K-Bops in K-Pop

I saw a post by dtown-suga called My Top 5 Disbanded Groups and it was such an awesome and informative read that I couldn’t help but think back on my favorite groups that have disbanded. So today, I thought I’d share my top five and see just how deep in my feelings I can get. Without further ado, let’s get into the list!

5. Rainbow

I’ll be honest: I only really listen to one Rainbow song and that’s Whoo. However, I listen to it so often that I can’t help but miss them. They looked like such a bright and bubbly group, and I was so disappointed that I got into them right as they were getting ready to disband. I never really learned much about them because in the time that I started getting into them, they were on their way out, but I hope they’re all doing okay. Apparently, Jaekyung–their leader–has since become a full-time actress and their rapper, Woori, has since gone on to do solo music activities.

4. Stellar

In case you don’t know much about Stellar, they were famous for doing some very risqué concepts. Then, just recently, they exposed their company for forcing them to do those concepts. But this group was more than the scandal. They were actually really talented, and their songs–my personal favorite is Sting–were good. It was so unfortunate that they were subject to such horrible treatment and it saddens me to know that one of the members doesn’t even want to think about her time in the group, but that is what can happen to girl groups in the hands of the wrong people and it’s honestly sickening.

3. The Ark

They lasted all of ten seconds, but they were so! Good! I remember finding out about them from the Bangtan Bomb where BTS reacted to their dance cover of Boy in Luv. They were so talented that I went out of my way to watch them do dance covers of many other groups, and they were such incredible dancers that I went ahead and listened to their single. It’s honestly the saddest music video in all of K-pop, but the vocals and the lyrics of that song? Unbelievable. They were completely set up for success and the fact that they never made it past their first single is such a disappointment.

2. Wonder Girls

Okay, I know a lot of girl groups get poor treatment from their companies in K-pop. I know that. But I remember reading a post before the Wonder Girls disbanded that JYP had claimed they didn’t have enough managers for them when they had given Twice something crazy like 9 managers per member. That’s freaking insane. Rage and disbelief aside, I loved the Wonder Girls. Their last album was the pinnacle of creativity and talent, and the fact that they were almost singlehandedly responsible for it is incredible. Since their disbandment, I have kept up with all their members on social media, so I can tell you that Yeeun is still making music, Hyerim is an ambassador for JYP (I don’t really know what that means but she reads a lot and I love her for it), Yubin has–THANK GOD–put out some amazing music that I highly recommend, and Sunmi has, of course, blown up.

1. SISTAR

Oh man. No disbandment on the planet has made me sadder than SISTAR’s disbandment. I cried through every single one of their medley live stages when they were promoting Lonely. They were just such an iconic group for me, and they were so confident in themselves and so wonderful with their fans. I loved that Hyolyn and Bora wore their natural skin tones so proudly and beautifully and I loved that they never tried to pretend like Hyolyn’s tattoos didn’t exist. They were just so authentically themselves and they presented a form of comfort in your sexuality as a woman that I think is so important. It’s healthy and appropriate for girls to have role models who can just be comfortable in themselves and not feel like they have to be chaste and modest all the time just to live up to some standard of femininity. SISTAR wasn’t trying to hard like Blackpink or ultra-girly like Oh My Girl. They were just them, and there is no one else quite like them.

I didn’t realize when I started this post just how many of my favorite K-pop groups that are no longer with us are girl groups, but here we are. I feel like that says something about the K-pop industry, but I won’t get into that today. Anyway, what’s your favorite disbanded K-pop group? Let me know in the comments!