From shocking revelations to heated controversies, 2024 was a rollercoaster year for K-pop. Join us as we dive into the most talked-about scandals that rocked the industry, featuring dramatic twists, unexpected falls from grace, and intense fan reactions. Which event left you stunned?
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00:00It tastes like a cherry bomb
00:02It's a big deal if you look at it easily
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:06Even in the ever-dramatic world of K-pop,
00:092024 stood out as a wild ride.
00:12Today, we're looking at the events that shocked,
00:14shook, and scandalized Hallyu fans all over the world.
00:18We are more than well aware that this is getting in the way of our work
00:22and that we should be treated much, much better than how we are right now.
00:2610. Jennie Blows Smoke and the Internet Blows Its Stack
00:40As a member of Blackpink,
00:41Jennie has come in for way more than her fair share of scrutiny.
00:45She found herself back in the crosshairs in July
00:48when she posted a now-deleted video to her personal YouTube channel
00:52that included a brief glimpse of her vaping
00:54while having her hair and makeup done.
00:57In South Korea, indoor smoking and vaping is strictly banned
01:01and punishable by a fine.
01:03One internet user claimed the incident likely happened in Italy's Capri.
01:08He urged Seoul to request an investigation from the Italian authorities
01:13regarding Blackpink's Jennie's indoor smoking incident and take strict action.
01:18Though Italy's laws about indoor smoking are less severe,
01:22Jennie's behavior still prompted accusations of disregarding the comfort of her team
01:27and setting a bad example for young fans.
01:30Following an apology through her agency, OA,
01:33the firestorm gradually died down,
01:36and Jennie made a successful solo comeback with Mantra in October.
01:459. The Nine Lives of Cat's Eye Controversy
01:49In 2023, South Korea's HYBE Corporation and American label Geffen Records
01:55teamed up to co-produce a new international girl group.
01:59After an idol-style training period, expert evaluation, and several rounds of fan voting,
02:05six performers were selected from a pool of 20 to debut as Cat's Eye.
02:10Love me once, I know you'll love me twice.
02:12Love me once, it's time to roll the dice.
02:14In August of 2024, Netflix released a docu-series
02:18chronicling the behind-the-scenes process.
02:21But with previously unknown drama being thrown into a bright new spotlight,
02:25the show would divide the existing fan community
02:28and turn off a lot of potential new supporters as well.
02:32From the start, we didn't know this was a survival show.
02:36It was supposed to be training.
02:38Pick the girls, prepare for debut and debut.
02:42What embodies K-pop and a group is their bond and their trust in each other,
02:46and what survival shows do is they put contestants against each other.
02:49From dragging up long-squashed beef among contestants
02:53to revealing the shady tactics of the HYBE Geffen executives,
02:57most viewers came away with a bad taste in their mouths.
03:00The big question is how the company thought this would help boost Cat's Eye.
03:04When it went public and when it turned into like this show
03:10turning us against each other,
03:12and that was something I really didn't like personally.
03:15I felt really wrong and I was really upset.
03:18Number eight, Suga scoots under the influence.
03:26With BTS on hiatus for military service,
03:29the group hasn't been much in the news cycle.
03:31Between that and the group's relatively squeaky clean past,
03:35when word broke that Suga had been charged with a DUI,
03:38fan communities and mainstream media alike went feral.
03:42In August, the rapper and producer drew the attention of local police
03:47when he fell from his electric scooter near his home in Seoul's Hanam neighborhood.
03:51The officers conducted a breathalyzer test
03:54after smelling alcohol on him as they tried to help him up.
03:58Suga's blood alcohol content was high enough for his license to be revoked.
04:03Thankfully, nobody was hurt and following the suspension of his license,
04:07Suga's case was dismissed with a hefty fine.
04:10He has since taken responsibility for his poor behavior
04:13with several public statements on the matter.
04:15He arrived at around 7.45 p.m after being summoned and bowed his head in apology,
04:21saying he was sorry for being a big disappointment to so many people.
04:25Number seven, Jessi's fan and the physical confrontation.
04:35Soloist Jessi is used to dividing opinions with her unapologetic persona,
04:40but an offstage incident in September put the singer in a storm of controversy
04:45bigger than any she's previously experienced.
04:48That whole cycle is just every day.
04:50So it's really, really overwhelming and stressing.
04:54While out in Seoul's Apgujeong neighborhood,
04:57a young fan approached Jessi for a photo,
05:00only to be assaulted by a member of her entourage.
05:03Though CCTV footage shows Jessi initially trying to defuse the situation,
05:08she quickly withdrew from the conflict and left the scene.
05:12Online condemnation was swift,
05:14as Jessi faced accusations of abandoning her fan to their attacker.
05:18Though she has since made multiple public apologies,
05:21fans are still split,
05:23and DoD Entertainment confirmed they were parting ways with the singer in October,
05:28just a month after signing her to an exclusive contract.
05:31You would think, wow, your friends would be there for you,
05:35or the people that you work with, or just whoever would be there for you,
05:40but they all disappear, you know, and they turn their back on you.
05:46Number six, Hyuna's new relationship.
05:51For years, it seemed like Hyuna could do no wrong.
06:04Beloved as much for her bold, independent persona as her performance skills,
06:08Hyuna was previously able to defy convention on and off stage
06:12without any significant career blowback.
06:15Then in January, Hyuna went public with a new partner,
06:19Young Joon Hyung.
06:20The former Highlight member is better known for his connection to the Burning Sun scandal,
06:25when he admitted to participating in conversations
06:27about women captured in illegal hidden camera footage.
