The Rollercoaster Journey of Kim Hanbin
It doesn’t seem long ago since Kim Hanbin was on top of the world. As the leader of iKON, his group soared to the top of the charts consistently, with “Love Scenario” winning “Song of the Year” in 2018, becoming one of the most well-known tracks in the country. He’s known for being a monster songwriter and producer who has created a number of smash hits in his time. But after a scandal broke out in 2019, everything changed for the leader, with his group going on to make their first comeback without him, despite the number of credits to his name on the album. The future for Hanbin is a little fuzzy right now, but we think it’s safe to say that we haven’t seen the last of this talented musician.
Career Origins
Hanbin’s musical career began with a feature on MC Mong’s single “Indian Boy” in 2009, and he signed with YG Entertainment two years later. Fans got their first taste of the rapper in his appearance on Win: Who is Next, the survival show that ultimately created popular boy group WINNER. This was also the first appearance of the later formed iKON, and the band of trainees that would eventually make up the group gained a significant amount of attention through the show, with some arguing that their team (which was “Team B”) should have won the contest.
Hanbin, alongside fellow labelmate Bobby, competed in Show Me The Money 3 in 2014, amidst their group’s own survival show Mix & Match. The duo gained even more notoriety for their budding group with the appearance, as Hanbin’s single “Be.I” became the first song from the series to top Korean charts and Bobby went on to win the entire contest. Hanbin was also featured on Epik High’s super popular track “Born Hater” released at the end of 2014.
iKON made their debut in 2015 to immediate success, picking up their first music show win almost instantly. It’s not possible to overstate the group’s popularity both domestically and overseas, and it only grew with each passing year. Hanbin contributed to just about every release and every album the group has put out as well as what they release today, bringing him worldwide recognition as a producer and songwriter. At the end of 2018, he even received the “Songwriter of the Year” award at the 10th Melon Music Awards for his work on “Love Scenario.” The group was flying high into 2019, but that would soon come crashing down.
In June of 2019, allegations arose of possible drug use from the iKON leader. Dispatch released Kakaotalk messages between him and an undisclosed dealer. As more details came out after the initial shock, Hanbin admitted that he had asked about possibly getting his hands on drugs (specifically marijuana and LSD), but backed out before making a purchase. To no one's surprise, infamous former trainee Han Seohee was involved in the entire thing, having been revealed as the proxy that Hanbin was speaking to initially. As the case grew in notoriety, she came out with more and more allegations against Hanbin and YG Entertainment itself, though she changed her story more than once during testimony. This snowballed into a bigger mess that eventually had both Yang Hyunsuk and his brother resigning from their positions at YG Entertainment. For more information on all the events that transpired, visit this comprehensive recap.
It was a rough time for iKONics, but an even rougher time for Hanbin himself. The K-Pop world is unforgiving of mistakes made by young, naive, and overworked musicians, and his career suffered greatly over a dumb decision he did not even end up going through with. It’s truly small-scale stuff when compared to some of the scandals Western artists often end up in. But regardless, after his statement and withdrawal from iKON, Hanbin disappeared from the public eye.
But things are looking less bleak for the talented musician going into 2020. At the very beginning of the year, Hanbin released a demo track through his Soundcloud account where he spilled his feelings and hopes for fans, and likely his former members as well.
The unexpected drop of a new track after a good six months of no word from the singer brought a lot of hope back to fans who still desire to support him, and it also brought hope for the possibility of a return after a fall from grace. It’s not often that idols make it out of even the most minuscule scandals unscathed, but it would be an absolute tragedy for the musical world to lose Hanbin forever over mistakes many people make as young kids.
I don’t believe we’ve seen the last of Kim Hanbin. It’s only a matter of time before he returns to his rightfully earned spot as a truly (recognized) talented producer and songwriter.