I miss NJ and Hanni!

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How idols coming out could reshape K-pop — or expose its limits

While Bain, the vocalist of K-pop boy band JUST B came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community during a concert Tuesday (local time), his declaration has sparked a discussion in the broader K-pop scene about how such moments — still rare in the industry — may shape its future.

The singer made the announcement during a stop on the group's "JUST ODD" world tour at The Vermont Hollywood in Los Angeles, telling the crowd mid-show, "I am proud to be a part of the LGBTQ community." His words were met with loud cheers and applause as he waved a rainbow flag onstage.

Though several K-pop artists have shared their sexual orientations in recent years, Bain is the first active member of a Korean boy group to come out publicly.

Earlier this year in March, Lara, an Indian American member of HYBE Label's U.S.-based girl group KATSEYE, also came out via the fan platform Weverse, adding to the slowly growing visibility of queer figures in K-pop.

Tradition to representation

Korea's entertainment industry has long been shaped by a conservative cultural backdrop, whereby open discussions of sexual orientation have remained limited.

Queer representation began to surface in the mainstream in 2000 when TV personality Hong Seok-cheon became the first Korean celebrity to come out publicly in a magazine interview. The announcement sparked intense public debate at the time and led to his temporary removal from major broadcast appearances.

Other entertainers who later came out — including Jiae, a former member of the girl group WA$$UP; Som He-vin, a contestant on Mnet's 2017 audition program "Idol School"; and trot singer Gwon Do-woon — similarly faced public scrutiny and career challenges.

Despite these barriers, trailblazers such as Harisu, one of Korea's first openly transgender celebrities, have continued to challenge industry norms.

In 2023, transgender YouTuber Pung Ja became the first transgender woman to win an award from national broadcaster MBC at its end-of-year entertainment awards — a milestone in the media landscape.

In a similar development, Oscar-winning veteran actor Youn Yuh-jung also received widespread support just last week after sharing in an overseas interview that her eldest son is gay and happily married to a man.

Yi Ho-rim, an activist with Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea, expressed hope that the tide is turning.

"In the most recent cases — like Bain's coming-out and Youn Yuh-jung's comments about her son — I've seen mostly welcoming and positive responses," Yi told The Korea Times. "That alone feels like a signal that Korean society is beginning to shift."

Yi also noted that Bain's agency responded by stating the matter was "a personal issue," which she interpreted as a respectful stance that neither sensationalized nor downplayed his announcement.

"It showed that his declaration was simply a matter of expressing who he is — not something to be judged. Compared to the time when Hong Seok-cheon lost his broadcasting career for coming out, this shows that even if the pace feels slow, change is happening."

K-pop at crossroads

Despite the progress, experts point out that the highly curated, fantasy-driven nature of K-pop has long left little room for sexual minorities to live their lives openly.

"The K-pop business model has long been rooted in idealized fantasy," culture critic Jung Duk-hyun said. "Agencies have often gone as far as banning idols from dating, in order to maintain a certain appeal to fans."

In this context, he said, issues like sexual orientation, which might conflict with conservative social values, were often treated as taboo.

"But as K-pop becomes increasingly global, points of tension are emerging between international values and Korea's traditional norms," Jung said. "Not only are more global fans entering the scene, but artists themselves are learning from global values, leading to gradual changes."

He added that K-pop production companies must now move beyond fantasy-based marketing and adopt more grounded, globally conscious strategies.

"It's time to move toward a reality-based business model. No agency today can afford to target only domestic fans. As the fan base becomes more global, so too must the perspectives of the industry," Jung said. "What we're seeing is a shift from local fantasies to global strategies."

Yi echoed Jung's view, stressing the importance of inclusive representation for the many LGBTQ+ individuals who may not yet feel seen.

"When celebrities come out, it gives hope to everyday people who may think, 'Maybe one day I can share my truth too.' Even if they never do, it helps them realize they're not alone," Yi said.

"There are certainly LGBTQ+ fans within K-pop fandoms, and they're not a small minority," she added. "Given how much the industry relies on its fans, it's only right that it evolves to become more inclusive."

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Source: Koreatimes.co.kr

Many of the groups I stan content videos are exactly the same stuff. So I have been skipping members that are not my bias or biases. I watch my biases and full group screentimes. Is this wrong of me?

Even if they don't rank at any top spots or even chart, any groups that sells over 200k copies are in my eyes successful. Many groups I stan would KILL for these numbers

Are they going to wait out for their contract to expire? How many years are we talking? If it's more than three, I have a bad feeling one or two members might return to Ador like what happened with Fifty Fifty Keena.

🎂

Do you guys fear the longer this case drags on(months to a few years), the bigger chance the korean public can get tired and not necessarry turn their backs on NJZ, but just don't care anymore?

Will the tariffs from the megalomaniac orange nutcase affect Kpop groups holding concert in US?

The song sounds like b-side, but it's a BOP regardless Hope this is a sign they are moving away from the messy sound signature

How long do they have left of their contract with Ador? If it's at most 3 years, then NJZ can just wait it out in hiatus, but still post stuff on SNS just show Tokkis they are active.

Maybe a compromise can be made? The girls still will have their own team and not from Ador, but use the name Newjeans again. It's like NJZ is a subsidiary semi-company group for Ador.

As long as our girls has the public support, I think they will be fine, regardless if Hybe is blackmailing the enterainment industry to blacklist them

Quote from draggehz

definitely

That's reassuring

Do NJZ still have the support of the korean general public?

Quote from bartkun

not blacklisted

more like sidelined

they will probably do individual schedules for fashion brands and CF's so everyone can get money

later on who knows

I really hope at least they can do that even if they are not allowed on korean shows any longer. Hopefully the sidelined thing isn't as severed as how Jessica has to faced.

If Hybe managed somehow to get them blacklisted in the korean entertainment, could NJZ then pursue their career outside of Korea, like Jessica? Japan, China, Europe and US markets?

I love StayC, but Bebe is probably their worste CB in my view High Up is definately focusing on their new GG and Bebe is unfortunately a result of that....

Quote from selfmate

the current court hearing is only related to ador filing an injunction preventing NJZ from certain activities (if ador wins) however there are so many other lawsuits dealing with the actual crux of the issue and lawsuits from MHJ and belift and source and individual employees and police investigations and so forth...

plus all of that is only at trial which means the parties will have the right to appeal - fun times all around lol

That's why I've not been following NJ so often as I used to lately. Content from two different SNS accounts makes me confused.

That's why the saga between them and Hybe needs to end. At least with whatever conclusion the outcome will be, the hate train will decrease. Now it's getting too much attention.

No matter the outcome of the court's decision, I just want a conclusion of this dreadful saga. For sure the girls have support from sponsors, brands and the population at the moment, but the longer this drags on the more worry people will start losing interest.