10 K-Pop Issues That Took Place in 2019

In 2019, a lot of things happened. With both bad and good, here are some notable K-Pop incidents that had taken placed.

JeonAe, Kpopmap Editor
5 min to read · Published : Dec 31, 2019 · Updated : Nov 13, 2023

BTS Official

2019 is definitely one of the most eventful years for K-Pop fans and there just so many things that took place. With both good and bad incidents, Kpopmap is here to summarise some of the incidents that took place in 2019.

#1 Burning Sun Scandal

Burning Sun Scandal is probably the largest scandal that had happened in the K-Pop industry to date. It involved ex member BIGBANG's SeungRi, Jung JoonYoung, ex member FTISLAND's Choi JongHoon and CNBLUE's Lee JongHyun who happened to be in a group chat.

SeungRi Instagram

The group chat involved these celebrities sharing explicit unconsented sex videos with women who were either rape or drugged, causing an uproar among the South Korea nation especially with the emphasis of #MeToo movement.

The incident had further escalated to allegations of rape, spy cams, prostitution and various other political related issues.

#2 "Produce X 101" - X1 and IZ*ONE

Mnet "Produce X 101" started off with a bang but as the season came to a close, allegations of it being manipulated surfaced. Despite that being said, X1debuted as one of the most successful rookie groups to date. However, soon enough, X1 was tied down by various controversies and eventually the main producer for the show had admitted that not just the season but previous 3 seasons were all rigged.

X1 Official

Currently, there is no concrete plan and statement from Swing Entertainment and CJ ENM regarding the future directions of X1 yet. IZ*ONEis also currently forced to go on a hiatus due to the controversy too.

#3 SuperM's Debut

SuperM's debut meant a lot for many K-Pop fans as various fandoms under SM Entertainment come together as one. Many called the group the 'Avengers of K-Pop' as members of the group can be considered as the best of the best K-Pop idols.

SuperM Official

The release of 'Joppin' also proved their popularity is no joke as they even debuted number one on Billboard 200 with their 1st mini album.

#4 K-Pop idols that left their group

2019 is also a year that has proven to be one of the worst years for K-Pop fans as it as noted that there are at least 15 K-Pop idols who had left their groups for various reasons.

Stray Kids Official

You can take a look at the part 1 and part 2 article which Kpopmap had previously written too.

#5 K-Pop Idols taking a break

Aside from K-Pop idols leaving their group for various reasons, there has a been a rise in K-Pop idols who were revealed to be taking a rest due to health issues. Some of the notable examples include TWICE's Mina, SEVENTEEN's S.Coups who are noted to be suffering anxiety and Kang Daniel who is revealed to be suffering from depression too.

TWICE Japan Official

Although it is painful to see K-Pop idols going through such ordeal, many fans are glad to see that they are currently putting their schedule on hold to focus on their recovery.

#6 Sulli and Goo HaRa's passing

Sulliand Goo HaRa's passing shook the K-Pop industry not once but twice when the news were first released.

Idol Issue

Many fans blamed netizens for the hurtful comments left for the two idols and demanded to see changes from the nation to protect celebrities from future unfortunate cases.

Rest in peace, Sulli and Goo HaRa.

#7 BTS

Just how far is BTSgoing to go? No one knows for sure the answer but BTS is definitely unstoppable judging the way they are breaking records after records! From an astonishing number of pre-sale to albums sold, uncountable amount of awards they had received (sweeping away all Daesangs in MMA 2019 & MAMA 2019), first K-Pop solo concert in Saudi Arabia, invitation to present in GRAMMY awards and to perform live during "Dick Clark's New York's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest" in New York City! The list just keeps going on and on.

BTS Official

It was also recently reported that BTS had contributed in bringing in KRW1 trillion won (USD862 million) into the Korean economy with just 3 days of their concert "LOVE YOURSELF : SPEAK YOURSELF" in October.

#8 K-Pop groups with American music market advancement

We also noticed that in 2019 there are many K-Pop groups advancing into the American music market. BLACKPINKis the very first K-Pop group invited to perform in music festival 'Coachella'.

MONSTA Xis also noted to be collaborating with various U.S artists and musicians, releasing songs together. NCT 127had also made their appearance on various U.S TV broadcasts, greeting their fans who have been waiting for them for a long time.

It seems like with such examples, it is expected that more K-Pop groups will be embarking their journey into the U.S music industry soon.

#9 K-Pop couples in 2019

For long time K-Pop fans, you would recall that Korean media, Dispatch, has their tradition of exposing 1 celebrity couple every time the the new year begins. For 2019, EXO's Kai and BLACKPINK's Jennie were revealed to be dating and took the K-Pop community by storm. The two eventually broke up after a while later.

KONNECT Official / TWICE Japan Official

Another couple that many were surprised was none other than TWICE's JiHyo and Kang Daniel. The news broke out a couple of weeks after Kang Daniel's long awaited solo debut, leaving many fans in confusion.

#10 SBS "Gayo Daejeon" Incidents

On Dec. 25, SBS "Gayo Daejeon" 2019 was held in Gocheok Sky Dome and despite the festive season, there were many incidents which had caused K-Pop fans to be alarmed. Kpopmap had compiled some of the incidents and you take a look here.

Red Velvet Official Facebook

The most serious incident would have happened to Red Velvet's Wendy who had fallen from a height of 2m during rehearsal. It was reported that she had suffered from hip and wrist fracture as well as facial injuries.

We hope for a speedy recovery for Wendy!