9 Successful K-Pop Idol Subunits Who Charm Fans With Their Unique Sound

One of the joys of being a K-Pop fan is that you sometimes get to experience a few members of your bias group teaming up to form a subunit, oftentimes with a different concept and sound than their original group. These subunits will often gain their own huge fanbases even outside the fandom! From TTS to Orange Caramel, here are just a few of the most successful K-Pop idol subunits who have charmed everyone with their songs.

1. Girls’ Generation-TTS

Girls’ Generation-TTS or TaeTiSeo was a subunit consisting of Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The trio released a number of hit songs. In fact, it would be impossible to name one of their songs that wasn’t a favorite among fans!

Many fans are still hopeful that the trio will release new music in the future even if Seohyun and Tiffany are no longer under SM Entertainment.

2. EXO-CBX

As the first official EXO subunit, many fans were very excited for Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin to debut in their own subunit and they certainly weren’t disappointed!

With a number of bops under their belts in both Korean and Japanese, CBX has found a firm place in many hearts.

3. Orange Caramel

If you didn’t know that Orange Caramel was a subunit of After School, you’d probably never guess they were since the main group and subunit had such different concepts!

But the different concepts definitely worked for them and they topped charts with a number of their songs! Like TTS, many fans are hoping to get a reunion from the Orange Caramel trio in the future.

4. Super Junior K.R.Y

From the trot songs of Super Junior T to the epic duo that is D&E, Super Junior has a number of amazing subunits that have each experienced major success. Not to mention Super Junior M and Super Junior H! But no list of subunits would be complete with the very first subunit in K-Pop, Super Junior K.R.Y! The subunit with Yesung, Ryeowook, and Kyuhyun debuted together in 2006 and is the first official subunit in K-Pop!

Although they weren’t able to release music as a trio since 2015 because of Ryeowook and Kyuhyun’s military enlistment, fans can’t forget this subunit. And who knows, since all three members have now completed their service we might get to hear something from them again soon!

5. GD & TOP

The rap duo of BIGBANG formed their own subunit back in 2010. The duo immediately gained success with their very first album which even became one of the best selling albums of the year in South Korea.

Of course, their success didn’t end there! While fans won’t be able to hear anything new from this duo until they complete their military service, fans are waiting in anticipation for them to make their return!

6. Sistar19

Sistar19 was the first and only official subunit of Sistar and was composed of Hyolyn and Bora.

They had a number of successful songs and although they officially disbanded back in 2017, they will always hold a special place in fans’ hearts.

7. INFINITE H

Prior to their debut, the duo of Dongwoo and Hoya had already received a lot of attention thanks to performances together during INFINITE concerts so when they later debuted in 2013 as the first subunit of INIFNITE, they were very well received!

Although Hoya ultimately left INFINITE and INFINITE H, this subunit continues to live on in fans’ hearts!

8. ToHeart

A subunit consisting of members from the same group is already amazing enough but combining the excellent talents of SHINee’s Key and INFINITE’s Woohyun was an instant hit. Plus their friendship shone through during every performance.

Although they only performed together in 2014, this iconic duo still gathers new fans years later!

9. VIXX LR

The combo of Leo’s soft yet powerful vocals and Ravi’s strong and hard-hitting raps have always left a big impression so when the two debuted in a subunit together back in 2015, fans couldn’t have been happier!