Today in K-Pop

NewJeans faces uncertain future after Danielle’s exit
Korea Times

NewJeans, which debuted as a five-member girl group, has effectively become a four-member act three-and-a-half years after its launch, with the possibility of shrinking to three members still open as Minji’s return to agency Ador remains unresolved. With the group’s long-anticipated comeback expected later this year, attention is now focused on how the reconfigured team will move forward. All five members said late last year that they intended to return to Ador, bringing an end to their legal dispute with the agency. That marked a reversal about a year after they had moved to terminate their exclusive contracts in November 2024 and pursue independent activities. Since their debut, NewJeans had produced a string of megahits including “Attention,” “Hype Boy,” “Super Shy,” “Bubble Gum” and “Ditto,” quickly rising to the top of the K-pop scene. But just over two years into their career, their contract dispute with Ador halted new releases, even though the group continued to appear at year-end awards shows and on various stages for a time. The conflict eventually went

Saturday, January 10, 2026

What’s behind Jang Won-young’s ‘Lucky Vicky’ mindset
Korea Herald

When Kyobo Book Center released its list of the top 10 bestsellers for 2025, one title stood out amid a sea of Korean books: “Super-Translated Buddha's Words,” by a Japanese monk. Its unlikely rise can be traced to a single moment. In January, Jang Won-young of the K-pop group Ive mentioned the book during her appearance on tvN talk show “You Quiz on the Block.” Almost immediately, sales took off. Originally published in May 2024, the book climbed rapidly into the upper ranks of the weekly bests

Soompi

Artists have gathered for the annual Golden Disc Awards! On January 10, a red carpet event was held ahead of the ceremony for the 40th Golden Disc Awards at Taipei Dome. Take a look at the red carpet looks: CORTIS ALLDAY PROJECT CLOSE YOUR EYES KiiiKiii ZO ZAZZ izna ARrC NCT WISH TWS ZEROBASEONE BOYNEXTDOOR…

Soompi

ALPHA DRIVE ONE’s Arno will be limiting his participation in the group’s upcoming debut activities due to an injury. On January 10, WAKEONE announced that earlier this week, Arno was diagnosed with a fracture after slipping and falling on the stairs on January 7. In accordance with the doctor’s recommendation that he “refrain from choreography…

Soompi

The Korean Business Research Institute has revealed this month’s brand reputation rankings for male idol groups! The rankings were determined through an analysis of the consumer participation, media coverage, interaction, and community indexes of various boy groups, using big data collected from December 10, 2025 to January 10, 2026. BTS held onto their spot at…