a lot of questionable decisions Hybe has made over the last few years originates from Bang Sihyuk's insecurity.
He was a mere composer under JYPE, and got big while JYP was obsessed with USA. The famous socks incident occurred when Bang went to USA with JYP during the attempt of Wonder Girls to promote in USA.
So, like most self made people, he is never secure .
His insecurity, and his desire to establish himself as a tycoon in Korea to cement his position there, appears to be the cause of many of his seemingly incomprehensible decisions.
The cold truth is Min Heejin and Ador did represent the future of Hybe.
Although TWS did better than usual in its debut, that was unexpected. Big Hit, Bts' division, has no new boy groups being planned - its tradition will die with txt.
Ador's new boy group, which will probably never see the light of day, would have carried the torch of Hybe's success. Min Heejin knew the weaknesses and strong points of Hybe, and knew she would be in a domineering position if her boy group became as big as, or larger, than New Jeans.
The cold truth is BTS at most has 5 years from now, or 3 years from 2026, the first realistic year when they can tour, 7 years after their last major tour and 4 years after their last concert, when Taylor Swift was just a contender against it and had not become the Person of the Year.
txt, what a huge disappointment.
I have debunked the longer career argument, thrown by Korean incels to justify BTS' enlistment. Do you seriously think that they would be dancing the numbers when they are 40? Seokjjn will be 35 in 2026!
I have said at least 10 times that in late 2021 BTS and Bang should have headquartered themselves at some place in USA, tour it, do not return to Korea, do not release any solo albums which mostly proved to be a waste of time and money overall, and let his underlings and Min Heejin release the girl groups.
But he could not trust Min Heejin and interfered with Le Sserafim, which led her to distrust him.
BTS' 2028 tours , if there is one since its contract will end in 2027, will begin to show quite a few arenas as whatever remaining of its energy will be consumed in 2026 while Taylor Swift and others will all gang up on it. Investors will see that its peak is over, and none of the other acts would be worthy to justify Hybe's stock prices. TWS has a Chinese member, like most Pledis groups, which means it will emphasize Asia just like Seventeen.
New Jeans would be doing blackpink-style tours, this year's Japan interlude notwithstanding. Illit, with 2 Japanese members, won't leave there.
Which basically means the only act with a shot to carry BTS' torch under Hybe would have been the Ador new boy group, which would have been Min Heejin's masterpiece.
That made the rest of Hybe's labels desperate, and probably Bang too. This move probably saved BTS' comeback in 2026, when Min Heejin would probably had the largest impact if she would have struck Hybe then, but Hybe cannot hide its desperation.
She knew it, and the guy who encouraged her to strike out knew it too, and they demanded a higher share . The better showings of TWS and Illit were unexpected and that made Bang to refuse MHJ's offer and we all know what happened next.
The truth is
1 BTS will decline. Its return won't be as impressive as some Armies still believe.
2. Ador's new boy group would have been what would have maintained Hybe's dominance.
3. Bang's insecurity, his desire to be recognized among Korea's elites, and his reliance on Korean investment made him to pander to Korean opinion, instead of moving his HQ to USA and investing fully on BTS' heyday, only (maybe) releasing them after their peak would have been over.
Bang wanted to look good in Korea, probably the most foolish business decision in the 2020s to be studied in business schools around the world for quite a long, long time, and that came from his own insecurity.
