5 K-Pop Idols Who Left Their Groups For Heartbreaking Reasons

The life of a K-Pop idol isn’t easy, as they have to deal with a lot of upsetting situations, which can often cause them to leave their group. Throughout the years, more and more idols have been coming out and revealing the heartbreaking reasons why they left their groups. Here are 5 of these idols.

1. Yeseul (Former member of 4L)

Yeseul debuted as a member of 4L in 2014, but the group was criticized by netizens as soon as they debuted. The reason was that netizens weren’t big fans of their “19+ marketing”, as the group wore revealing outfits and had “over-sexualized” performances. Yeseul shared that they did the concept to survive in the industry and that it took a toll on her.

I felt like I was dressed in something that wasn’t me and it made working hard for me.The company wasn’t forcing anything on me, but to survive, it was just something I had to do. The reality of the situation made me regret a lot of things.

— Yeseul

Yeseul eventually left 4L and the agency, Jade Contents Media, as she no longer wanted to do the concept.

I thought to myself multiple times, ‘do I really have to resort to such matters?’ I did not want to resort to such things any longer and decided that staying in the company held no future for me. That’s why after thinking long and hard, I left the team.

— Yeseul

2. Kong Yoo Jin (Former member of BONUSbaby)

In an interview with The Korea Times, Kong Yoo Jin shared what she had to endure when she was an idol. She revealed that she barely got any sleep due to the amount of practice her group had to do and because they had to wake up early to go to music shows. Not only that, but Kong Yoo Jin also starved herself due to the company always checking the members’ weight.

Your browser does not support video.| THE KOREA TIMES/YouTube

The company also restricted the members from going outside and meeting their family members. This eventually caused Kong Yoo Jin to develop depression.

Your browser does not support video.| THE KOREA TIMES/YouTube

Kong Yoo Jin eventually left her group and company and began her life as a non-celebrity. However, Kong Yoo Jin now looks back at her idol days and is appreciative, as she thinks that it made her a stronger person. She now wants to become a music teacher.

Your browser does not support video.| THE KOREA TIMES/YouTube

3. Jinsub (Former member of IN2IT)

Jinsub debuted as a member of IN2IT in 2017. However, he ended up leaving the group in 2018 due to him suffering from Meniere’s disease, which is an incurable disorder in the inner ear.

Good afternoon, this is MMO Entertainment.

First of all, we’d like to thank IN2U for loving and supporting IN2IT for the last six months.

Currently, IN2IT is putting a lot of effort into their new album to come back with better music and performance.

We’re very sorry to inform you, but we decided to let Jinsub go so that he can focus on curing his Meniere’s disease which he has been suffering from for a long time.

As one of IN2IT members, Junsub is so precious to us. However, his health should be the top priority.

Although he cannot be with us as one of IN2IT members any longer, please keep supporting him. We all wish his complete recovery in the near future.

— MMO Entertainment

4. Yejin (Former member of Brave Girls)

| @misshanye/Instagram

On her YouTube channel, Yejinisme, former Brave Girls member Yejin revealed why she left the group. While there were various reasons why she wanted to quit, such as income and fame, the biggest reason was her manager. She revealed that this manager was quite careless when driving.

We had a road manager who just started. He was playing the phone game “Anipang” while driving on a rainy day.

— Yejin

Your browser does not support video.| Yejinisme/YouTube

There was even a moment when this manager drove on the freeway with his feet on the dashboard.

Your browser does not support video.| Yejinisme/YouTube

Yejin told all of this to her mother, which caused her to call Yejin’s agency about the manager. However, the agency told Yejin’s mother to mind her own business. Yejin’s parents then told her to quit being an idol, and Yejin ended up taking their advice.

My parents told me to quit the girl group. In the end, what made me quit was safety.

— Yejin

Your browser does not support video.| Yejinisme/YouTube

5. Seoyeon

AZM debuted in 2018, and Seoyeon was originally supposed to debut in the group. However, she suffered an ankle injury during dance practice and had to leave the group due to it.