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Kpop fans have plenty of groups to choose from, but co-ed ensembles remain a rare breed that often struggle to last. From early mixed groups of the ’90s to the infamous scandals and cultural hurdles they face today, we dive into why co-ed Kpop groups find it so tough to thrive. Is the blend of male and female idols a recipe for success or a complicated conundrum? Let’s unpack the challenges and possibilities behind this unique Kpop phenomenon!
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00:00To all the members as a group, have you ever argued hard and why?
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:06The K-pop machine has provided fans with a seemingly endless supply of idol groups for every possible taste,
00:12unless your taste is for co-ed ensembles.
00:15Pickings are slim, and few stick around long-term.
00:18For every card building up a solid career, there's at least two Play the Sirens fading away almost immediately.
00:24Why, though?
00:25Well, let's see if we can't tease out some of the reasons for this notable divide.
00:30It might help to start at the very beginning.
00:40Sorry, that was a reflex. Different beginning.
00:49There we go.
00:50K-pop as we know it took off in 1992,
00:53when the trio Seo Tae-ji and boys catapulted onto the Korean music scene.
00:57With the sound and performance style heavily influenced by American New Jack Swing,
01:01they were initially considered too foreign and too bizarre by the establishment of the day,
01:05but audiences felt differently.
01:07Their debut album blew up, and just like that, South Korean pop culture was forever changed.
01:13Western hip-hop, pop, and rock became prominent influences on Korean popular music,
01:25and plenty of new groups were eager to get in on the action.
01:28In those early days of the first generation,
01:30there actually were a few very well-liked co-ed units.
01:33Kool debuted in 1994,
01:43and after some lineup shuffling settled in as a mixed trio.
01:46Also in 1994,
01:47came Rula,
01:48a co-ed group that would become one of the biggest musical acts of the 90s in South Korea.
01:53Several other mixed ensembles would debut strong in the 90s,
02:03and continue into the next millennium,
02:05but future giant SM Entertainment was cooking up something that would reset the game completely.
02:15H.O.T. came in like an H-E-A-T wave in 1996,
02:19having polled real high schoolers about their preferences,
02:23producer Yee Soo-man engineered this five-piece boy group to cater to those tastes.
02:35H.O.T. didn't just offer catchy songs,
02:38they upped the ante with head-turning good looks
02:40and highly polished performance skills honed through intense training.
02:43And fans, especially young female fans, definitely noticed.
02:49This isn't unique to South Korea, of course.
02:54Popular musical acts have been inspiring absolute mania in their admirers
02:58for at least as long as TV programs have been broadcasting performances,
03:02with the most passionate fans often being adolescent girls.
03:05H.O.T. I noticed that there aren't any boys waiting on line here.
03:08How do you account for that?
03:09H.O.T. They're crazy!
03:11H.O.T. They're jealous, too, I bet.
03:13H.O.T. They're jealous, that's all.
03:14H.O.T. Because not many girls treat other boys like this, you know,
03:19because they don't have anything.
03:22I mean, these Beatles have looks, they have talent.
03:25H.O.T. As time went along,
03:26it turned out that their interest wasn't necessarily limited to male artists.
03:30H.O.T. A killer girl group could inspire just as much devotion.
03:32H.O.T. There is a magnetic appeal to talent, fame, and charisma.
03:44When it comes together with music that validates
03:46or even creates something inside the listener,
03:49a performer becomes an entity that feels approachable enough to connect with
03:53while also being just out of reach,
03:55like a dream, or an idol, if you will.
04:02H.O.T. By the time K-pop entered its second generation around the turn of the new millennium,
04:09the entertainment companies feeding the industry had fired up their idol-producing factories,
04:13and they were starting to fully grasp the power of fan investment.
04:17H.O.T. Groups were designed around personality archetypes to maximize chemistry
04:27and make sure every fan could find their ideal type among the members.
04:31They sold young consumers on the idea of a special bond between artists and audiences,
04:35introducing official fandom names, special light sticks, and collectible photo cards.
04:40H.O.T. Entrenching a certain tribal mentality not only gave fans a community,
04:52but reinforced the idea that the relationship with their group of choice
04:55was something intimate and personal.
