The Only 2 Female K-Pop Idols Who Have Debuted 8 Times

K-Pop idols usually only debut once, or maybe twice, and if success comes their way, they get to enjoy a long career doing what they love. Sometimes, an idol might debut multiple times, either because they belong to a group and want to debut as a soloist or because they want to start afresh after their first group’s disbandment. For example, after I.O.I’s disbandment, multiple members debuted as soloists, including Chungha and Somi.

Members from groups like MAMAMOO and BLACKPINK have all re-debuted as soloists without leaving the group.

After GFRIEND disbanded, three of its members re-debut under the name VIVIZ.

And once IZ*ONE‘s tenure was over, its members Yujin and Wonyoung debuted with IVE, while Chaewon and Sakura debuted with LE SSERAFIM.

But there are only two female K-Pop idols who have debuted around eight times in their career!

IN 2007, K-Pop saw two of its biggest girl groups debut. One was Girls’ Generation, and the other, Wonder Girls. What’s more fascinating is that these two groups gave the industry two of its fiercest female artists, Hyoyeon and HyunA, respectively.

After debuting around the same time, the two artists followed a very different career path. Shortly after the debut of Wonder Girls, HyunA’s parents removed her from the group due to her health concerns. She ended up joining Cube Entertainment in 2008 and debuted with another iconic girl group, 4MINUTE, in 2009. That same year, HyunA debuted a third time with 4Tomorrow, a promotional group for Samsung‘s Anycall phone. The group’s debut digital single, “Tomorrow,” came out on October 6, 2009.

In 2010, HyunA debuted again, this time as a soloist. Her first solo single was called “Change.” During the same year, Hyoyeon made her second debut along with the entire Girls Generation. In August 2010, the group debuted in Japan under the stage name Shōjo Jidai and released their first Japanese single, “GENIE,” in September.

One year later, in 2011, HyunA made her fifth debut as a part of the duo Trouble Maker along with BEAST’s Hyunseung. Their first mini album, titled Trouble Maker, contained duets as well as solo songs from the artists.

In 2012, HyunA debuted a sixth time with the project group Dazzling Red, with four female idols from other established groups. By this time, Hyoyeon also successfully made her third debut with Younique, a unit formed through the collaboration of SM Entertainment and Hyundai Motor Company. She was joined by five other SM artists, Eunhyuk from SUPER JUNIOR, Henry Lau from SUPER JUNIOR-M, Taemin from SHINee, and EXO’s Lu Han and Kai.

Fast forward to four years later, Hyoyeon made her fourth debut in 2016 with Tripe T, a co-ed project group formed by both SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment. The group consisted of two other members, 2AM’s Jo Kwon and Miss A’s Min.

That very year, Hyoyeon also debuted as a soloist with her single “Mystery.”

In 2017, HyunA’s seventh debut came with the co-ed trio called Triple H. Her two other co-members were PENTAGON’s Hui and DAWN (former member).

2018 was a significant year for both artists. While HyunA left Cube Entertainment that year, Hyoyeon debuted as a DJ under the stage name HYO. Her single “Sober” was released on April 18 and marked the beginning of her promotions as a DJ in domestic club tours and EDM festivals.

In August of the same year, Hyoyeon debuted a seventh time as a part of Oh! GG, a subunit of Girls Generation. She was joined by fellow members Taeyeon, Sunny, Yuri, and Yoona. The group made their debut on September 5 with the single “Lil’ Touch.”

HyunA embarked on a new journey once she joined PSY’s label Pnation in 2019. There, she debuted for the ninth time on November 9 with the single “Flower Shower.” After an impressive three-year run at Pnation, she left the label in 2022.

Hyoyeon made her ninth debut in 2021 with another SM project group, Girls On Top. This six-member girl group consist of her bandmate Taeyeon, and other SM artists, BoA, Red Velvet’s Seulgi and Wendy, and aespa’s Karina and Winter. They debuted with the single “Step Back” on December 28. The group recently made a comeback with the EP Stamp On It.

Though both artists debuted at the same time and have been running the show for more than fifteen years non-stop, their career graphs have turned out to be quite distinctive from one another. But there is one thing in common, the immense versatility they both have portrayed while acing the game for this long!