Group Ive (Ahn Yu-jin, Ga-eul, Lay, Jang Won-young, Liz, Lee Seo) has released a schedule poster image for ‘IVE EMPATHY’ ahead of the release of their new album on February 3rd.

It is reminiscent of an envelope. The photo stamps and schedules written on stationery create an overall warm and narrative atmosphere, raising curiosity about this Ive album. According to the schedule poster, Ive will release a trailer video for ‘EMPATHY!’ on the 29th and trailer photos on the 30th, officially heating up their comeback.

They will release three concept photos from January 2nd to 4th, and on the 6th, they will open the concept film for the pre-released title song ‘REBEL HEART’. Then, he plans to raise expectations with more concept photos on the 8th and 9th.

Ive will release the music video teaser for ‘Rebel Heart’ on January 11th, and will release the ‘Rebel Heart’ digital single along with a comeback live on the 13th. After that, he plans to carry out various promotions until the release of the ‘Ive Empathy’ album on February 3rd.

Ive, who raised expectations for his comeback with scenes that give off a sense of ‘empathy’ and exciting lyrics in the coming soon teaser released on the 24th, has perfectly digested new and diverse concepts with each album, displaying Ive‘s own color and receiving great attention from not only fans but also the public.

Not only did he successfully promote in Korea with his second EP album ‘Ive Switch’ released in April, but he also continued to be a hot topic day after day with notable results on music charts both domestically and internationally. In particular, ‘HEYA’, one of the title songs of ‘Ive Switch’, was listed on both the ‘Most Popular Songs’ and ‘Most Popular Songs of Shorts’ charts of YouTube’s ‘This Year‘s Trends’ list recently released, and was ranked in the ‘Top 10 Songs in Korea’ of ‘Year on TikTok 2024’, which is part of TikTok’s annual chart. At the same time, Ive proved his presence by being listed on the ‘Top 10 Artists in Korea’.

Ive‘s third EP album ‘Ive Empathy’ will be released on February 3. On January 13th, ahead of the release, the pre-released title song ‘Rebel Heart’ will be released through various music sites.

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com Reporter jhj@donga.com