the power of a good thumbnail: an appreciation post (Junhee edition)

This megathread is about the ongoing dispute within HYBE and the management of sub-label ADOR. Substantial news developments may be posted to the subreddit (outside of the Megathreads). Moderators will only approve posts that focus on statements by relevant parties, official representatives, or legal authorities. Unofficial commentary, fandom activities, speculation, or blind items will not be acceptable. Articles or translations should ideally be presented as neutrally as possible. Titles or content that are obviously sensationalized or intended to persuade readers to one perspective will be removed. English-speaking news outlets that have relatively more neutral reporting include Soompi, Yonhap News, and Korea JoongAng Daily. THIS POST MAY BE LOCKED OR UNLOCKED AT VARYING TIMES based on what the moderators are able to manage during their shifts. Please be patient with us while we work to balance keeping up with the queue and our own lives. DISCLAIMER ABOUT SOURCES: We prefer to focus on official statements from companies or other vetted sources. There will be widespread speculation and rumor-heavy articles, but until presented in an official capacity we consider them unsubstantiated. As Mods, all we can do is compile and summarize, but we are not investigators or journalists. Summary of Previous Megathreads ONE and TWO and THREE contains HYBE's audit of ADOR and Min Hee Jin's 1st press conference. FOUR summarized all events up to April 30th, 2024. FIVE and SIX contains potential ADOR embezzlement, MHJ's injunction and hearing, and a letter from the parents of NewJeans. SEVEN and EIGHT and NINE contains MHJ's injunction granted May 30th and remaining ADOR CEO, HYBE replacing ADOR board members, BELIFT LAB's video regarding plagiarism and lawsuit against MHJ. TEN and ELEVEN and TWELVE contains ex-ADOR employee's sexual harassment case, band Shakatak's plagiarism claim, HYBE 2.0 and ADOR restructuring with new CEO Kim Joo Young, MV director drama, the NewJeans livestream, MHJ's 2nd injunction filing and public events/interviews. THIRTEEN and FOURTEEN and FIFTEEN contains an interview with NewJeans' parents, Hanni and CEO Kim Joo Young at the National Assembly, MHJ's reappointment as director, Kim Taeho at the National Assembly, HYBE's Weekly Industry Report leak, the court's dismissal of MHJ's 2nd Injunction, ADOR board's vote against making MHJ's CEO again, NewJeans' certified letter of ultimatum to ADOR, rejection of Hanni's workplace bullying claim by labor ministry, MHJ's resignation from ADOR, and NewJeans' contract termination press conference. SIXTEEN and SEVENTEEN and EIGHTEEN contains ADOR's 26-page response to NewJeans' certified letter, Dispatch's exposé on MHJ's alleged strategy to leave HYBE, ADOR seeking validity of NewJeans member contracts, KMCA/KOSPO statements concerning tampering, the creation of the 'jeanzforfree' Instagram account, visa concerns, Employee B's MHJ defamation mediation failing, Davolink Chairman details, first hearings for Belift Lab and Source Music vs MHJ damages cases, dismissal of former ADOR VP's workplace harassment case against HYBE/ADOR, ADOR's injunction to halt NewJeans ad deals, and NewJeans rebranding to NJZ. MEGATHREAD NINETEEN covered mid-February to early March. Contains: Reports around Hanni's visa concerns and political involvement of National Assembly member Park Ji Won, NJZ parents establishing and posting to their PR Instagram account, the conclusion of three related allegations of 'workplace harassment' with no charges against HYBE/ADOR or ADOR CEO Kim Jooyoung, the joint press conference of 5 major industry organizations regarding tampering and contractual integrity, and the provisional injunction hearing for ADOR's complaint to restrict NJZ's music activities along with new ad deals until contract validity is determined. MEGATHREAD TWENTY covered the rest of March. Contains: The provisional injunction hearing and results two weeks later granting the injunction in ADOR's favor, NewJeans' activities at ComplexCon, NewJeans' filed objection to the injunction ruling and hearing set for early April, progress for Employee B, and general media/articles around the injunction results. MEGATHREAD TWENTY ONE covered all of April. Contains: HYBE's annual shareholders' meeting, the 1st hearing for confirmation of ADOR's contract validity with NewJeans, the hearing for NewJeans' objection to the injunction ruling and subsequent rejection of their objection by the judge one week later, and the 2nd hearing regarding shareholder agreement termination validity between HYBE and MHJ was designated to run jointly along with the case around exercising put/call options. Articles / Timeline 250422 This day marks one year since HYBE launched their audit of Min Hee Jin and ADOR's management. Happy(?) 