We lost Got7 to K-pop’s ‘seven year curse’, will these groups be next? Red Velvet, Mamamoo, Winner and Lovelyz all turn an unlucky seven in 2021

The journey of an aspiring K-pop idol begins with being scouted or accepted through an audition, followed by years of rigorous training, and finally debuting in front of the public. But there’s another element that diehard fans are painfully aware of: the seven-year contract. Trainees sign contracts and live in dormitories so that their entertainment agency can better micromanage their diets, relationships and overall behaviour. Under most of these contracts, trainees are usually required to pay back the costs of their vocal and dance lessons and wardrobes, either when they leave the company or after their debuts. As a result, many K-pop idols might not make large profits in the early years of their careers, and the trainees who leave can end up getting into serious debt. SM, YG and JYP are exceptions to this rule: their trainees get paid as soon as they debut and do not face any debt, unless they leave their companies before completing their contracts. But once a group’s contract expires, the members meet with the company to discuss whether they want to continue and renew their contracts, or disband with some or all members leaving. Hence the well-known “seven year curse”, as most contracts last for seven years. Several top groups met their demise once their contracts expired, including 2NE1, Sistar, 4minute and Miss A. Although some groups survived the “curse” – like BTS, Apink, Super Junior and Shinee – fans still become wary once their favourite idols’ seventh year approaches. Which begs the obvious, if painful, question: which idols’ contracts are about to end in 2021? She uses US$1,500 tableware, so how rich is Red Velvet’s Wendy really? Got7 JYP’s first boy group since 2PM in 2008, Got7 debuted on January 16, 2014, which means their contracts just ran out. At the end of last year, there were rumours about Jinyoung leaving JYP and signing with actor agency BH Entertainment instead, which resulted in fans getting anxious about the group’s future. But what ended up shocking everyone this month was instead Yugyeom reportedly departing from the company instead, moving onto Jay Park’s agency, AOMG. Soon after, JYP founder Park Jin-young unfollowed other members BamBam, Jinyoung and Mark, as well as the official Got7 account, on Instagram. BamBam responded to a viral tweet about the news with a GIF of a man shrugging, showing his nonchalant reaction to what happened. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mark Tuan (@marktuan) Later, Korean celebrity news website Dispatch reported that all of Got7’s members decided to leave JYP together, with Mark flying back to the US to start his YouTube career, Jackson continuing with his fashion brand Team Wang, and BamBam, Youngjae, Jinyoung and Yugyeom either signing, or in the process of signing, new contracts with new agencies (MakeUs Entertainment, Sublime Artist Agency, BH Entertainment and AOMG, respectively). JB, meanwhile, has offers from both a hip-hop and global labels. The members promised to set aside some time for Got7 promotions in the future, however, and fans are mostly happy and relieved that their idols will continue to have successful careers. How IU took on BTS and Blackpink – and won Mamamoo RBW’s four-member powerhouse is turning seven in June, and fans are asking whether they will stay together or focus on their careers separately in future. Mamamoo’s members have had a successful run both as a group and as solo artists, with each of the girls receiving awards and recognition for their solo promotions. At this point, time can only tell if they will be renewing their contracts as Mamamoo. BinJin to Song-song: 5 Korean celebrity couples who denied dating at first Red Velvet Following a number of controversies and rumours about SM’s supposed unstable management of the group, Red Velvet is also facing the upcoming end to their contract in August. There’s a silver lining for fans, as SM apparently rarely disbands its groups … but when it does, these groups rarely reunite for comebacks. (Remember Girls’ Generation?) Winner The YG boy group also debuted in August 2014 after facing several delays. Many fans agree that the group has been mismanaged for years, with former member Taehyun leaving in 2016, stating his unhappiness with YG. There was also that year and a half hiatus the group took out, which doesn’t fill us with hope for the future. Which K-pop stars speak the most languages? Lovelyz View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lovelyz(러블리즈) (@official_lvlz8_) Lovelyz debuted in November 2014 as Woollim Entertainment’s first girl group. Since their debut, the eight members have consistently seen good chart performance, with hit song Ah-Choo even helping them win their first award at the 23rd Korea Culture & Entertainment Awards in the K-pop top 10 artists category. In 2019, member Kei debuted as a soloist with I Go, while the group went on a 16-month hiatus, coming back in September 2020 with Obliviate. This has led fans to wonder whether the group will continue together, or whether its members will leave one by one. Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter .