pursue other activities, it would have to be without the power of their idol group stardom. Even a group like SISTAR, who only debuted three years after KARA and Wonder Girls and had no changes to their lineup, were not really able to sustain their identities as a current member of their group while pursuing individual activities. SISTAR disbanded after the end of their seven year contract and even though many maintain personal relationships, they are not really seen as active members of the same girl group anymore. The main known reason for their disbandment was the members’ desire to pursue individual activities.
Third & Fourth Generation
In this section I will discuss group disbandments in the third and fourth generations of K-Pop idols. However, instead of following the chronology of their debut, I will do so based on the chronology of their disbandments. Because third and fourth generation idols are still very active, these disbandments are fresher in public memory.
The fourth generation of idols is marked by their global followings and social media prowess as well as the development of interactive reality shows. The most well-known of these shows is the Mnet Produce 101 series. In January 2016, Mnet premiered the show, auditioning 101 idols in Korea with the goal of creating an eleven piece super girl group consisting of the most beloved idols in the country. Viewers got to tune in and vote for their favorite trainees week by week. The end of this program resulted in the girl group I.O.I, who debuted in May 2016 and remained together until the turn of the new year. A similar instance occurred the following year with Produce 101 Season 2—this time with male idols. WANNA ONE, as the group was called, found massive success, just like their female counterpart. The two groups were wildly popular during their short times together. In these instances, disbandment was not the result of member discord or contract disputes, but rather a previously agreed period of time with the trainees’ original labels. Since the SECHSKIES conspiracy theory in 2000, this is the first time such a thing has occurred.
Finally, let’s talk about GOT7, who have made every effort to assure fans that they haven’t disbanded, but have left the company where they met, formed, and debuted: JYP Entertainment. GOT7 debuted in 2014 as a seven member group (JB, Mark, Jackson, Jinyoung, Youngjae, BamBam, and Yugeyom) and have had no lineup changes. They are famous for songs such as “Fly,” “Just Right,” and most recently, “Last Piece.” In early January 2021, Korean media reported that member Yugyeom was in talks to sign with AOMG and that all members of the group would be leaving JYP to embark on solo activities. These reports followed the classic structure of disbandment announcements that typically are published when a group is in contract renewal talks with their label. On January 11, JYP issued a statement that the group would be leaving the label when their contracts expired on January 19. Thereafter, several members of the group signed new contracts with different labels, several are still unsigned, and American member Mark decided to return stateside. On February 20, GOT7 released the song “Encore” on their personal YouTube channel and Warner Music Korea.
The GOT7 case is interesting because the situation looked like a perfect fit for a disbandment to occur. GOT7 being able to make the choice to stay together and actively supporting each other signifies a shift in artist and fan ownership. Back in the days of SECHSKIES and H.O.T, groups disbanded because of contract disagreements with the label. The label was clearly at a point of advantage and probably had more legal ownership of the group and its likeness. In the late 2000s and into the 2010s, artists were able to establish themselves in the Korean industry as solo acts but were still made to choose between their group and personal goals. It was almost as if an artist couldn’t have both success as an individual and success in their groups. Much of this has to do with ownership of the group. As labels are the ones who are setting up and funding the groups, legally labels probably own most of the groups, but theoretically, artists and fans are now able to own more of their images. I would be interested to know what legal developments have been made since the 2000s and what kind of rights new policies have afforded artists. And of course, it should be said that each and every case of disbandment is different and can only be speculated upon—for all we know, artists just decide they want to move on in their careers and that is possible, too!