10 Things Kpop Groups that had Undergone Member Changes

“Some were for the better, some were for worse.”

We’ve seen changes to our bias groups’ lineups over the years. Some additions made our love for them grow even more unconditionally, and some changes made us go through the 5 stages of grief (sometimes more than once). It’s difficult to keep a group the same for so long or even stay together for eternally (as we would all like, if we had our way). Low and behold, a couple of our fav Kpop groups were unable to avoid the inevitable. Whether they added a new face, lost a cherished member, or a little bit of both, here are 10 Kpop groups that had undergone member line up changes after debuting.

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1. Girl’s Day

Original Lineup (2010): SoJin, MinAh, JiHae, JiSun, JiIn

Departed Members: JiSun (2010), JiIn(2010), JiHae (2012)

Added Members: HyeRi (2010), YuRa (2010)

Final Lineup: SoJin, MinAh, Hyeri, YuRa

Our lovely quartet was once a quintet. The original lineup actually consisted of only two of the current members (SoJin and MinAh). Girl’s Day had debuted on July 7, 2010 with a lineup consisting of SoJin, MinAh, JiHae, JiSun, and JiIn. Only two months after their debut, JiSun and JiIn left the group. JiSun left the group to study music and eventually joined another girl group called New.F.O. JiIn had left to study acting, but later joined a new girl group called Bebop. After the departure of the two, Girl’s Day welcomed HyeRi and YuRa. Just as DAI5Ys were getting used to the new lineup, JiHae had decided to leave for personal reasons. The group had ultimately decided not to add more members, and had eventually gained immense popularity as a quartet.

2. Red Velvet

Original Lineup (2010): Irene, SeulGi, Wendy, Joy

Added Members: YeRi (2015)

Final Lineup: Irene, SeulGi, Wendy, Joy, YeRi

Sweet like ‘ice cream cake’, Red Velvet, had debuted on August 1, 2014 as a 4-member group. However, after promoting their first single, SM had announced that they had decided to add a new member. Much to mixed reactions from the fans, YeRi was added to the group on March 10, 2015. After launching their promotions as a 5 member team, YeRi was warmly welcomed by the members and the fans, eventually becoming the missing piece we never knew we needed in the group.

3. Super Junior

Original Lineup (2005): LeeTeuk, HeeChul, YeSung, KangIn, RyeoWook, ShinDong, SungMin, EunHyuk, SiWon, DongHae, KiBum, HanKyung

Departed Members: HanKyung (2009), KiBum (2015)

Added Members: KyuHyun (2006)

Final Lineup: LeeTeuk, HeeChul, YeSung, KangIn, RyeoWook, ShinDong, SungMin, EunHyuk, SiWon, DongHae, KyuHyun

The veteran kings of Kpop, Super Junior had once began promotions as a 12 member phenomenon on November 2005. The maknae, KyuHyun, was added as the 13th with the intentions of being a rotational group. However, much to ELFs’ delight, that idea was trashed. HanKyung had left the group in 2009 due to contract issues, but remains good friends with the members to this day. KiBum had gone on a hiatus starting on 2009 to pursue acting, and had eventually decided not to renew his contract, ultimately departing from the group in 2015.

4. Brave Girls

Original Lineup (2011): EunYoung, SeoA, YeJin, YooJin, HyeRan

Departed Members: EunYoung (2016), SeoA (2016), YeJin (2016)

Added Members: MinYeong (2016), YuJeong (2016), EunJi (2016), YuNa (2016), HaYun (2016)

Final Lineup: YooJin, HyeRan, MinYeong, YuJeong, EunJi, YuNa, HaYun

Brave Girls were launched by the famous producer, Brave Brothers, on April 7, 2011. The original lineup was a team of 5, but the group went on a 2 year hiatus from 2014 to 2016. When Brave Entertainment announced their long awaited comeback for February of 2016, they also announced that 3 members had left the group to continue their studies and for personal reasons. The group welcomed 5 new members, and made a comeback with their track, “Deepened”!

5. EXID

Original Lineup (2012): YuJi, DaMi, HaeRyong, LE, HaNi, JungHwa

Departed Members: YuJi (2012), DaMi (2012), HaeRyong (2012)

Added Members: SolJi (2012), HyeRin (2012)

Final Lineup: SolJi, LE, HaNi, HyeRin, JungHwa

“Up & Down” sensation, EXID debuted as a team of 5 on February 16, 2012. However, just a few months later, AB Entertainment had announced the departures of 3 members. YuJi and DaMi had left to focus on their studies and HaeRyong had left to pursue a career as an actress. To the surprise of everyone, all 3 girls had reunited and debuted again a year later as a part of the group, Bestie. EXID welcomed two new members, SolJi and HyeRin, to the lineup and made a huge breakout in the Kpop scene with their highly addictive song, “Up & Down”.

