YOUNITE seeks connection on new album 'INYUN Part.1'

K-pop boy band YOUNITE performs during a media showcase for the group's new album "INYUN Part.1" held at NOL Theater Hapjeong in Mapo District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

By Pyo Kyung-min

• Published May 12, 2026 4:57 PM KST
• Updated May 14, 2026 6:41 PM KST

K-pop boy band YOUNITE stepped back into the spotlight Tuesday with the release of "INYUN Part.1" and its title track "POSE!," a house-inflected single that puts the eight-member group in line with the industry's recent sonic trends.

Hours before the album drop, seven of the group's members — Eunho, Steve, Hyungseok, Woono, DEY, Kyungmun and Sion — gathered at NOL Theater Hapjeong in Seoul's Mapo District to share their thoughts on the new project. Eunsang, who stepped back from activities last year due to health issues, did not attend.

"Eunsang still needs rest," Eunho said. "With seven of us, we felt we couldn't afford to show any gaps, and that pushed us to work even harder."

The album, arriving nine months after the group's previous release, takes its title from a Korean word for a bond that persists across different worlds, something the members describe as neither fate nor coincidence, but something in between.

"This album expresses a new turning point," said Woono. "We wanted to capture YOUNITE's desire to connect with as many people as possible."

The album's title track "POSE!" distills that theme into a single moment when different worlds overlap within one frame. Performed live for the first time at Tuesday's event, the song showcased the restrained energy typical of house music, paired with what the members described as a more "fluid" and "expressive" performance style than fans have seen before

"It's a song that sticks in your head after one listen, and the performance has real impact," Steve said. "We're showing a side of ourselves people haven't seen, and I can't wait to get it out there."

Beyond "POSE!," the five-track album spans a range of genres — digicore, rage hyper, rock and hip-hop — across tracks "Parallel Lines," "Savior" and "Nothing," along with fan dedication track "So Alive." Members contributed to the songwriting and composition throughout.

"Before, we showed a lot of hip-hop performance," DEY said. "This time the strength is in something more fluid. There are elements here that will feel really fresh to fans."

"The members' involvement in making the album was much higher this time," Kyungmun added. "We each have different musical tendencies, but I think when you bring them together, something new emerges."

The release also marks a fresh chapter off the stage. "INYUN Part.1" is YOUNITE's first album under new label Para Music, a subsidiary under the group's previous agency, BRANDNEW Music.

"We had a lot of communication with the company, and they really tried to listen to what we wanted," Eunho said. "Making something that's truly ours was the biggest difference in how we prepared this album, and honestly, it was fun."