The world of South Korean entertainment is full of controversies and mysteries that we may never know. From the disbanding of B.A.P., the K-pop boy band that beat BTS at the MTV EMAs to girl band f(x) that has not performed in years, let us take a look some of the K-pop bands rife with controversies:
B.A.P
The six member group comprising: Yongguk, Himchan, Daehyun, Youngjae, Jongup, and Zelo was introduced in 2012 by TS Entertainment. The boy group named B.A.P (Best. Absolute. Perfect) debuted with the track “Warrior,” and immediately received a favourable response from K-pop enthusiasts. Despite that rising popularity at par with some of the biggest K-pop groups like BTS and EXO, members of B.A.P. were not receiving respectable salaries. Hence in 2014, the group filed to nullify their contracts claiming severe underpayment and harsh working conditions. TS Entertainment had mistreated their top artist and soon after the band went on hiatus, several other artists filed lawsuits which eventually led to the agency’s end in 2021.
bap forever pic.twitter.com/SC2Qw1uawX
— ???? (@himchansass) May 16, 2019
f(x)
The girl group was formed in 2009 by SM Entertainment and debuted with five members: Victoria, Amber, Krystal, Sulli, and Luna. Though the group has not officially disbanded, its last release was in 2015 and it has been on hiatus since 2016. It should be noted that Amber was the tomboy of the band and quite often she was targeted for challenging gender norms.
I remember first song i heard was Electric Shock and i went crazy over it, then listened to so many of their other songs, so many of them are really fucking good and still favorites to this day like Chu, Lachata, Nu Abo, Hot Summer, etc. So good.
— Rawr???? (@tiger_was_alone) April 14, 2022
Miss A
Another girl group in the K-pop world that faced controversy was JYP Entertainment’s Miss A. The band comprised four members: Fei, Jia, Min, and Suzy. Though the band was popular from its debut in 2010, the company’s financial struggles led only one member, Bae Suzy, to be heavily promoted.
I will never forgive jyp for the way miss a was treated
— Brix (@mythjcizd_eyry) April 21, 2022
CLC
Another case of agencies not taking care of their artists is CLC and Cube Entertainment. The group consisted of five members: Seunghee, Yujin, Seungyeon, Yeeun, and Eunbin, and was formed in 2015. CLC’s international popularity spiked in 2017 with the song Hobgoblin. However, their agency failed to assist the artists in creating more such hits and over the course of time the group’s comebacks grew longer. CLC made their last comeback in 2020.
kpop needs them back @cubeclc pic.twitter.com/SfiVPwNZH2 https://t.co/3sa54yldEh
— buse (@CLCTEEZ) April 21, 2022
Whose comeback are you looking forward to the most?
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