1st anniversary of the Megathreads! 250502 The 3rd hearing for Min Hee Jin vs. Belift Lab was set to take place but postponed to July 18th at Belift Lab's request. Each side is due to present their arguments/documents regarding plagiarism issues at the next meeting. (Source: Maeil Kyungjae) 250530 We learned that ADOR had filed for 'indirect enforcement' after their injunction was granted and NewJeans performed at ComplexCon back in March (Filed on April 4th according to the statement from NewJeans' representatives linked below). On the 30th, the 52nd Division of the Seoul Central District court further granted this request. The 'indirect enforcement' ruling means that each individual member of NewJeans will be fined 1 billion won (approx. $725,000) if they continue with entertainment activities independent of ADOR, which would be in violation of the injunction. This enforcement with potential fines does NOT apply to any of NewJeans' independent activities between the granting of the injunction and the granting of this 'indirect enforcement'. These fines will only apply to future activities going forward, or at least until rulings with NewJeans' appeal or the main contract validity case changes anything (next hearing on June 5th). (Source: Chosun Biz, MK Sports) The Korea Herald: Court orders NewJeans to pay Ador 1 billion won for each unauthorized activity Discussion Post Korea JoongAng Daily: Court orders NewJeans members to pay ADOR $725,600 for every independent entertainment activity A statement by NewJeans' representatives was made later in the day primarily acknowledging the indirect enforcement ruling, but reiterating that it is temporary and will no longer have an effect if NewJeans win their appeal of the injunction. (Source: Ilgan Sports) The 2nd hearing for Source Music's damages lawsuit against Min Hee Jin took place at the 12th Civil Affairs Division of the Seoul Western District Court. (Quick recap: 1st was January 10th, 2nd was previously scheduled for March 14th, postponed per Source Music's request). Legal representatives were present. Source Music had a 20-minute presentation prepared, but Min Hee Jin's representatives objected to the inclusion of KakaoTalk messages in the presentation. They claimed the messages were illegally obtained and requested the hearing to be closed/private. Source Music denied the messages were obtained illegally, claiming they were gained from company devices with consent. The court went with a temporary compromise to keep the hearing public, but not allow discussion/display of the messages until they were reviewed again. A special hearing to review the messages will take place June 27th. (Source: Sports Today) 250605 The Seoul Central District Court Division 41 held the second hearing for ADOR seeking confirmation of validity for their exclusive contract with NewJeans. Only legal representatives were in attendance. NewJeans' side primarily argued that ADOR had not met their obligations and that their evidence they were preparing to support NewJeans' activities, like finding a new producer, was inadequate. ADOR's side argued that NewJeans' reasons for allegedly terminating their contract continually changed, indicating they are arbitrary and being made up with retroactive hindsight. The issue of some evidence being collected illegally also came up again from NewJeans' side. Judge Jung Hoe-Il specifically inquired if both/either sides were willing to come to an agreement, encouraging them to do so. NewJeans' representatives strongly indicated this was unlikely as the trust in ADOR had completely collapsed. ADOR's representatives indicated they could see negotiating an agreement once the court comes to a final decision. The 3rd hearing was set for July 24th. (Sources: X Sport News, Maeil Kyungjae) 250612 The next hearing regarding the Shareholder Agreement termination and exercising put/call options lawsuits between HYBE and Min Hee Jin was held at the Seoul Central District Court's 31st Division. Arguments from each side mostly re-tread what we've already covered. HYBE's side argued they were justified in ending the shareholder agreement due to the threat Min Hee Jin posed to the company. Min Hee Hin's side argued the timing of the audit/termination did not align purely with that concern and that some KakaoTalk messages and emails were obtained illegally and not admissable as evidence. HYBE also indicated they had a witness to give testimony at the next meeting, which the court accepted. The next hearing with closing arguments, was set for September 11th for both lawsuits. (Sources: Maeil Kyungjae, TV Daily, Sports Today) 250617 Following up from April 16th when NewJeans