6 K-Pop Curses That Are So Real, It’s Scary

From members leaving to trainees failing to debut, everyone hopes their favorite groups won’t fall victim to these K-Pop curses. Some have been around for many years and go by a variety of names while some have been named only in the last few months. Check out the full list below!

1.  The “7-Year” Curse

In the past, some K-Pop groups have unfortunately fallen victim to the “7 Year Curse.” Sometimes, groups may disband when their contracts expire during their 7th year or a member may leave. For example, 2NE1 fell victim to the 7 year curse when they disbanded in 2016.

 2NE1 | Mnet

Any group that successfully retained all of the original members and renewed their contracts has beaten the curse, including BTS.

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2. The “Number 1 Seat” Curse

This curse originates in survival shows where trainees compete to debut in a new group. Netizens have noticed how the trainee who sits in the center seat in the first episode has never made it to the final debut lineup.

Produce 101: Huh Chanmi sat on the center seat and was eliminated in episode 10. Produce 101 Season 2: Jang Moon Bok was eliminated in episode 10. Produce 48: Park Seo Young was eliminated in episode 8. Produce X 101: Yoon Seobin was removed from the show due to his personal life. Boys Planet: Hui failed to make the final lineup in the finale episode.

3. The “Sophomore” Curse

After making strong debuts, rookie idol groups often find themselves struggling to replicate the success of their first release. Although this “sophomore slump” isn’t guaranteed, many rookies who immediately find success are tasked with being able to live up to their own success in their second year.

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TWICE and SEVENTEEN are two groups who overcame the 2nd year jinx by making their second releases even more successful than their debut.

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4. The “6-Member” Curse

There is a surprisingly large number of groups with 6 members who have gone through an unfortunate turn of events, such as losing a member or disbanding unexpectedly. The curse has also been referred to as the “HYBE Girl Group Curse” as it has especially impacted them.

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Groups like GFRIEND and LE SSERAFIM have been hit by this curse in different ways: The former disbanded while the latter lost a member due to a scandal soon after debut.

LE SSERAFIM with 6 members at debut. | Source Music

5. The “SM Ent. Boy Group” Curse

This curse seems to affect boy groups under SM Entertainment that debut with seven members, causing one to leave the group. For example, WayV, RIIZE, and NCT WISH have all fallen victim to the curse.

WayV was 7 members before losing Lucas. | SM Entertainment

6. The “November” Curse

The “November Curse” applies to not only K-Pop idols, but also Korean celebrities. It was recently created in 2023 when over 7 Korean celebrity couples had reportedly broken up or got divorced, including former LABOUM member Yulhee and FTISLAND‘s Minhwan.

Former LABOUM member Yulhee and FTISLAND’s Minhwan | @kor_celebrities/Twitter