Hello and welcome to another great edition of In Case You Missed It! How was your week? This week we saw a series of updates related to upcoming tours and comebacks, as well as an update to Starship’s case against Sojang for libel & defamation of their artist, IVE’s Jang Wonyoung. Now, with all of this said, let’s jump into this and so much more in the latest update of In Case You Missed It!
BY POLARIS_TAE
MONDAY
#1- We started the week with some big tour updates! On Monday, (G)I-DLE shared that they would embark on their 2024, [iDOL] World Tour! Beginning in Seoul, South Korea in August, it will consist of a total of 14 currently announced shows across Asia, North America and Australia. Then on Tuesday, the ticketing information related to the North American leg of the VIVIZ V.HIND LOVE AND TEARS2024 World Tour was officially announced! Tickets officially went on sale on the 17th of May with general admission tickets starting a $50 USD per ticket. Are you looking forward to seeing VIVIZ or (G)I-DLE on tour this year?
#2- JYP will be collaborating with the producer behind the JYP Entertainment project girl group, Golden Girls to develop another exciting audition program! This program will be a global audition show named The Tantara where anyone born between 1993 and 2009 will be considered. Auditions will take place across South Korea, The US, Japan & Vietnam and no ethnicity has been excluded. Will you be trying out for this new show?
TUESDAY:
#1- We had a slew of release announcements throughout the week! In May, we’ll see a solo release from Loona’s Yves, while Chungha will be lending her vocals to a new collaboration! Loona’s Yves is set to officially make her solo debut on the 29th of May with an EP, while Korean-American soloist Chungha will be featuring on rapper BLASÉ’s upcoming EP, Debugging on the 21st of May. Then in June Akdong Musician will be releasing their new mini album, while in July, Kiss of Life & ENHYPEN will both be making their comebacks. ENHYPEN has confirmed their comeback for the 12th of July, while Kiss of Life is yet to confirm an official date. Now moving on to currently undisclosed comeback dates, and we have fromis_9 & TWICE’s MISAMO confirmed to return in 2024. Additionally, fromis_9 will also be hosting a special photo exhibition later in the year. Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming releases?
#2- Now moving on to a new relationship update, and it was shared that the fiance that Ailee is set to marry in 2025 — who was previously reported as a non-celebrity businessman — is actually known to the public. It’s been shared by the idols’ label, POPMUSIC, that her fiance is none other than Choi Sihoon of “Singles Inferno”. What are your thoughts on this discovery? Do you think they make a cute pair?
#3- Our final update for Tuesday concerns former YouTuber and well-known troll, Sojang has been ordered to pay 100 million KRW worth of damages to IVE’s Jang Wonyoung for spreading libelous & defamatory claims. Do you think this is an appropriate consequence for Sojang, considering her past actions against the artist?
WEDNESDAY:
#1- UNIS took to SNS on Wednesday to share their official fandom name! The group shared a pre-recorded video via their Twitter (x.com) where they announced their fandom name as EverAfter. What are your thoughts on this name?
THURSDAY:
#1- We had some updates related to Kep1er this week! To start, StarNews shared that the group would be extending their contracts. It was shared that seven members, excluding 143 Entertainment‘s Mashiho & Yeseo, had officially chosen to extend their promotions as a group. It was later shared that CJ ENM were still in discussions with Yeseo & Mashiro’s label and that nothing had officially been finalised. The following day, however, it was shared that the group would be disbanding as originally intended following a breakdown in discussions related to their contract negotiations. What are your thoughts on this? Were you looking forward to a possible Kep1er contract extension? Or do you think they should just call it quits as scheduled?
#2- It was reported on Thursday that aespa’s M-Countdown pre-recording had been cancelled after it was discovered that a fire had broken out on set during the filming of their stage. Later that same day, it was announced that Winter would be sitting out of the live recording of the stage due to a poor condition. We hope she was able to appropriately recover before what will likely be a gruelling promotional cycle.
#3- It’s been shared that the recent Baekhyun-founded label, INB100 will be joining ONE HUNDRED as a subsidiary. It will be joining Big Planet Made as a subsidiary of the label. SM Entertainment accused the MC Mong-related label, Big Planet Made, of interfering with and trying to poach their artists last year. Do you think SM’s initial claims were an accurate assumption now that we know this fact? Or is it all just pure coincidence?
