‘Are they a K-pop lone wolf?’

New Jeans, the party in question, claims to be an independent group, but inside and outside the K-pop industry, it seems that the prevailing view is that they are a ‘lone wolf’.

The bizarre(?) situation in which New Jeans themselves are not called New Jeans has been occurring one after another during this chaotic holiday season. In the midst of the ‘K-pop Hoboohyung’ incident where each of the five members are replacing New Jeans with their own names, even their agency ‘Unknown’ activity schedule has emerged. On the morning of the 25th, Christmas Day, the popular CBS radio program ‘Kim Hyun-jung‘s News Show’ was recorded and broadcast.

Even the host occasionally called out the New Jeans as if riding the ‘stream of unconsciousness’, but the five members themselves did not mention ‘New Jeans’ News’ as they have throughout this month. Looking back on the year that is only a few days away, it has been eventful. Anyone can admit it at face value, but in any case, the tearful voices of some of the members were broadcast without any filter despite it being a ‘recording’.

The real reason ‘News Show’ turned K-pop upside down during the Christmas holidays was because the five members actually ‘passed’ their agency Adore and acted independently. The agency Adore, which had to learn the ‘unexpected news’ through the media on Christmas Eve, the day before the broadcast, did not give any other statement other than “we didn‘t know”.


Adore has filed a lawsuit against the five members of New Jeans to confirm the existence of their exclusive contracts and is currently awaiting the court’s decision. They could block the five members‘ independent actions before the ruling, but Adore’s tone has been one of ‘patience’ since the beginning of this month, when they stopped calling New Jeans New Jeans.

The five members of New Jeans have not used the name New Jeans since their guest stage at the Japanese big band Yoasobi‘s concert in Korea held at Incheon Inspire Arena on the 7th. Even when all members were featured on the cover of a global fashion monthly magazine, they caught attention by filling in the title with only their names, excluding New Jeans, which is unknown at the members’ request.

Meanwhile, the domestic entertainment industry is releasing group statements one after another with the gist of “Stop the reckless behavior” in relation to New Jeans’ independent actions. The two major organizations, the Korea Management Association and the Korea Entertainment Producers Association, are representative, and have demanded the immediate cessation of New Jeans’ independent actions and the prompt return to their agencies through official statements.


Reporter Heo Min-nyeong mignon@donga.com