South Korean entertainment continues to bloom these past few years. One of the major players in it is K-Pop, which has become a billion-dollar industry.
But, despite its overall global success, some companies and agencies were not able to avoid the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This led many labels to incur several problems, especially in the aspect of finance, causing many groups to disband.
AllKpop recently released a list of all the South Korean bands with members who dispersed early in the scene due to the global crisis. Most of them debuted in 2018 and 2019, with plans for a supposed comeback by 2020.
One of these acts is Hinapia, which consisted of five members. It an all-female group under OSR Entertainment, with four of the members who had come from the disbanded Pristin.
They entered the scene in late 2019 with their first single album, New Start. They had a brief success because of the title track, "Drip," which even made it into the World Digital Song Sales chart.
Hinapia planned to release a second album the following year. However, they ended up disbanding because of the financial struggles within the label.
Another all-female K-Pop group that left the industry is NeonPunch. They formed under A100 Entertainment with a total of five members.
After releasing their debut single and a mini-album in 2018 and 2019, respectively, they had to reorganize because one of the members left due to health reasons. After completing the replacement process, the group planned to make a comeback in 2020.
This did not happen, though, because the label suffered financial problems brought upon the COVID-19 crisis. After disbanding last August, three of the members formed a new group and debuted as Xum a few months later.
ANS from ANS Entertainment and Moonlight Girls from NDS Entertainment met the same fate last year. Aside from the controversies, the groups' labels, also, experienced pandemic-related complications.
Koreaboo previously released a similar report, as well, listing some of the K-Pop groups that disbanded due to several reasons, aside from the COVID-19 crisis. As noted, some of these groups had contract problems and other controversies that led the members to embark on new career paths.
The list includes X1, which took a hit after the infamous voting manipulation scandal on Produce X 101. Four months after their debut, as well as facing "legal issues and public pressures," the all-male band decided to disband.
1THE9 had a similar experience as X1, excluding the controversy. The group was formed on the survival show Under Nineteen in 2018. However, they only lasted for 18 months as was noted in their contracts.
Other K-Pop groups that disbanded amid the pandemic crisis include SPECTRUM, Yellow Bee, TREI, WhiteDay, KHAN, and MASC. But, even though several acts are no longer in the scene, the public will witness more K-Pop debuts this year.
Reports said that more than 20 to 30 groups from different labels and agencies will make an official introduction in 2021. Some have even already debuted in the first four months of the year.