04:57Whether they were dreaming of romance with a member,
05:00or becoming the missing puzzle piece in an aspirational circle of besties,
05:04the lure of the fantasy became a major feature of K-pop fandom.
05:07This likely plays some part in the dearth of co-ed groups,
05:16which were already an anomaly by second gen.
05:18Logically speaking, if the fantasy is a major foundational piece of a group's success,
05:23then anything that might disrupt it should be avoided.
05:25And the constant presence of a co-ed element is, for many fans, inherently disruptive.
05:30This speaks to some of South Korea's particular cultural differences.
05:40In a more conservative environment where traditional confusion values are deep-rooted,
05:44friendship between the sexes is a point of contention.
05:47After reading this comment, there are only two ways for it to be possible.
05:50If one person is super ugly or either gay, it's possible to be friends.
05:55But then the best comment was, if both of the people are ugly, it can happen.
06:01Though attitudes are slowly changing with younger generations,
06:04outside of a school setting, co-ed friendships have always been less common.
06:08Even where they exist, they are rarely as casually familiar as we like to think ours can be in the West.
06:14Men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.
06:20That's not true.
06:21There are a lot of people to this day who fully agree with Harry Burns.
06:25In fact, many South Koreans express discomfort with the idea of their partner
06:29having any significant platonic relationships with the opposite sex.
06:44Working from that perspective, it follows that audiences could see the members of a co-ed group
06:48as people who will inevitably fall for each other,
06:51and either spoil a fan's romantic projections,
06:54or else ruin the friendship they see themselves as a silent partner to.
07:01To be fair, it's not a totally irrational assumption.
07:06Good-looking, talented young people sequestered by the intense scheduling
07:10that rules an idol's life could reasonably be expected to develop an interest in one another.
07:15One of K-pop's most notorious couples, Hyuna and Dawn,
07:29revealed a relationship to the world the year after forming a co-ed trio with fellow Cube labelmate Hui.
07:35Though the pair were dismissed from Cube, they went on to have some success promoting as a couple.
07:39However, for those already skeptical of co-ed group members being able to stay professional,
07:43it was a major confirmation.
07:52The Hyuna and Dawn situation would also have given executives serious pause.
07:57While they may have emerged with their careers intact,
08:00they're very much an exception rather than a rule.
08:02For Westerners, dating might inspire interest, but rarely vitriol.
08:16With idols meant to have eyes only for their fans, though,
08:19even the rumor of a significant other has been known to cause earth-shattering uproar in South Korea.
08:23It may seem extreme, but it's not inconsistent with the low tolerance South Koreans have for scandals in general.
08:32Public figures especially are held to almost impossibly high standards,
08:40and audiences are quick to turn their backs on celebrities who run afoul of their expectations.
08:45So entertainment companies are highly aware that their investment in an artist
08:49can go up in smoke over the smallest thing.
08:51Unfortunately, when it comes to co-ed idol groups,
08:54there is a prominent example of a Hindenburg proportion disaster looming over the conversation.
08:59It bursts in the flames. It bursts in the flames. And it's falling. It's crashing.
09:03We all know the story of the mixed group formed around one girl from a wealthy and influential family,
09:07a group that had big hits and bigger drama.
09:10We're talking, of course, about Sharp.
09:13Did you think we meant something else?
09:17Well, maybe we'll circle back on that later.
09:19Sharp debuted in 1998.
09:22Meant to center vocalist So Ji Young and bankrolled by her family money,
09:25the group saw a few lineup changes, but enjoyed success up until 2002.
09:36It all came crashing down in spectacular fashion
09:39when Ji Young and groupmate Lee Ji-hae got into a brawl in a public elevator,
09:44leading to a now-legendary press conference,
09:46and the revelation that Ji Young, along with Sharp's two male members,
09:49had orchestrated a years-long campaign of alienation and harassment against Ji-hae.
09:54The scandal punctured Sharp's future chances,
09:56and we haven't really seen a similarly high-profile co-ed group since.
10:05It's not that there haven't been any mixed idol units.
