ICYMI IN CASE YOU MISSED IT // JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 4

[Dragon of the West]

JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 4


Hello Hallyuplussers and welcome back to In Case You Missed It for another week! This week, we saw more updates to Kakao, SM Entertainment and the numerous parties interested in potentially acquiring the label, as well as comeback news from both BTOB & HIGHLIGHT. Now moving onto official comebacks, we saw the return of both (G)I-DLE & VANNER, while BABYMONSTER and TWICE made their return with some exciting new pre-releases. All of this and so much more in this week's In Case You Missed It. So make sure to keep reading if any of these topics interest you!

BY POLARIS_TAE


MONDAY:
#1- To start the week, it was shared that Kakao is in the stages of planning a major overhaul of SM Entertainment — which the company acquired a major stake in during early 2023 — following an intensive audit into the company's finances and management. Following this investigation, several high-profile individuals — including former SM CEO Lee Seong-soo and current CEO Jang Cheo-hyuk — have been targeted for dismissal or discipline. It's been shared that the pair, who previously advocated for 'advanced management' and 'transparent governance' had reportedly engaged in opaque management practices and questionable investments without the consent of the label's parent company, which had led to their dismissal. Kakao further stated that, in addition to Lee & Jang, the company also plans to dismiss SM COO Tak Yeong-jun & CCO Park Jun-young while establishing new leadership in the company. What are your thoughts on this development?

#2- Former IZ*ONE member Honda Hitomi officially graduated from AKB48 following ten years with the Japanese girl group. She is one of several high-profile AKB48 members who have plans to graduate during the first few months of the year. We wish her our best, and hope to see her continue on within the entertainment industry in the future as well!



TUESDAY:
#1- Kakao came back with another update on Tuesday. The company stepped out to firmly deny rumours that they were considering selling SM Entertainment following earlier reports that they were exploring the sale of the company due to legal risks. This speculation stemmed from a controversy related to the stock price manipulation of SM Entertainment during the acquisition process. This controversy would eventually lead to HYBE pulling their bid for SM Entertainment and allowing Kakao to finalise their bid and acquire SM Entertainment. This controversy further led to the arrest of Bae Jae-hyun, the Investment Chief of Kakao & caused the South Korean financial regulator — the Financial Supervisory Service — to raid the offices of Kim Beom-su at Kakao's headquarters in Pangyo, just south of Seoul. What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you think the legal and financial difficulties will still lead to Kakao eventually relinquishing its major stake in the company?

#2- (G)I-DLE had some updates for us this week! Firstly, the group's label, Cube Entertainment has shared that Minnie and Yuqi will be rejoining the group following their temporary health hiatus. then on Friday, the group's leader Soyeon revealed that she had officially become the group's executive producer since the release of 'TOMBOY'. In addition to this, it was discovered that the group had partially funded the music video for their latest release, 'Super Lady'. The video had a budget of 1.1 billion KRW.



WEDNESDAY:
#1- Great news for fans of HIGHLIGHT. It's been revealed that the group will be returning with new music this Spring. Are you looking forward to new music from the group?

#2- We had some updates to contracts this week. On Wednesday it was shared that Jessi had mutually concluded with her label, MORE VISION, to terminate her exclusive contract with the agency. Then on Thursday, it was announced that Sistar's Soyou had left Big Planet Made (BPM Entertainment) following the expiration of her contract. We hope they parted ways on good terms and look forward to seeing them back in the public eye soon.



THURSDAY:
#1- KOMCA had some new member promotions this week! The organisation shared that BTS' Jungkook, SEVENTEEN's Vernon & (G)I-DLE's Soyeon had all been promoted to full members of the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA). Congrats!



FRIDAY:
#1- It's been announced via SpoTV that BtoB's Im Hyunsik will be coming back with new music later this month. In addition to this, BtoB will also be returning as a full group next month in March. Are you looking forward to these upcoming releases?

#2- The 2024 ASEA (Asia Star Entertainment Awards) has announced the MCs for their upcoming awards show. SNSD's Yuri & 2PM's Taecyeon will be participating in the show as its hosts.



