Tours, ‘subunit,’ and disbandment: The week in K-pop

Aside from the obvious earth-shattering and unexpected news of Hybe acquiring SM Entertainment, other weighty moves are happening in K-pop. One thing’s for sure: It’s been an eventful week for K-pop fans. Here’s our round-up of some of the biggest headlines so far to keep you caught up. 

Tours

If you’ve been waiting patiently to see your favorite act in person, you’re in luck. Suga of BTS and NCT Dream are all slated to go on tour this year. 

Suga will be performing as Agust D, marking this his first tour as a solo artist. He will be starting off the tour in the U.S. from April 26 to May 17, followed by Southeast Asian tour dates from May 26 to June 18. (No Philippine date was announced, but he will be hitting up Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore which may be close enough for some.) The last stops of his tour will be in Korea and Japan.

Meanwhile, NCT Dream has announced more stops to their “THE DREAM SHOW 2: In A Dream” tour—including the Philippines this time. The boy group, which will start touring on Feb. 17, will be dropping by Manila for two nights on April 29 and 30. The concert venue details (as well as announcements for other tour stops) are soon to follow. Prepare your lightsticks, NCTzens.

New “subunit”

Ahead of their upcoming March comeback, the girl group Twice has announced that it will be debuting a sub-unit consisting of their Japanese members Mina, Sana, and Momo. Called Misamo (a portmanteau of their names), this will be group’s first ever sub-unit. The girls will be making their debut with a Japanese mini-album on July 26.

The news has also spawned countless memes from Filipino fans, though not because of the group itself. After TV host Dianne Medina mispronounced the word “sub-unit” as “suh-boo-nit,” fans made a day of the hilarious misprounounciation, which made it sound as if the girls was debuting as people to be fed. While most people seemed to be responding in good fun, Medina wrote that she will learn from the incident after a commenter called her out for making an embarrassing mistake.

Disbandment

And finally, the saddest news to come: Momoland is officially disbanding. The girl group, consisting of members Ahin, Hyebin, Jane, JooE, Nancy, and Nayun and past members Taeha, Yeonwoo, and Daisy, will be moving on after six years. However, this doesn’t totally come as a surprise as its label MLD Entertainment announced last January that none of the members were renewing their contracts. Still, it’s a little hard to hear.

The remaining girls posted handwritten letters on their Instagram to break the news and express their gratitude for the fans. “We sincerely thank our beloved Merries for providing us with precious memories and being by our side for the last seven years. Our Merries have been everything to us and always will be.”

Featured photo screengrabbed from Momoland’s “Wrap Me In Plastic” music video

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