appealed the court's decision to uphold the injunction and halt on their independent activities, the Seoul High Court reaffirmed the earlier decision. The court rejected NewJeans' appeal. They determined there was no significant change in the material/arguments presented for the appeal and the original decision to grant ADOR's injunction was justified. There was further clarification that the management conflict between HYBE and Min Hee Jin, and her no longer being NewJeans' producer, did not constitute a valid argument for the alleged collapse of trust between ADOR and NewJeans. The group's withdrawal from ADOR is considered arbitrary, that their artistic freedom or activity is not impeded since they are able to do so within their exclusive contract, and that any damages resulting from attempting independent activities are self-inflicted. (Sources: Yonhap News, NewsPim, News 1) The Korea Herald: K-pop High Court rejects NewJeans appeal, upholding ban on independent activities Post Soompi: Seoul High Court Denies NewJeans' Appeal Of Injunction Decision Looking Ahead: June 27: Special hearing for Source Music vs. MHJ to review KakaoTalk messages as evidence July 18: 3rd hearing for Belift Lab vs. MHJ (postponed from May 2nd) July 24: 3rd hearing for ADOR seeking confirmation of validity for their exclusive contract with NewJeans September 11: Next hearing regarding the Shareholder Agreement termination and exercising put/call options lawsuits between HYBE and Min Hee Jin Ongoing Legal Complaints/Investigations: HYBE's report to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) regarding potential insider trading by ADOR management (Korea JoongAng) HYBE's complaint against Min Hee Jin for 'breach of trust' (Yonhap) Belift Lab's complaint against Min Hee Jin for defamation (Soompi) and additionally for business interference (The Korea Herald) SOURCE MUSIC's lawsuit against Min Hee Jin for damages in regards to the disruption of business/defamation of LE SSERAFIM (Korea JoongAng) and additionally regarding alleged false claims by MHJ for the launch strategy of N Team/NewJeans (Soompi) British band Shakatak's plagiarism claim against NewJeans' 'Bubble Gum' (Yonhap) Min Hee Jin and HYBE executives filed reports against each other back-to-back (Soompi and Korea JoongAng) Former ADOR Employee 'B' filed complaint against MHJ in relation to sexual harassment cover-up and workplace mistreatment. (JTBC) MV Director Shin Woo Seok filed a lawsuit against ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young and ADOR VP Lee Do Kyung for defamation. (Korea JoongAng) MHJ's lawsuits against Belift Lab's Kim Tae Ho for defamation (Yonhap), HYBE CCO Park Tae Hee and PR Director Cho for breach of duty (Yonhap), and HYBE executives and Dispatch reporters for defamation. (Soompi) (One or both of these might be re-statements of earlier suits.) ADOR's lawsuit to determine validity of their contracts with NewJeans (Soompi) Link back to MEGATHREADS 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 GROUND RULES IN COMMENTS If you have come to this subreddit to discuss anything, you are choosing to participate in a moderated space with rules of conduct enforced by human beings. All users are subject to the discretion of moderators to manage this space even if it's in ways you don't agree with. Do not Insult users, fans, or artists. Don't denigrate a certain demographic of people (age, gender, nationality, etc). NO harassing, threatening, or wishing harm on anyone. Do not incite fanwars, reference old tribal resentments between different fandoms, or assume the worst of fellow users. Do not bring wild conspiracies from somewhere else on social media that have no clear or substantiated sources. Do not accuse other users of being a bot or paid shill. Do not abuse the report button. We report any form of report abuse directly to Reddit Admin. Refrain from linking to or discussing other subreddits. Do not encourage brigading in any way. Allow other subreddits and their mods to run their communities how they see fit. DO mention your sources and any use of AI/machine translation tools for quoting Korean articles. DO take care to link sources responsibly. Seek information sources which are reasonably neutral and are not affiliated with accounts known to insult or hate artists. Keep in mind that Allkpop, TheQoo, PannChoa and similar sites are banned in this subreddit. THE MODS KNOW there will be bots, trolls, bad actors, and oblivious new users coming to the subreddit. We will do what we can to mitigate the impact of them. But you alone are responsible for your own behavior. Express your opinion or arguments without breaking our conduct rules or we will be obligated to remove your comments. submitted by /u/KPOP_MOD [link] [comments]