SATURDAY:
#1- ZB1's Kim Jiwoong has been facing some backlash following a fan call event where the idol reportedly swore to himself when he thought he had disconnected from the fan he was speaking to. The following day, the idols' agency, WAKEONE responded to the situation by stating that they had checked with Kim Jiwoong himself, who had outright denied the claims. In addition, the company also "checked with the employee and translator that were present at the scene." WAKEONE additionally declared that “For the sake of objective accuracy, WAKEONE will very clearly and definitively ascertain the truth by using various methods including digital media forensics, and we will protect our artist.” Do you think the reaction to this situation was justified? Or do you think creating a controversy related to swearing is a non-issue?



SUNDAY:
#1- From what looks like a seemingly annual thing at this rate, it's been reported that HYBE is looking into possibly acquiring SM Entertainment. This comes following earlier — now denied reports — that Kakao was looking into the possibility of selling off their stake in SM Entertainment. However — unlike their previous acquisition attempt — HYBE's chairman and founder, Bang Si-hyuk has chosen to privately approach various private equity funds to secure funding for this potential investment. Through this approach, the HYBE founder looks to be approaching the company with a more strategic mindset, especially when compared to the more aggressive and high-profile attempt that caused the company's previous acquisition attempt to fall through. In addition to HYBE, there have been a total of about eight to nine companies and individuals that have shown interest in acquiring SM from their parent company Kakao. These include the fashion company F&F — who recently expanded into the Entertainment industry through F&F Entertainment — as well as the video game developers NCSOFT. However, doubts still linger about the latter's financial capacity in regards to attaining, and successfully managing, a company as big as SM Entertainment. Two other high-profile parties have also shown their interest. The American conglomerate MGM, a subsidiary of Amazon.com and the co-producer of what would've been NCT Hollywood; and Lee Soo-man, the founder and former CEO of SM Entertainment who was unceremoniously booted from the label in 2023. It's been reported that the music mogul is looking into whether he can potentially reacquire the label following a court ruling in his favour to review the SM board meeting minutes and attached documents in order to possibly re-examine the ownership dispute. What are your thoughts on this situation? Do you think we'll see a third owner of SM in as little as a year, or do you think Kakao will continue forward as SM Entertainment's parent company for, at least, the foreseeable future?

#2- On Friday Oh My Girl's official Twitter (x.com) account was suspended from the platform for allegedly violating the operation policy after discovering the existence of an impersonation account. The was officially been restored by Sunday and the group's label, WM Entertainment officially apologised to fans who were affected by the situation. What are your thoughts on this issue? do you think social media platforms are too easy going with their suspension policies considering numerous official accounts — such as INFINITE's official Instagram — have also found themselves at risk of suspension in the past?

BY DRAGON OF THE WEST & POLARIS_TAE


#1.WONDERLANDS x SHOWTIME x KAGAMINE RIN - CYBERPUNK DEAD BOY
We're back with another Vocaloid associated review this week for WONDERLANDS x SHOWTIME's Maiki-P commissioned release, 'CYBERPUNK DEAD BOY' for the 'Backlight Lens Flare' event in Project SEKAI. WONDERLANDS x SHOWTIME (WxS or Wandasho) is a four-member unit made up of fictional ProjectSEKAI part-time actors based at the Wonder Stage at Phoenix Wonderland. In addition to the four main members, they often collaborate with other Vocaloid virtual idols such as Hatsune Miku, Kagemine Len, or in this case, Kagemine Rin. Unlike regular Vocaloid idols, who depend on the use of technology to emulate voices, WONDERLANDS x SHOWTIME is instead made up of a quartet of various voice actors who lend their voices to the characters. Of the four members, Rui & Ototri's voice actors Toki Shunichi & Kino Hina seem to have the biggest resumes. Shunichi is both a successful soloist and a voice actor. He has previously held voice roles in Tokyo Revengers as Kazutora Hanemiya and Genshin Impact as Freminet, while Kino Hina is most renowned for her role as Griseo in Honkai Impact 3rd. Now moving onto the song and 'CYBERPUNK DEAD BOY' is an upbeat and energetic release that also acts as the fourth focus song for male member, Kamishoro Rui. It's a song that criticises the trivial meanings behind music production and just hunting for songs that will give them the biggest views regardless of how one-dimensional the content may be. The music video, similarly to the song itself, is just as bright and upbeat and effectively showcases the members varying quirks and personalities even with the limitations that 2D animation often struggles with. This is accomplished through the varied expressions given to the members to set them apart from one another, while also effectively utilizing art techniques such as Ben Day dot painting that can be seen widely across the visual art medium from Roy Lichtenstein's pop art to modern comic books and films. Overall it's a great release that successfully showcases the members' team synergy with each other and leaves us eagerly anticipating even more great music from WONDERLANDS x SHOWTIME!





