What is the 7-year curse in K-pop? Explained

The seven-year mark is a definitive moment in every K-pop group’s career. If they make it to their 8th anniversary unscathed, with every member still happily attached and with plans set for the future, they’re rare. Most K-pop groups drastically change their line-ups or even disband sometime during their seventh year as a band.

The “seven-year curse” might be instantly reminiscent of other musical myths like the “27 club,” but there’s actually a rather logical explanation behind this critical time for K-Pop groups.

JYJ v. SM

It all started in 2009, with a lawsuit from boyband JYJ (previously members of TVXQ) against their label SM (one of the biggest entertainment companies in South Korea). The three K-Pop idols Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu accused the company of keeping them under a 13-year-long “slave contract,” whose duration was justified by overseas promotions that they did not want to do. The group claimed the contract was unlawfully long and that they barely saw any shares of the profit made from their music.

Despite the two parties reaching a settlement in 2012, whereby only an insignificant portion of the demands was met on each side, the lawsuit’s exposure and press coverage at the time led to Korea’s Fair Trade Commission creating a rule in 2009 that placed a seven-year ceiling on entertainment contracts.

From then on, most groups signed on to work under and for a given label for seven years. After this point, each member has to negotiate a contract renewal, either choosing to continue with the same company or leave. Of course, it’s not always as linear, but the way most groups enter renewal negotiations around the seven-year mark now makes fans nervous when the ominous date starts drawing near.

How have the most famous K-pop groups fared against the 7-year curse?

Despite many K-pop bands either disbanding or losing members during contract renewal negotiations, such as MOMOLAND, 2NE1, ASTRO, GFRIEND, Super Junior, or Girls’ Generation, there are a few successful cases still persevering today. While not every group can have the longevity of the iconic Shinhwa, who have been together, with their original line-up, since 1998, a lot of K-bands have managed to find prosperity nonetheless.

BTS

Just like clockwork, the individual contracts of what is arguably the most famous K-group in the world were set to expire in 2019, roughly seven years since they became a unit. The band added a seven-year extension to their contracts as early as 2018, thus effectively prolonging them through 2026, but confessed to considering disbandment during the process, blaming burnout and mental exhaustion. Officially, BTS would have only crossed the seven-year mark in 2020, seven years exactly to the day the group debuted in June of 2013.

Regardless of the pandemic, the group enjoyed what might just be the most successful period in their careers so far during 2020, with the release of their international hit “Dynamite” kick-starting a succession of number-one hits and Grammy nominations. The band remains together, despite South Korea’s mandatory military service currently forcing them to be apart. They’re set to resume group activities in 2025 after they’ve each finished their respective conscription.

BLACKPINK

Girl-group sensation BLACKPINK will celebrate its seventh year anniversary in August 2023, which means that any contract renewal negotiations are either currently taking place or have already been hashed out. No one can predict the future, so we can’t say for sure that BLACKPINK has survived the seven-year curse, but judging by the group’s packed schedule for the year, which includes headlining a show at the BST Hyde Park festival in June, we’d say the future’s looking bright.

Fans should expect an official statement from either the band or the company if and when their contracts are renewed, and with all the activities behind-the-scenes that we can’t possibly know about, there’s no saying when exactly that will be. Obviously, anything can happen, but it doesn’t look likely that BLACKPINK will succumb to the seven-year curse.

TWICE

Seven years after TWICE’s official debut, all nine members of the group renewed their contracts with their company JYP Entertainment in 2022, officially making it past that dreaded mark as a tight-knit unit. In an interview with NME, the famous girl band offered a rare glimpse into how grueling these negotiations can be. In their case, it’s nine people negotiating nine individual contracts, which consequently defines the future of one group.

“Of course, [the process of renewing our contracts] was difficult, and making the decision was even harder, but in the end, we decided to stay together,” Jihyo told the magazine. Although it wasn’t specified in JYP’s official statement, it can be assumed that TWICE’s contract now extends to 2029.

EXO

The seven-year curse is almost the least of EXO’s worries, seeing that one of their original members Kris Wu is currently serving 13 years in jail for rape. Still, ever since the group’s debut in 2012, a number of members left the group after legal disputes, not even making it to seven years. Kris Wu and Luhan left in 2016, Tao followed in 2018.

So no, EXO did not survive the seven-year curse, despite still being an active group today (albeit stalled by each remaining member’s military service). The group couldn’t retain its original line-up from 2012 to now, but since they haven’t disbanded either, you could say they didn’t totally succumb to it.

SHINee

Tragedy struck SHINee when Jonghyun died by suicide in 2017, but the band, which is arguably the most successful in K-pop’s second generation, has stuck together despite hardship. The band released their last album in 2021 and is currently focusing on solo projects while waiting for Taemin to finish his conscription, which should happen this year.

SHINee debuted in 2008, so they have survived the seven-year curse by a whopping eight years, making them one of the longest-running K-pop groups today. Fans are hopeful they will finally release a new album as a quartet within the year, following Taemin’s return from military service.