Ew trump. I do not support any misogynistic, white nationalist, incel, hitler-like (esp. Musk), racists at all and neither does this sub and apparently neither does reddit as a site as a whole. He stands against everything Kpop stands for which is an art form from a formerly colonized people from a country that is rising up against colonialism and hatred. Anyone who comments anything negative to this, or tries to defend that orange guy will be banned permanently. Go somewhere else, we don't want your lower kind here. This is why American women everywhere are going 4b EDIT!!!: 4B 4B4B4B4B4B!! 4B IN THE SOUTH, 4B IN THE NORTH, 4B FROM TEXAS TO ALABAMA, FROM BYU TO COLOMBIA! 4B ALL FIFTY STATES! A CONVICTED PEDO AND FELON IS NOW PRESIDENT SO IF YOU'RE A WOMAN WITH ANY SELF RESPECT 4B, 4B, 4b (ESPCIALLY THE CONSERVATIVES!!!!) submitted by /u/Kpop_Love_Forever [link] [comments]

Hey folks! Over in r/kpop we just posted a new special Town Hall that is focused only on the Flairs we use to help organize our posts based on content categories. Link to r/kpop's 'All About Flairs' Town Hall We included announcements for new flairs here on r/kpoppers and also on r/kpophelp. The following is the section relevant for this subreddit. NEW FLAIRS! Connect - This flair will be used for anything where fans are trying to socially connect with each other. Announcing new K-Pop subreddits or Discords, looking for mutual fans on social media, wanting to meet up at a concert, seeking fans in a region to form a dance group, networking for a fan project, announcing a K-Pop night at a club, etc. Research - Academic surveys related to K-Pop or fandom topics. We'll keep an eye on these new flairs to see if they create any confusion or need adjustments. Let us know if you have any thoughts, concerns, or questions! submitted by /u/alleybetwixt [link] [comments]

Rules: - keep it lighthearted please - no serious submissions! Ex: Kim Seungmin for Main Vocalist - you may submit multiple people but make multiple comments for them - disbanded idols and survival show contestants count - all generations and all genders - ai/digital idols count - people who have collabed with Kpop groups can be submitted (ex: Terry Crews because he did a collab with le sserafim once) - an idol can win multiple spots, there’ll just be a clone of them - most upvotes comment wins - roughly every 24 hours there will be a new vote - if there are multiple comments for one idol, the highest will be counted Winners of day 5: Min Heejin Gwima the Great Oli London Now let the chaos continue, who’s our visual and fotg, the one who will be praised for their photoshoots, who will be the Center? submitted by /u/DaGayEnby [link] [comments]

So there are some rumours that pledis is preparing a new girlgroup and the line up is almost 100% fix but still don't know when they gonna debut, could be next year or 2027. So this will be their first girlgroup since hybe aquisation, i don't count fromis_9 because they already a group before hybe was even a thing. So what are your predictions on this group? Do you guys think they will get better treatment and Promotions than pledis previous girlgroups before hybe or it's still gonna be the same and pledis bad history with girlgroups will repeat again? submitted by /u/Party-Confection417 [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/Resident-District199 [link] [comments]

absolutely love it, his best look so far in MFW in my opinion submitted by /u/JinnieP [link] [comments]

saw someone else do this ! seems fun :) submitted by /u/AliveScientist1243 [link] [comments]

With groups dropping teasers every other day, I keep forgetting dates and end up scrambling on release day. Like, I almost missed that one Ateez drop cause work buried me. Anyone got a simple way to stay on top, maybe an app or site that pings you? I tried KpopSync and it lists everything by group with quick quizzes thrown in, but is it reliable for real-time stuff? submitted by /u/Relevant_Wishbone [link] [comments]

and I am just soooooo excited!! You can find the tracklist here. NMIXX is one of those groups that has an incredibly strong discography. I have really loved their releases and I think that their Fe304 trilogy is easily one of the best album runs in all of kpop. Their music is interesting, fresh, and groundbreaking. In my opinion, have redefined music in kpop and I’m so glad they decided to stick with their concept through the debut hate. This album looks super interesting! It feels like a natural continuation of the identity they’ve been building with the Fe304 trilogy. Some things of note for this tracklist: Lily and Haewon are credited for this album! It’s super cool when idols participate in their own music, gives it a more authentic feel, and I’m excited to see what kind of creatives they are within this release! O.O Balia and Superhero versions are finally being added to streaming! Both versions gained attention when NMIXX performed them as separate songs in concert, rather than the combined “mixxpop” song we know from debut. I’m personally really excited for the Superhero version! 10 new songs! Full albums in kpop are so hit or miss with them actually feeling like full albums and not EPs with the album label slapped on. The only recent groups that I can think of who actually had a full album is Stayc with “Metamorphic” (horrendously underrated album btw) and Twice’s “This Is For.” After how phenomenal each of the Fe304 EPs were as entire bodies of work, I’m really excited to see what storytelling NMIXX can do with an full album! NMIXX’s “Blue Valentine” comes out on October 13th at 6pm KST! You can pre-save it on Spotify here! submitted by /u/hiekachu [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/SapphireHeaven [link] [comments]