#2.(G)I-DLE - SUPER LADY
(G)I-DLE are back with their 2nd full-length album [2] led by the title track ‘Super Lady’. The group’s music has undergone several transformations over the last few years, with the most recent being the polarizing track, ‘Wife’. Regardless of the genre leader and executive producer Soyeon decides to have them tackle, their title tracks have gained recognition for their catchy phrases. ‘Super Lady’ is structured on a powerful EDM beat, and it’s energy stands out with the vocals, especially in the first verse and pre-chorus. The instrumental drop chorus has old-school K-pop fans (yes, we’re now considered old if we were into K-pop circa-2015) drawing similarities between this and T-ara’s ‘Sugar Free’, but unlike that iconic song, ‘Super Lady’ struggles to embrace a memorable chorus and instead leans into a somewhat lackluster repetitive spoken phrase in its chorus. At best, this is an okay title track from the group, but it lacks the elements that made so many of their early releases enjoyable and only time will tell if they ever return to those concepts.





#3. BABYMONSTER - STUCK IN THE MIDDLE
With news that BabyMonster will be releasing their first album in April, and member Ahyeon re-joining the group for that, they have put out a pre-release single titled ‘Stuck in the Middle’. The song is a drastic departure from their debut track ‘Batter Up’ with none of the bombastic posturing being featured here. Instead, this track does a decent job of showcasing their vocal prowess, albeit through a rather subdued sound which is an interesting creative decision. At its core, this is nothing more than a regular ballad song that fails to take a step further melodically and remains unmemorable once you finish listening to it. It seems like the group’s producers are in limbo and haven’t quite found a way to produce a track that isn’t as obnoxious as ‘Batter Up’ nor as unremarkable as ‘Stuck in the Middle’, which makes their next release all the more interesting to keep an eye on.





#4. TWICE - I GOT YOU
As is often the case with more experienced groups in K-pop, TWICE has now slowed down with the frequency of releases going from releasing 3-4 Korean albums in a year to just 1 or 2. Having entered into the 9th year of their comeback, the group is now focusing more on touring and attending to personal schedules, but the quality of their music is still as high as it has ever been. With their 13th mini album set to be released in just under 3 weeks, the group have put out a pre-release single titled 'I Got You', sung entirely in English. The track possesses the delightful weightlessness often found in fan songs. The instrumental carries with itself an undertone that beautifully complements the anthemic melodies, and the vocal performance adds to the song’s allure. It could potentially explore a more daring composition and execution, but its strength lies in the straightforward, heartfelt approach which brings about a certain simplistic charm that allows fans to connect with the emotions being conveyed. The approach that this goes for serves as a testament to their enduring popularity and the timeless appeal of their music. TWICE remain a beacon of consistency in the K-pop scene even after nearly a decade of being at it, and you can put your money on their upcoming album continuing to follow that same level of consistency.





#5. VANNER - JACKPOT
VANNER have released their 2nd mini album Capture The Flag with the title track ‘Jackpot’. Hui is listed as a composer on the track, and his contribution is very noticeable with the rock and hip-hop influences sounding like the sort of song he would have composed for Pentagon. ‘Jackpot’ is filled to the brim with energy and intensity, with them making a point to go full-in on the instrumental which elevates an otherwise confusing concept of the song. What even does “jack to the pot” mean, and am I just missing an underlying message here? Questionable catchphrase aside, this song’s energy is certainly appreciated, and it will be interesting to see if it manages to endure in the long run, or if it gets forgotten with time.

BY DRAGON OF THE WEST


#1- BTS' Proof has surpassed 14 billion streams on Spotify, making it the first album by a K-pop act to do so. It was also revealed that the group has surpassed 40 million sales on Circle Chart (formerly known as Gaon), once again being a feat achieved for the first time in K-pop. It wouldn't be a discussion about achievements without BTS being mentioned in one way or another!