06:41Needless to say, the relationship sparked outrage,
06:44especially among loyal fans,
06:47who saw it as a betrayal of the progressive image Hyuna built her career on.
06:51Seemingly unconcerned, Hyuna remains committed to her relationship,
06:55but time will tell if this has a long-lasting impact on her career.
07:07Number five, Islet plagiarism accusations.
07:17While some found the March debut of B-Lift Lab's Islet to be magnetic,
07:22fans of the fourth-gen phenom's New Jeans clocked strong similarities
07:26in the look and marketing of the two groups.
07:29With both being managed by subsidiaries under the Hive umbrella,
07:33many were ready to dismiss this as tribute rather than anything nefarious.
07:37But Min Hee Jin, CEO of New Jeans agency Adore,
07:41publicly accused B-Lift of plagiarism in April.
07:47A series of internal document leaks revealed a debut strategy for Islet
08:01that shared strong parallels with one produced for New Jeans three years earlier.
08:06B-Lift has continued to staunchly deny any plagiarism,
08:09but some have argued it looks like Hive was trying to position Islet
08:12as a replacement for New Jeans in the wake of their bigger feud with Min Hee Jin.
08:18We'll circle back to that later.
08:26Number four, Le Seraphim's runaway hate train.
08:37One of the top groups of the fourth generation,
08:40Le Seraphim looked likely to keep the good times rolling
08:43with the success of their February comeback, Easy.
08:46Following a first-place win on M Countdown in March,
08:50the group took the stage for an encore.
08:52And that's where things started to go downhill.
09:04The lethargic and off-key performance had K-fans calling their live performance skills
09:09into question, with an underwhelming performance at Coachella
09:12and a poorly received docuseries only adding fuel to the fire.
09:16Add in a few instances of unpopular offstage behavior by individual members,
09:21and criticism snowballed into downright vitriol.
09:25Le Seraphim's most recent activities seem to have quieted some of the hate,
09:29but there's no denying the group's year was anything but easy.
09:39Number three, Seung-Han's rise and fall.
09:59SM boy group R.I.S.E first hit the scene in September of 2023
10:04with seven members and a catchy debut song.
10:06But it didn't take long for controversy to strike.
10:09Almost immediately, photos leaked online allegedly showing member Seung-Han in his
10:15trainee days smoking cigarettes and kissing an unidentified woman.
10:20By late November, he had been placed on indefinite hiatus,
10:23with his return only announced in October of 2024.
10:27Within hours, a vocal contingent of South Korean fans had organized to make their displeasure known,
10:33even going so far as to send funeral wreaths to the SM building in protest.
10:38This put them in sharp contrast with supporters more accepting of their idol's private lives,
10:43who already believed the original punishment was overkill.
10:47Sadly, Seung-Han was permanently removed from R.I.S.E within days,
10:51leaving the fandom divided in his wake.
10:54Number two, the HYBE-Adore civil war.
10:58Buckle up, friends, this one is a lot.
11:00Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
11:04Back in April, HYBE Corporation announced an internal audit of subsidiary Adore
11:09and publicly asked for the resignation of its CEO, Min Hee-Jin.
11:14Things turned ugly fast as HYBE accused Min of attempting a hostile takeover of the company.
11:20And she, in turn, leveled allegations against the company that included plagiarism and sabotage.
11:36As the mud flew, Min's wildly successful group New Genes got into the ring in defense of their CEO.
11:42In an unprecedented act of idol rebellion, the group posted a video in September
11:46The group posted a video in September accusing HYBE of fostering a toxic work environment
11:52and calling for Min's reinstatement.
11:54We have the choice to choose how we will react to each situation,
11:59and we are not going to follow HYBE's every order blindly.
12:05HYBE declined to respond, but postponed New Genes' planned comeback indefinitely.
12:10Then in November, the group doubled down.
12:13They sent a list of demands to the company,
12:15threatening to terminate their contracts if their conditions were not met.
12:19As of December 2024, they are determined to sever their ties with HYBE,
12:24though it remains unclear if they'll be able to do so.
12:28Breaking the contract could reportedly result in penalties of up to 600 billion Korean won
12:33or around 430 million U.S. dollars.
12:36While this has sparked speculation that the group will not be able to leave easily,
12:40the members insist they can, claiming a door in HYBE violated contract terms.
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13:01Number 1.
13:02Tails Crimes
13:04In the considerable ensemble that is NCT,
13:13Tail always stood out to fans for his sweet, unassuming demeanor and effortless voice.
13:18Then in August, SM Entertainment announced his removal from the group,
13:23disclosing that he had been credibly accused in a criminal sexual assault case.
13:27The news landed like a nuclear bombshell in the fandom,
13:30who struggled to reconcile his persona with the seriousness of the accusation.
13:35But anyone familiar with K-pop knows the evidence against Tail must be
13:39rock solid for SM to eject the singer the way they did.
13:43Both his agency and fellow NCT members have quickly distanced themselves from the singer.
13:48Official NCT and NCT 127 accounts unfollowed the former member,
13:54with other NCT members all following suit by collectively unfollowing Tail on Instagram.
14:00Sickening details have continued to emerge since the initial revelation,
14:04and his contract was formally terminated in October.
14:07The case is ongoing as of the end of 2024, but if convicted, Tail faces substantial prison time.
14:14He could be sentenced to more than seven years.
14:17If the court finds the crime especially serious, it could even hand down a life sentence.
14:22Which 2024 K-pop scandal rocked you to your core?
14:26Which one was totally overblown?
14:28Let us know in the comments.
14:36Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo,
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