Posted by : Contributory Writer
Last updated on December 19th, 2020 at 04:11 pm
Look out K-Pop stans, because 2021 is going to be the comeback year for our favorite 2nd generation boy groups. Military service is a phase which all of us are well aware of and we are always dreading for it to arrive. However, at the end of the dark tunnel, the day finally arrives when we get to see our idols active again doing what they and we love. In 2020, several members from groups like Infinite, 2PM, SHINee and BTOB are being discharged from their military service and it has been truly a good year for us.
2PM: Jun. K and Wooyoung 
Most Indians and South-East Asian countries first heard about 2PM way back in 2010. During this year, the popular 2nd generation JYP boy group had released the song, Fly to Seoul: Boom Boom Boom to promote South Korea’s tourism. Most of us will certainly remember 2PM suddenly popping up on our TVs during the ads on Star World and charming us with their “Boom Boom Boom.”
Since the last few years, we’ve seen our other favorites cover iconic 2PM songs like Again And Again, Heartbeat and My House at year end award shows. We have not really got much new content from the 6 original ‘wild idols’ since they started enlisting in 2017. But don’t worry, we have good news!
Main vocal Jun. K was the second member to be discharged from the military services after Taecyeon on January 2, 2020. Later, when Wooyoung graced us with his V Live announcing his discharge in February, Jun. K and Nichkhun actually surprised him with a cake. Wooyoung’s comeback was done with a bit more fanfare later while making a guest appearance on the variety show, Knowing Bros. Nichkhun even hinted at a 2PM comeback during an interview, which left the fans in a tizzy.
Wooyoung, Jun. K and Nichkhun’s newest show, ‘TaeYangHyunGom’ is being broadcasted on YouTube since June. The trio have been making up for their absence with games, MBTI tests and vacations. Keep a lookout for their 2021 Season’s Greetings which is based on the theme of their show.
We even got a pleasant surprise when Taecyeon showed up during one of the special episodes. Fans had been curious if the rapper was going to remain in the group since he had left JYP, but they were assuaged with his appearance.
The group as a whole hasn’t had a comeback since 2016 with Promise (I’ll be), though the members have been busy, individually. 2PM fans aka ‘Hottests’ have been starved for so long that we are actually grateful for any kind of interaction with our faves. But not anymore!
Infinite: Sunggyu, Sungyeol and Dongwoo
Guess what, we’re finally getting half of Infinite back! The 6 member boy group’s fans were left in a drought with 4 of the members almost enlisting back to back. But thankfully they did have a comeback with the pop ballad, Clock in 2019 after their leader enlisted in 2018.
Looks like ‘Inspirits’ don’t have to wait for too long, because we are finally getting 3 members back in action. Sunggyu, the oldest and the leader of the group, was discharged on January 8, 2020 and was present to celebrate the group’s 10th anniversary in June. The idol was pretty active during his enlistment too, taking part in 2 musicals – Shin Heung Military Academy and Return: The Promised Day along with his member, Sungyeol.
Everyone’s favorite part-time MC and underrated vocalist, Sungyeol was the second member to enlist. But we somehow saw more of him during his time in the army (Woolim take notes!). Fans were actually surprised to see him replying to almost every fanmail that he received during his enlistment. He was pretty active on SNS too, as seen from his 10th anniversary picture on Instagram.
Thank goodness for the new policies due to which Sungyeol got to leave much earlier than expected – October 5th! While poor Sunggyu was alone during the V Live that announced his discharge, he accompanied Sungyeol for his grand comeback. Both reminisced about their time in the army and how Sungyeol was annoyed that his ‘hyung’ got to leave before him.
Along with the two, Dongwoo is also finally back. And what timing! The main rapper was discharged on November 15, a day before Sunggyu’s online solo concert. He and Sungyeol got to surprise their leader, where Sunggyu even premiered his newest song, Room. Well, we can’t wait for the trio to surprise us with more appearances (maybe as a unit) while they wait for the remaining members to come back from their military service.
2AM: Jo Kwon and Jinwoon
Remember 2AM’s leader, Jo Kwon who rocked the stage with his gender bending aesthetics right before he enlisted? Well, he’s back with a bang. The idol was discharged on March 24, 2020 and he celebrated his return just as we expected. Jo Kwon did the #fliptheswitchchallenge where he switched clothes with his friend, former JYP trainee Gina Maeng. Since then, the eccentric idol has been busy on variety shows and musicals.
Having shown off his skills of dancing smoothly with high heels, Jo Kwon was offered a part in the musical Jamie along with Astro’s MJ, NU’EST’s Ren and Shin Joo Hyup. But don’t worry, his career as a singer is not on hold. His upcoming duet with Sunye of the former girl group, Wonder Girls was recently announced.