FRIDAY:
#1- It was shared via OSEN on Friday that CL had recently been in discussions with Yang Hyun-suk ahead of 2NE1’s 15th anniversary. Do you think we’ll see a 2NE1 reunion resulting from these talks?
#2- Now moving on to drama and entertainment updates! On Tuesday it was shared that TWICE’s Dahyun & former-B1A4 leader Jung Jinyoung would be starring in the Korean remake of the Taiwanese drama, “You Are The Apple of My Eye“. Then on Friday, it was shared that the tvN series, “Lovely Runner” was in the process of coordinating the finishing touches for their upcoming watch party event. It is said that the stars of the show will be joining fans in order to watch the final episode together with fans.
SATURDAY:
#1- The HYBE x Min Hee-jin conflict was back in the news this week as the latter’s appeal against the court-ordered extraordinary shareholders meeting set for the 31st of May continued throughout the week! On Tuesday, it was reported through various sources, such as isplus, NewJeans parents and Min Heejin herself, that HYBE would be attempting to put NewJeans on hiatus following their Tokyo dome concerts in August. It was reported that the hiatus may last as long as 1 & a half years in order to look for and establish relations with a Grammy-winning producer for the group. In response, the label clarified that they did not mean that NewJeans would be exiled during their hiatus and instead that they would be given a hiatus in order to recover from the stress of idol promotions. Then return and promote diligently. This is not an uncommon occurrence within HYBE, as the conglomerate’s cash cow, BTS took an extended break — not their current hiatus — during 2019 following a series of severe burnout after non-stop activities and discussions about a potential disbandment the year prior. Then on Friday, we received two updates in relation to Min Heejin’s appeal against HYBE. In the morning it was shared that the NewJeans members had submitted petitions in support of ADOR CEO Min Heejin. Later that same day, a series of private text conversations between Min Hee-jin & her associates were made public which included instances of fat-shaming the members, insulting NewJeans fans, as well as outright dismissing a sexual harassment complaint filed by a female employee that she had would later insult in that same conversation. In addition, we were also made privy to what kind of costs NewJeans could expect to face from a potential termination fee. According to Min’s conversations with an ADOR staffer, the termination fee would begin at a minimum of $300 million USD. In addition, the group could also potentially lose the rights to their name, songs and brand deals, which are all tied up under the HYBE conglomerate. The brand deals could particularly prove difficult depending on whether there are any hefty termination fees for breach of contract baked into the terms and conditions of the agreements. This means that, in addition to the ADOR termination fee, the members may also face further consequences if Min were to leave the label with the group members. What are your thoughts on the ongoing conflict, and are you expecting a solution to this situation anytime soon? Or do you think this controversy will drag out further beyond the extraordinary shareholders meeting on the 31st?
SUNDAY:
#1- There were no notable updates on Sunday.
BY POLARIS_TAE
#1.Girls²xiScream – D.N.A
The LDH collective, Girls²xiScream, made their return this week with a new collaboration single, “D.N.A”, the lead single and digital pre-release for their upcoming July album of the same name. This came following the return and rebranding of the Happiness/iScream-associated unit, SG5 — or Sailor Guardian’s 5 — into f5ve “Lettuce”. This is the collective’s second collaborative single following the release of Rock Steady in September of last year. This time, the collective has exchanged their retro feel from last year’s “Rock Steady” to something more resembling its accompanying b-side “The Finest” with its urban dance feel. Though this isn’t all for Girls²xiScream this year! They will likely be back in July with the music video for the b-side, “Be Real” alongside the release of their single album. As for the song itself, “D.N.A” is a very had-hitting track that, while being a great continuation, just feels too close for comfort to last year’s “The Finest”, particularly in its post-chorus. Nevertheless, we’re actively looking forward to their upcoming single release and seeing what style they return with for “Be Real” in July as well!
