TWICE member Chaeyoung announced in a handwritten Instagram letter that she will leave JYP Entertainment to pursue solo projects but pledged to continue group activities, saying she will build her solo "Lil Fantasy" world — the title of her Sept. 2025 debut LP, which has drawn international acclaim — and has not yet disclosed a new agency as discussions are ongoing
BTS member V disclosed he has experienced hearing difficulties for about 2½ years — saying one ear hears roughly 30% compared to the other — prompting fans to rewatch concert clips for signs. BTS’s “Fake Love” music video surpassed 1.4 billion YouTube views on Aug. 13, becoming the group's sixth video to reach that mark. Chaeyoung of TWICE has officially left JYP Entertainment after 14 years and announced she will pursue a solo chapter called "LIL FANTASY" while stressing that TWICE activities aren’t changing. NCT will mark its 10th anniversary with a Seoul Fashion Week collaboration (exhibition, runway show and charity flea market) in early September, and Big Bang has revealed teaser images for a new digital single and launched 20th‑anniversary merchandise and pop-ups as their world tour opens. SUBLIME says it has pursued legal action against malicious posts targeting Hyeri, a Korea Times study found fewer than 4% of K-pop groups ever sell 300,000 albums, police probed alleged procedures by an unlicensed practitioner in the "injection auntie" case, Stray Kids sold over 3 million copies in its first week, JYP terminated drummer and leader Gunil’s contract and removed him from Xdinary Heroes (the band will continue as five members and withdrew from Summer Sonic 2026), and Yeonjun held his first U.S. solo concert at Los Angeles’s Troubadour, debuting the explicit live version of "Fxxking Star" and performing tracks from his second EP including "Ice Cream" and "Vanilla."
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Splayit — the five-member K-rock band formed on Mnet’s global survival show Steal Heart Club — released its debut album SPLAY : CHAPTER 01 and performed its first official stage at Ilchi Art Hall in Seoul ahead of the album drop
Only 3.55% of K-pop groups ever sell 300,000 albums and just 42 groups cleared that industry break-even mark, a study of 1,182 debuting acts from 1996–2025 found. Nearly half of idol groups disappear within three years, and only eight acts have exceeded 10 million cumulative sales
BIGBANG’s 20th-anniversary listening event on Aug. 19 will stage drones, fireworks and a DJ set playing songs the group won’t perform — emblematic of K-pop’s move to turn pre-release album previews into ticketed spectacles. The Korea Times traces the trend from J-Hope’s closed 2022 listening session to large-scale fan preview events by Haechan, V8, Lim Young
BTS’s “Fake Love” music video surpassed 1.4 billion YouTube views on Aug. 13, becoming the group’s sixth video to reach that mark alongside “Dynamite,” “Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey),” “DNA,” “MIC Drop (Steve Aoki Remix)” and “Idol.” Released May 18, 2018 as the lead single from Love Yourself: Tear, the video took just over eight years, two months and 25 days to hit 1.4 billion; the song previously peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and its album topped the Billboard 200
Park Jihoon will hold two encore concerts in Seoul on Sept. 12–13, YY Entertainment announced, wrapping up his Re:flect Asia fan concert tour that also hits Jakarta; a planned Shanghai fan meetup was canceled due to unavoidable circumstances
Katseye appeared on NBC’s The Tonight Show and publicly voiced support for members Sophia and Manon, who are on break, as the group promotes its third EP Wild and prepares for a sold-out Wildworld arena tour
JYP Entertainment has terminated drummer and leader Gunil’s contract, removing him from Xdinary Heroes after a woman claiming to be his ex posted recordings and messages alleging he berated fans and disparaged bandmates. Xdinary Heroes will continue as a five-member group and withdrew from Summer Sonic
Alpha Drive One unveiled teaser visuals for their second EP Unbreakable: Boy Beast, due Aug. 24, with a stray-cat–inspired concept film titled "Hissing" and pop-up stores planned in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Guangzhou; member Sanghyeon is on a short break after vocal cord surgery
Police questioned SHINee members Onew and Key — along with broadcaster Jun Hyun-moo, YouTuber HAETNIM and comedian Park Na-rae — as part of a probe into alleged medical procedures performed by an unlicensed practitioner nicknamed the “Injection Aunt.”
Yeonjun of Tomorrow X Together held his first U.S. solo concert at Los Angeles’ Troubadour as part of Billboard’s "One Night Only," performing tracks from his second EP including "Ice Cream" and "Vanilla," debuting the explicit live version of "Fxxking Star," and closing with an encore of "Ggum."
Big Bang unveiled monochrome teaser images for its new digital single “Biiig,” due Aug. 19 for the group's 20th anniversary, and released official 20th-anniversary merchandise via Musinsa alongside pop-up stores as the 'XX: Cosmos' world tour opens Aug. 21
TWS’s city-pop single “Soda Soda” became the first K-pop song to top Billboard Japan’s Hot 100, with the physical single selling over 225,000 copies in its first week and landing at No. 2 on Oricon’s Weekly Single Ranking
BoyNextDoor will release its second Japan digital single, "Boom Boom Boom," on Aug. 18 and will perform it on Japanese TV one day earlier, just ahead of the Japan leg of its first overseas tour, "Knock on Vol. 2," visiting six prefectures
BTS member V said he’s experienced hearing difficulties for about 2½ years, noting one ear hears roughly 30% compared to the other, and fans are rewatching concert clips—including a Gillette Stadium moment with Jimin—for possible signs of the condition
NCT will mark its 10th anniversary with a Seoul Fashion Week collaboration from Sept. 4–6 at Lotte World Tower, featuring an exhibition of stage outfits from NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV and NCT Wish, a runway show on Sept. 6, and a charity flea market with proceeds donated to social causes
Stray Kids scored their first music show trophy for “This & That” on Mnet’s M Countdown (Aug. 13), beating Jennie’s “Less than a Lover” in this week’s tally
Xdinary Heroes have withdrawn from Summer Sonic 2026 after JYP Entertainment announced leader and drummer Gun-il will be leaving the group; Summer Sonic said the agency requested the withdrawal and no replacement act will be provided
SUBLIME says it has pursued legal action since October 2024 against individuals spreading malicious and defamatory posts about Hyeri, with multiple criminal charges recognized and fines imposed or cases referred for prosecution
Xdinary Heroes member Gun-il has officially withdrawn from the group after a mutual termination of his exclusive contract with JYP Entertainment; the band will continue activities as a five-member group with agency support
SHINee’s Onew said he visited a clinic introduced by an acquaintance for skincare and believed the person to be a licensed medical professional, as Griffin Entertainment asked that speculation stop while police continue their investigation into the so-called “injection auntie” case
TXT’s Yeonjun scored a double crown on Circle Chart’s July monthly rankings with his solo mini album NO LABELS: PART 02 and title track “Ice Cream,” while CORTIS and RESCENE also earned double crowns on monthly/weekly charts; Young K, NouerA, BTS, Jennie, Rosé and others appear across the latest lists
NCT 127 will appear as special guest performers on America’s Got Talent on Aug. 19 (8 p.m. ET), and the group is preparing their seventh full-length album BLINGY for release on Aug. 24; member Johnny is also featured in a new variety show on Viki
Stray Kids' mini album THIS & THAT sold over 3 million copies in its first week, making it the second album of 2026 to reach that mark after BTS's ARIRANG and marking Stray Kids' fourth album to hit 3M first-week sales