#2- IU's pre-release single "Love Wins All" achieved a Perfect All-Kill (PAK) and as of the time of writing, it has since reached 141 PAK hours. She continues to prove the fact that she is indeed, THE digital monster in South Korea.

#3- (G)I-DLE's 2nd full-length album [2] has sold 1,537,083 copies in it's first week, making it the 5th highest first week sales among albums released by a girl group.

BY POLARIS_TAE

User of the Month nominations are officially open for the month of January! This honour is given to a community-elected member of the forum who has successfully contributed to the forum in a positive aspect. This special title comes with a few perks and bonuses such as a cute temporary banner for the month, as well as trophy points, ørbs & +cards for you to collect! Voting officially closes on the 5th of February, so make sure to get your submissions in ASAP!

We have another weekly H+ Station Chart update! This week, VIVIZ continued their #1 streak this week when 'MANIAC' took the top spot for the 4th week in a row! While Yena & THE BOYZ debuted at #5 & #10 respectively. Be sure to check out our chart to see where all of your favourite songs ranked!

The Social Media Team came back with one article this week!

Polaris_Tae returned with an editorial on SM Entertainment and their — many — failed attempts at creating an idol group revolving around the graduation-based concept, "South Korea & The Idol Graduation System: SM Entertainment's Failures." Be sure to check it out if you haven't already!


+

Hallyu+ is actively recruiting for staff. If you want to contribute to the forum's growth and join our amazing team, don't hesitate and apply now!
We are searching for new members for the following teams Blog Team & 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 another week's worth of news! We'll see you again next week for even more great updates. In the meantime, be sure to let us know what interested you over the past week in the comments below. As always, both ourselves, and the Hallyu+ Blog Team, are looking for new members to join our respective teams! So if you would like to contribute to our social media team, or want to help get the blog up and running with content such as blog posts, dedicated artist profiles, OP GFX contributions, or just with the overall running and design of the site, then feel free to apply via the linked application forms above! This brings us to the end of In Case You Missed It for another week, and we hope to see you again next week for more great updates!





GFX BY @bibbidi
FEATURED ARTISTS Honda Hitomi (AKB48), Kamishiro Rui (Wonderlands x Showtime), Miyeon ((G)I-DLE), Taehwan (VANNER), Chiquita (Baby Monster)​

 

[soozie]

thanks for the updates guys!

 

[Polaris_Tae]

I think I've hit my word quota for SM/Kakao this week. pls don't come back with more drama next week. I don't want it! Having to do background research into legal issues or companies is painful. Esp when you have no idea what they are and just see them in passing in twt and have to try and find out who exactly is involved all over again


My favourite news the week was BTS smashing a hole in Gaons ceilings with their sales

 

[UMJI MOODS]

I think I've hit my word quota for SM/Kakao this week. pls don't come back with more drama next week. I don't want it! Having to do background research into legal issues or companies is painful. Esp when you have no idea what they are and just see them in passing in twt and have to try and find out who exactly is involved all over again

 

[SirTim0thy]

Thanks for the weekly summary!

 

[Bellamy]

Thanks for the updates!!!

#1- ZB1's Kim Jiwoong has been facing some backlash following a fan call event where the idol reportedly swore to himself when he thought he had disconnected from the fan he was speaking to. The following day, the idols' agency, WAKEONE responded to the situation by stating that they had checked with Kim Jiwoong himself, who had outright denied the claims. In addition, the company also "checked with the employee and translator that were present at the scene." WAKEONE additionally declared that “For the sake of objective accuracy, WAKEONE will very clearly and definitively ascertain the truth by using various methods including digital media forensics, and we will protect our artist.” Do you think the reaction to this situation was justified? Or do you think creating a controversy related to swearing is a non-issue?

If what zeroses are saying on twitter is true (about the account that spread the video being a well-known and banned Jiwoong hater) this is so messed up.
I agree with him not apologizing if he didn't say that but I listened to the audio (that's cut btw, the fan hasn't uploaded the full video) and it looks like he did but it wasn't directed to the fan. The worst part: this controversy is being used by others to hate the whole group. I won't be surprised if he apologizes later.