For a group that’s pretty inactive, 2AM’s members are trending a lot nowadays. That’s partly because the group’s maknae, Jinwoon too is back from his military service. The singer turned actor was the last to enlist from his group but he’s finally been discharged. Surprisingly he came back on the same date as SHINee’s Key and VIXX’s N, i.e., October 7.
What’s more, he’s actually hinted at a much needed reunion of his group. I AM’s have been waiting for 5 whole years for some news about 2AM’s comeback and we finally got it! In an interview with Star1, Jinwoon mentioned, “We grew to understand each other better, and now we want to make music together again soon.” Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.
BTOB: Eunkwang, Changsub and Minhyuk
Looks like 3 BTOB members are back from their service right in time to see the remaining South Korean members enlist. Peniel, who’s an American, is exempted from the mandatory service. Eunkwang, the leader of the group was the first to enlist and hence the first to come back on April 7, 2020.
A couple of months later, Changsub and Minhyuk were discharged on August 21 and September 12 respectively. The Tom to Sungjae’s Jerry, Changsub was pretty busy in the military, taking part in a military song along with Infinite’s Sunggyu, 2AM’s Jo Kwon and Jinwoon, SHINee’s Key and EXO’s Xiumin among others.
In the meantime, Minhyuk’s comeback announcement was full of chaos. The duality king was hilariously mistaken for MONSTA X’s Minhyuk by a news agency while trying to announce the BTOB member’s comeback date and the group took it upon themselves to troll the agency.
The members have currently debuted as a new subunit called BTOB 4U. Just 2 months after Minhyuk’s discharge, the 4 active members are back with the mini album, Inside. Melodies showed their gratitude by helping the comeback with their 1st win on ‘The Show’. Be sure to stream the moombahton title track, Show Your Love!
From SHINee finally getting together and all of Highlight’s members finishing their military service, watch out for this space to see which of our favs are coming back from their enlistment next.
Tags: 2AM, 2PM, Big Hit Entertainment, BTOB, changsub, Cube Entertainment, Dongwoo, Eunkwang, exo, HIGHLIGHT, INFINITE, Jinwoon, jokwon, Jun.K, JYP Entertainment, Minhyuk, Nichkhun, Peniel, SHINee, Sunggyu, Sungyeol, Sunye, Taecyeon, Wonder Girls, Woolim Entertainment, Wooyoung, xiumin
Previously, we looked at some amazing yet underrated OSTs (Original Soundtracks from K-Dramas) sung by our favourite K-pop idols.
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Alternative hip hop band Epik High is one of the oldest bands in the Korean Industry as they have been together for almost two decades. Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz, the members, formed the band in 2001 and are known worldwide for merging different kids of music. They even marked history by becoming the very first Korean act to perform at Coachella in 2016. In 2018, after six years the group left YG Labels and made a comeback under William Morris Endeavor in 2019 and now, they are back again!
On October last year, Epik High released a video message announcing their comeback and on January 12, Epik High finally announced all information regarding the artists that they are collaborating with and the songs that will be included in part 1 of their new double album, ‘Epik High is Here’. The album is set to release on January 18, 2021 and has an amazing collaborations.
Line up 1 – CL and Zico
Line up 2 – Heize, Nucksal, ChangMo, and Kim Sa Wol
Line up 3 – Gsoul, Woo, Miso, and B.I
Epik High has been active on Instagram and Twitter, updating the public about their new album and even revealed the names of all their 10 songs. After the long wait, all the artists to be featured has finally been announced. The first song that is more likely to have its MV teaser released soon is ‘ROSARIO’, a title track that features CL and Zico. A combination that has set the fans on high expectation. Fans are also really excited to see Zico on the list as he is currently performing his military duties and will be inactive until 2022.
Further, fans have also extended their warm greetings to former leader of YG boygroup, iKON, B.I, as he prepares to make a comeback in the entertainment industry after an 18-month hiatus. Winner of ‘Song Writer of the Year,’ Kim Han Bin (B.I.) in September 2020 was appointed as on of the executive directors of IOK Company. “I would be lying if I deny that he is currently preparing for his return. However, whether he is coming back as solo, group, or producer, and other particular details are still undecided” representative from IOK disclosed.
The song list evidently shows that this album is going to be a culmination of a variety of genres revolving around the ongoing pandemic. Tracks like ‘Social Distance 16’ and ‘End of the World’ clearly back this up. Covid-19 has affected people in different ways and each song title sounds like a story to tell. The song ‘Based on a True Story’ from its very name is expected that the artists would sing about a unique story or stories that probably they personally experienced or about someone else’s experience.
