1st generation K-pop boy bands make return

K-pop boy band H.O.T. is seen in a TV show in this file photo. / Courtesy of MBC

By Park Jin-hai

Long before BTS's spectacular triumph in the global music scene, there were K-pop idols who paved the way for the rise of K-pop today.

A number of so-called first generation K-pop idols including H.O.T., Shinhwa and g.o.d will make comebacks in the latter half of the year. These groups were most active from the late 1990s to early 2000s and ushered in the active fandom culture with large fan clubs mobilized to support their artists.

The most notable among them would be H.O.T., a now-disbanded five-member boy group, consisting of Moon Hee-joon, Jang Woo-hyuk, Tony An, Kangta and Lee Jae-won. The band, which debuted in 1996 and has had many hit songs such as “Candy,” “Happiness” and “We Are The Future” under its belt, will make a return to the music stage in mid-October for its first concert after the 2001 disbandment.

Although the band officially broke up ages ago, fans' wishes to see the popular band have continuously fed rumors that a reunion was imminent.

H.O.T. had a temporary reunion earlier this year in February during a special segment of the variety show “Infinite Challenge” and held a concert. At the time, over 170,000 fans applied to participate in the TV show as audience members and the band's old hit songs reentered the local music charts after all those years.

Their comeback concert in October will take place at the Seoul Olympic Stadium, where they held their last concert in 2001.

Sechs Kies / Courtesy of YG Entertainment

Sechs Kies, six-member boy band that rivaled H.O.T. in the late '90s, will hold a concert marking their 21st anniversary as well.

The band members reunited through the variety show “Infinite Challenge” in 2016, over a decade after its 2000 disbandment. After their concert during the TV show, the group's five active members _ Eun Ji-won, Lee Jai-jin, Kim Jae-duck, Kang Sung-hoon and Jang Su-won _ joined YG Entertainment and released a remake album. Last year, marking its 20th anniversary, the band released their long-awaited fifth album “Another Light,” which entered the Billboard World Albums chart at No. 10.

Shinhwa, six-member boy band debuted in 1998 with Eric Mun, Lee Min-woo, Kim Dong-wan, Shin Hye-sung, Jun Jin, and Andy Lee, will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year by releasing a special album “Heart,” Aug. 28, followed by concerts on Oct. 6 and 7.

The longest-running Korean boy band in existence, with no change in its members, has continued to release albums and hold concerts under the management company its members established together in 2011.

Five-member K-pop idol group g.o.d, which debuted in January 1999, is gearing up for its concerts between Nov. 30 and Dec. 2, commemorating their upcoming 20th anniversary. Following the departure of Yoon Kye-sang, its members pursued solo careers from 2005, but regrouped as a quintet and made a comeback in 2014.

Regarding the recent massive comeback of late 1990s K-pop idols, experts say those idols provided a safe haven for the generation who used to be avid teenage fans when those K-pop boy bands were most active.

“The generation who gave birth to the new fandom culture then has reached their late 30s and early 40s now. With the prolonged economic downturn for years, they are the ones who feel the economic pinches in their lives the most,” said an official at a local entertainment agency. “Although they might find the new fan culture as seen in idol survival show Produce series fresh, they find more comfort and attachment from those old stars' songs they leaned on during difficult times.”