Wendy is my Red Velvet bias and I love her three minis so far with Like Water being my favorite because I love how ballad and midtempo focus it is which is perfect for her voice, so what is the consensus on her first three minis so far? Like Water Wish You Hell Cerulean Verge How would you rank them favorite to least favorite? What are your favorite bsides? And how do you rank the title tracks? submitted by /u/jdpm1991 [link] [comments]

For me, it's Gaeul. I don't stan IVE, but their release are generally too big to ignore, so I always check out the MVs and some Music Show stages for their comebacks, even if it isn't right away. So it's kind of crazy to me that I never really noticed how talented she is until XOXZ. She's proficient in pretty much every area an idol is expected to shine in: singing, dancing, performance, etc. She's got killer expressions on stage too, so I'm surprised that I never took the time to appreciate her before now. Even looking back throw IVE's previous promotions, I notice she’s been good for a while now. She clearly enjoys herself on stage, bringing appropriate power with every move she makes. She's fun to watch. I understand she’s in a stacked group starpower-wise. Yujin and Wonyoung are my favorites, so it's likely my eyes followed them on the stage so much I never paid proper attention to Gaeul. But now that I've noticed, I'll keep my eyes open, maybe even dig more into IVE as a whole. Anyway, what idol do you wish you'd appreciated sooner? submitted by /u/SageSageofSages [link] [comments]

I just need to get this off my chest. As a long-time Ten fan, it’s frustrating to see how differently his potential is being treated compared to what he actually brings to the table. • In Thailand, his solo concerts sold out fast, while WayV group concerts couldn’t even fill half the seats. That alone shows how strong his individual pull is. Fans here support him, not the group. • In Japan, he’s basically one of the biggest reasons WayV even has traction. Yet it feels like the company underplays how much of a key figure he is for that market. • In China, he doesn’t have the same base as local members, which makes his position harder, but it doesn’t erase the fact that his global fandom is powerful. What annoys me is that many fans feel like SM has never really maximized his potential. They push him when it suits the group schedule but never give him the long-term flexibility he deserves. And honestly, it makes me think: why would he want to lock himself into another long contract? I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries a short-term deal, just to support his teammates, but I also believe that independence would give him the freedom (and success) he truly deserves. TL;DR: Ten has the solo power to succeed on his own, but SM hasn’t given him the treatment he deserves. Thai fans mainly support him as a soloist, Japan sees him as a key figure, and globally he’s strong enough to thrive without SM. submitted by /u/92914_sunset [link] [comments]

this man juhoon(?) from cortis has been on my fyp since they debuted and man... I WANNA KEEP HIM IN MY POCKET TAT he's so adorable it make me cry submitted by /u/Fit-Entertainer9733 [link] [comments]

So, for the non-stays here, Johnny is an influencer who‘s basically the personification of every stay ever and *lightly* crashes out whenever one of the boys gets a new hair colour or smth and I was wondering if other fandoms have that too? Because I think every fandom needs their Johnny (he’s great for news too since he doesn’t miss anything SKZ does) submitted by /u/DaGayEnby [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/impeccabletim [link] [comments]

So I’ve been thinking about making a website that organizes photocards into easy to use templates. Right now on X you can find google drive links /images people have put together with album era/pob breakdowns and some of them are super detailed. But if you’re a new kpop fan, it can feel like a huge barrier. You don’t always know which accounts make good templates or where to even start looking. Like my younger sister wasn’t into kpop at all until she got into Ateez and she kept asking me where to find poca templates. That’s when I realized hardcore fans might already know where to go but newbies often get lost. My idea is to build a hub site where I’d make each groups poca templates to collect them all in one place. I’d probably start with the bigger, more popular groups first but eventually I also want to cover some of the smaller groups. And instead of just the usual album era/pob templates everyone expects, I’d also add fun themed ones like “most iconic pocas" or “underrated gems.” Because honestly pocas aren’t just about looking good. Fans love the goofy ones too and I think adding that kind of human side would make it more fun to browse. I’m not planning to monetize this. I just genuinely enjoy organizing things and I feel like this could actually help people, especially newer fans who want to collect but don’t know where to start. What do you guys think? Would this kind of pc hub actually be useful or is it something only I’d nerd out over? submitted by /u/MoneyKaleidoscope645 [link] [comments]