All in all, although no further details have been released, this album is definitely going to be something that people can relate with and an EPIC album for sure.
Before the album is released, a documentary named ‘Epik High is Here’ will be released on January 15, 2021. “Based on A True Story” ft. HEIZE and “ROSARIO” ft. CL and Zico will drop on the 18th of January 2021, Korean Standard Time. Which song are you most excited for? Tell us everything in the comment section and stay connected with us to know more.
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We all know how much netizens love their OST’s (Original Soundtracks from KDramas) but sometimes, OST’s sung by our beloved K-Pop idols slip under the radar and hence, we are here to bring some of those beautiful OSTs to your attention.
2 weeks ago
January 12th, 2021
Alternative hip hop band Epik High is one of the oldest bands in the Korean Industry as they have been together for almost two decades. Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz, the members, formed the band in 2001 and are known worldwide for merging different kids of music. They even marked history by becoming the very first Korean act to perform at Coachella in 2016. In 2018, after six years the group left YG Labels and made a comeback under William Morris Endeavor in 2019 and now, they are back again!
On October last year, Epik High released a video message announcing their comeback and on January 12, Epik High finally announced all information regarding the artists that they are collaborating with and the songs that will be included in part 1 of their new double album, ‘Epik High is Here’. The album is set to release on January 18, 2021 and has an amazing collaborations.
Line up 1 – CL and Zico
Line up 2 – Heize, Nucksal, ChangMo, and Kim Sa Wol
Line up 3 – Gsoul, Woo, Miso, and B.I
Epik High has been active on Instagram and Twitter, updating the public about their new album and even revealed the names of all their 10 songs. After the long wait, all the artists to be featured has finally been announced. The first song that is more likely to have its MV teaser released soon is ‘ROSARIO’, a title track that features CL and Zico. A combination that has set the fans on high expectation. Fans are also really excited to see Zico on the list as he is currently performing his military duties and will be inactive until 2022.
Further, fans have also extended their warm greetings to former leader of YG boygroup, iKON, B.I, as he prepares to make a comeback in the entertainment industry after an 18-month hiatus. Winner of ‘Song Writer of the Year,’ Kim Han Bin (B.I.) in September 2020 was appointed as on of the executive directors of IOK Company. “I would be lying if I deny that he is currently preparing for his return. However, whether he is coming back as solo, group, or producer, and other particular details are still undecided” representative from IOK disclosed.
The song list evidently shows that this album is going to be a culmination of a variety of genres revolving around the ongoing pandemic. Tracks like ‘Social Distance 16’ and ‘End of the World’ clearly back this up. Covid-19 has affected people in different ways and each song title sounds like a story to tell. The song ‘Based on a True Story’ from its very name is expected that the artists would sing about a unique story or stories that probably they personally experienced or about someone else’s experience.
All in all, although no further details have been released, this album is definitely going to be something that people can relate with and an EPIC album for sure.
Before the album is released, a documentary named ‘Epik High is Here’ will be released on January 15, 2021. “Based on A True Story” ft. HEIZE and “ROSARIO” ft. CL and Zico will drop on the 18th of January 2021, Korean Standard Time. Which song are you most excited for? Tell us everything in the comment section and stay connected with us to know more.
November 29th, 2020
Last updated on December 19th, 2020 at 04:11 pm
Look out K-Pop stans, because 2021 is going to be the comeback year for our favorite 2nd generation boy groups. Military service is a phase which all of us are well aware of and we are always dreading for it to arrive. However, at the end of the dark tunnel, the day finally arrives when we get to see our idols active again doing what they and we love. In 2020, several members from groups like Infinite, 2PM, SHINee and BTOB are being discharged from their military service and it has been truly a good year for us.
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Sometimes the OSTs add more beauty to K-Dramas that the combination adds so much gravity
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Last updated on December 13th, 2020 at 12:41 pm
NamasteHallyu is back with another week of new music releases!
1 month ago
November 29th, 2020
2020 has been a year of staying home and for the K-Drama and K-Pop fans, it became a little easier to follow that as we got a lot of new and interesting Korean content from time to time to keep ourselves entertained without going out of our homes and we are loving it !
[…] it also meant that a lot of our favorite 2nd gen groups finally got to reunite this year. From 2PM, INFINITE to SHINee, CNBLUE etc, all of these groups have members that are back and some of the groups are […]
[…] in our K-Pop Idols That Are Back and Active After Their Enlistment article, we looked at what the members of 2AM, 2PM, BTOB, and Infinite were up to since their discharge […]