The Strange K-Pop Curse That Less Than 4 Groups Have Survived
Many K-Pop groups debut and disband each year as part of the industry cycle. Group status changes have been connected to certain events, sometimes called “curses” when something bad happens.
For example, the “7-Year Curse” identifies the trend of groups disbanding after seven years, usually after their contract expires. The “Number 1 Seat” curse has happened to many trainees on survival shows who rank 1st in the first episode, just to not make the final group.
There is another K-Pop curse that has happened often but has not been specifically named.
K-Pop group names are one of the most important parts of an initial rollout that can help attract attention to a group. A good name also makes looking up a group easier due to SEO, while “bad” ones can be harder to find.
Because of the difficulty in coming up with a unique group name that has not been used already, companies sometimes find inspiration from its plans for a group. Specifically, many groups are named with the number of members they will have in mind.
It seems that these groups often end up losing (or, in rare cases) gaining members making their group name no longer accurate. For example, boy group LUN8 recently announced the departure of a member, bringing their total to seven.
Other groups that have also had this occur include Fromis_9 (now made up of eight members), Day6 (now made up of four members), and GHOST9 (now made up of seven members).
While many have fallen “victim” to the curse, there are some exceptions.
Three currently active groups that have managed to beat the curse include the fourth-generation group 8TURN. 8TURN debuted in 2023 and still consists of the original eight members mentioned in the name.
MLD‘s Hori7on also still has all seven members, and are active in Korea and the Philippines.
The likely best example of a group surviving this curse, however, can be found with GOT7. Not only has the group made it to their 11th anniversary, but they have continued on even after leaving JYP Entertainment and signing with other agencies.
There will likely be more groups that debut with numbers matching their members in the name, and hopefully will add on to this short less.
The list of “surviving” groups does not include subunits like Stray Kids’ 3RACHA or TREASURE’s T5, or temporary groups like EL7Z UP.