10:08The third generation did give us Card, after all.
10:11While this group maintains a stalwart fan base
10:19and enjoys a good amount of international support,
10:22they remain chronically underrated in their home country.
10:25But the last five years have seen a huge upsurge in K-pop fans from outside Korea,
10:29and companies have taken notice.
10:30Just do whatever you wanna do
10:33I guarantee that it's the best for you
10:35Just do it, do it, do it, do it, do it
10:37Not only has this resulted in a noticeable effort
10:40to tailor fifth-gen groups for more global appeal,
10:43but also an unprecedented tsunami of new groups debuting recently.
10:46To stand out, rookies have to bring something truly unique to the table.
10:50With a glut of boy and girl groups fighting for fan attention,
10:53and a vast international audience
10:55apparently open to the idea of supporting a co-ed unit,
10:58it was only a matter of time
10:59before a company seized on the opportunity to fill a niche.
11:02Don't you try me, I want some more
11:04Don't you play, man, we on the floor
11:06Don't you try me, I want some more
11:08In June of 2025, YG Entertainment's associate company,
11:12The Black Label, introduced all-day project to the world.
11:15Any group debuting under the umbrella of a big four company
11:18is bound to generate buzz, and ADP certainly did that.
11:22Unfortunately, the buzz turned into more of an angry swarm
11:24pretty much off the bat.
11:26Get shot
11:26Photo shoot
11:28Initial controversy stemmed from member Tarzan's,
11:35shall we say, controversial styling choices.
11:38But then it came out that groupmate Annie
11:39was in fact the scion of one of the wealthiest,
11:42most powerful families in South Korea.
11:44Allegations immediately began that she'd bought her way into the group.
11:47Really talking to me like that, better know that I hit back.
11:50Huh, that T, yo, I might when you chit-chat,
11:52how she refresh you to reach.
11:54Things hit a fever pitch once all-day project
11:56was awarded a grand prize at the Korea Grand Music Awards
11:59a mere five months after debut.
12:01And then the unthinkable happened.
12:03All the far-flung corners of K-pop fandom
12:05seemed to put their differences aside
12:07as they united in outrage,
12:09accusing Annie and ADP of using her family's influence
12:12to boost their success over the heads of more deserving idols.
12:15I wanna see your eyes on me
12:18Eyes on me
12:20ADP
12:21As if this wasn't enough drama,
12:23rumors have already begun about members dating.
12:26Meanwhile, the exclusion of vocalist Young Seo from unit and solo tracks
12:30has some convinced that she's being deliberately snubbed by her members.
12:34For one reason or another,
12:35ADP is always making headlines for the wrong reasons,
12:38and the specter of Sharp casts a heavy shadow on the beleaguered group.
12:42Like the way you look at me
12:44Like ADP
12:45Are you ready to get my action?
12:47All things considered,
12:49it may just be the case that entertainment companies
12:51don't see co-ed groups as a worthwhile investment.
12:54They're harder to sell,
12:55with a slimmer chance of success in an industry where every debut is already a moonshot.
13:08The culture of the modern internet does not improve the landscape.
13:11Fan fury is easy to provoke and harder than ever to escape.
13:15Even though co-ed idol groups account for only a small fraction of the industry,
13:19the fact that several have generated so much negative attention is not lost on executives looking for sure-fire hitmakers.
13:26I don't know how to express it.
13:29So that's why I know that Tony is a really good friend of the music.
13:35So I would like to know that many people know it.
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13:55Co-ed groups so often offer a fresh new flavor to a scene that can feel a little repetitive.
14:00And mixed lineups have had plenty of lasting success in South Korea's rock, hip-hop, and indie scenes.
14:05But when it comes to K-pop idols, the model works against them.
14:09The concept has potential, but the fan base seem uncertain of how to approach a co-ed group.
14:21And famously risk-averse executives have little precedent of success to hang their hopes on.
14:26However, All Day Project's debut proves that they're still willing to consider the idea.
14:31Given the right combination of faith, talent, and circumstances, we might see a superstar co-ed group yet.
14:37What are your thoughts on co-ed K-pop? Share them in the comments.
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