#2. aespa – Supernova
In what I think is aespa’s first featuring on ICYMI since “Black Mamba” in 2020, aespa has made their return with a new release in the form of their pre-release single, “Supernova”. Which has been dropped ahead of the group’s fist LP, “Armageddon” set for the 27th of May. aespa — similarly to fellow SM group NCT — often toes the line between having an experimental sound with a technological edge to it into all-out noise music. Which —while allowing the girls to establish a niche in an increasingly saturated Kpop market — can often be detrimental depending on how far they cross this line. Now moving on to our feature of the day, “Supernova” is an experimental EDM-Hip-Hop release that samples the classic 80s American Electro-Funk/Hip-Hop collective Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force’s “Planet Rock”. The single is filled with revving synths & sing-talking mixed throughout to solidify the group’s signature futuristic sound while blessing us with a meme-worthy music video in the process. Overall, it’s an impressive release and we’re looking forward to checking out the full LP on the 27th as well!
#3. The Wind – Sirius pt. 2
The Wind is 6-member a multinational Kpop boy group that was established by WithUs Entertainment, a subsidiary of the HIGHLIGHT-founded Around Us Entertainment. The group made their debut in 2023 their first EP, Beginning: The Wind Page alongside its title track, “Island”. Within this debut, one b-side in particular stood out among the rest. This is the album’s intro track, “Sirius”, whose sequel we will discuss today. The Wind marked their first debut anniversary through the release of “Sirius pt. 2” this week. A continuation of their The Beginning: The Wind Page b-side, “Sirius”. “Sirius pt. 2” is a fresh feeling bubblegum pop release that sounds like it’s time-travelled straight out of the 2010s era of ‘fresh’ sounding concepts such as BOYFRIEND’s “On&On” or “Nothing’s Over” era INFINITE. “Sirius pt. 2” has effectively managed to distinguish itself from its prequel through its overall change in tempo, while also leaning into the fresh and nostalgic sound that became almost synonymous with the fresh boy groups of the 2010s. Overall, it’s a great release, and I’m looking forward to seeing more music from The Wind in the future as well!
BY POLARIS_TAE
#1- There were no relevant chart updates this week!
BY POLARIS_TAE
For this week’s H+ Station Chart update, KISS OF LIFE took the #1 slot for the 4th week with ‘Midas Touch’, while IVE’s “HEYA” made its debut on the chart at #10. Meanwhile, LE SSERAFIM returned to the chart at #10 with their hit 2024 release, “EASY”. Make sure to check out our chart to see where all of your favourite songs ranked!
On Tuesday our Hallyu+ Social Media Team member chococo dropped a long-form interview with LGBT Kpop idols LIONESSES. In the interview, the group details their struggles with discrimination within the idol industry, the meaning behind their masks and more! Make sure to check it out when you have the time!
It was also shared that the team would be interviewing the former Jewelry & DIA member Eunice. Check out the announcement in chococo’s thread here!
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Hallyu+ is actively recruiting for staff. If you want to contribute to the forum’s growth and join our amazing team, don’t hesitate to apply now!
We are searching for new members for the following teams: Blog Team, Translations, Awards & Social Media Team – Press Division. As always, our full list of recruitments can be found in the General Staff Recruitment thread.
This brings us to the end of In Case You Missed It for another week! Were there any updates that suprised you? Or stories that you were unaware of prior to reading? What about this week’s comebacks? Did you discover any new artists, either through this article or via the forum, that you’ve been enjoying lately? As always, our staff teams — Social Media (Press), Blog Team & Awards — are currently looking for new team members to join our staff. So if any of these positions interest you, then feel free to apply through the linked recruitments above. Our In Case You Missed It team is still searching for a dedicated Kpop music reviewer. So why not consider pitching in? If you’re not aware, we are active on both Twitter — now known as x.com — and Instagram, so feel free to follow us there for more fantastic updates! We’re still accepting feature and promo requests via our feature thread here. Additionally, our press team is seeking submissions for our new self-producing musicians playlist here! So make sure to add your submission before the deadline (June 14). Let us know what you enjoyed the most this week in the comments below, and we’ll see you again next week for another great update!
GFX BY @yerm
FEATURED ARTISTS Yamaguchi Kira (Girls²), Choi Hanbin (The Wind), Ningning (aespa), Yuhi (NEXZ) & Huening Bahiyyih (Kep1er)