6. Rania

Original Lineup (2011): YiJo, Joy, Riko, Saem, JooYi, Di, T-Ae, Xia

Departed Members: YiJo (2011), Joy (2011), Riko (2013), Saem (2014), JooYi (2014), Sharon(2015)

Added Members: Sharon (2014), HyeMe (2015), SeulJi (2015), Alex (2015)

Final Lineup: Di, T-Ae, Xia, Alex, SeulJi, HyeMe

Try to keep up if you can! The 3rd generation of Baby V.O.X, Rania originally debuted as a 8 member team. However, just a few months after their debut, 2 members had decided to leave the group, followed by Riko two years later, and Saem and JooYi the year after that! In 2014, they welcomed a new member Sharon, who eventually left about a year later. Rania then added HyeMe and SeulJi to the group in 2014. Lastly, Rania made headlines internationally when they welcomed Alex to the team, who set a record as the first African-American to ever join a Korean girl group.

7. Wonder Girls

Original Lineup (2007): SunYe, SoHee, SunMi, HyunA, YeEun

Departed Members: HyunA (2007), SunMi (2010), SunYe (2015), SoHee (2015)

Added Members: YuBin (2007), HyeRim (2010), SunMi (2015)

Final Lineup: YeEun, YuBin, HyeRim, SunMi

Long time veteran Queens of Kpop, the Wonder Girls debuted as a 5 member group in 2007. After their first single, HyunA was pulled out of the group by her parents who worried about her deteriorating health. However, we were fortunate to see her back on stage a few years later as a member of 4Minute. To fill in the charismatic image of HyunA, YuBin was added to the group in 2007. In 2010, JYP had announced that SunMi will be pulling out of the group’s activities to focus on her studies. HyeRim was welcomed to the group soon after. In 2013, SoHee had decided not to renew her contract with JYP and had signed with Big Hit Entertainment. JYP and SoHee had parted ways with the idea that she was always welcome to promote with the group. 2 years later, SunYe had decided to officially leave the group after her marriage to focus on her missionary work, and SoHee had decided to officially leave to focus on her acting career. With 2 of the original members gone, the Wonder Girls welcomed back SunMi (one of the original members) and rebooted the group as a quartet band in 2015.

8. T-ARA

Original Lineup (2009): EunJung, HyoMin, JiYeon, BoRam, SoYeon, Qri

Departed Members: HwaYoung (2012), AReum (2013)

Added Members: HwaYoung (2010), AReum (2012)

Final Lineup: EunJung, HyoMin, JiYeon, BoRam, SoYeon, Qri

“If the crown fits.” But apparently, the tiara didn’t fit for every member. T-ARA debuted as a 5 member group on July 29, 2009. In the next year, they welcomed HwaYoung into the group as they continued their rise to fame. However, a controversy concerning a conflict between HwaYoung and the other members occurred, which ultimately resulted in HwaYoung leaving the group in 2012. AReum was added to the group in 2012 as the new maknae, but departed from the group shortly after without much promotion. The team went back to its roots and now continues to promote with its original line up. Why fix something if it ain’t broke, eh?

9. EXO

Original Lineup (2011): XiuMin, LuHan, Kris, SuHo, Lay, BaekHyun, Chen, ChanYeol, D.O., Tao, Kai, SeHun

Departed Members: Kris (2014), LuHan (2014), Tao (2015)

Final Lineup: XiuMin, SuHo, Lay, BaekHyun, Chen, ChanYeol, D.O., Kai, SeHun

Dubbed the next generation of Super Junior, the powerhouse EXO debuted as a 12 member group in late 2011. Their rise to fame was fast and furious, but in 2014, SM had announced that Kris, EXO-M’s leader, had filed a lawsuit to terminate his contract with the company. Shortly after, LuHan had followed Kris’s footsteps with Tao following as well a year later. With much controversy and conspiracies surrounding the messy departure of 3 of its Chinese members, EXO still promotes strong as a 9 member group.

10. 2NE1

Original Lineup (2009): CL, Bom, Dara, Minzy

Departed Members: Minzy (2016)

Final Lineup: CL, Bom, Dara

The latest talk of the industry, 2NE1 was once a quartet of powerful ladies who rocked the stage. However, as reported recently, Minzy had decided not to renew her contract with YG Entertainment, expressing her desire to leave the group. It will be hard to adjust without our sexy maknae, but we don’t doubt 2NE1’s comeback this summer will be beyond epic proportions!

Were your favorite groups listed on our 10 Things list? List it down a couple of others you remember down on the discussion box below!