The Many K-Pop Groups Insulted In HYBE’s Internal Documents

The release of internal documents from HYBE has recently been a hot topic. Across these documents, there have been many K-Pop groups not under HYBE Labels discussed by the company, and many were mentioned in ways that were not so complimentary.

Here is a list of the groups that were included and why.

1. RIIZE

The reports mentioned RIIZE multiple times, with comments on Anton‘s skills and Wonbin‘s looks.

Wonbin’s look had already raised eyebrows during KCON because his front and profile shots were noticeably different. The team kept him in a beanie constantly, possibly because while some parts of his face are attractive, they don’t harmonize completely, so styling plays a huge role for him. Without the beanie’s added height, his proportions were also surprisingly lacking, which might make it hard for him to fully take on the center role.

— HYBE document

Former member Seunghan‘s scandal was also mentioned and the other members of the group were referred to as “backup.”

2. NCT DREAM & Stray Kids

NCT DREAM and Stray Kids were both mentioned with comments directed at Changbin‘s physique and NCT DREAM’s presence compared to TXT‘s Yeonjun.

Of course, Yeonjun is good at performing and MC-ing. Even just standing still, he brings meaning [to things]. He just had to be the one interviewing NCT Dream and Stray Kids, and we felt sorry seeing how Yeonjun destroyed both groups with his physique. Soobin is known for his tall height, and his pure and naive image, so he didn’t look too out of place alongside them, but the difference between Yeonjun and Changbin when they stand next to each other is too much.

— HYBE Report

3. BLACKPINK

While discussing BLACKPINK‘s sales performance, the documents labeled them as being “famous for being famous,” something considered disregarding to their talents.

4. tripleS

The girl group were mentioned in the report, with it being commented that they were more like “the standard of an interest group in college,” rather than an actual group.

A group from a small-to-middle-sized company, [tripleS], released a choreography video for their B-side, [“New Look”], involving 16 members. From one point in time, they abandoned their adventurous concept [similar to that of] HYBE group, ‘the original Kangbuk [redacted],’ and are going for the vibes that of Japanese idols near the end of the Showa era. This choreography video is especially so. It is a song they mediaplayed with starting from when they began to tour overseas, for having a performance with many members. The choreography is so awkward that we wondered if you can call it a “large scale performance” as long as you have many members, and it’s hard to see them as anything more than akin to the standard of an interest group in college given the members’ styles and skills.

— HYBE Report

The group’s producer responded to these comments following the release.

5. BABYMONSTER & SM’s Upcoming Girl Group

The documents insulted SM Entertainment’s upcoming girl group and BABYMONSTER in one swoop, implying that SM’s upcoming group were less “pretty” than BABYMONSTER. BABYMONSTER’s visuals were also seemingly regarded negatively in the report.

HYBE about BABYMONSTER AND SMNGG:

“SM’s new girl group… none of them are pretty. I wondered if their trainee infrastructure was even worse than BABYMONSTER”

i genuinely wish the worst for everyone in that company.

YG AND SM PROTECT YOUR ARTISTS. pic.twitter.com/G79fOxX88O

— el (@baesdolls) October 26, 2024

Many think that BABYMONSTER actually shaded HYBE back in response.

6. ZEROBASEONE

In the document, one section on ZEROBASEONE uses a specific phrase to point out their visuals—a “synergy of ugliness,” in HYBE’s opinion.

As a whole group, they’re scheduled to appear on Amazing Saturday. They have two episodes on K Star Next Door, one of which has already been released. When the members are grouped together, they create this synergy of ugliness that is hard to stand…

— HYBE

7. NewJeans

Of the many comments made about NewJeans, ones that stood out the most were HYBE’s plans of “throwing” the group away in the midst of promoting LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT.

8. VCHA

The document spoke about VCHA negatively in multiple aspects, including saying that the group’s skills were not at an idol level, and insulting the group’s concept.

The issue isn’t about who they picked, but rather the fact that they’ve gathered random kids and placed them in an entirely foreign environment. Watching them perform on stage feels somewhat awkward. It’s as if this company became overly obsessed with the success of the group NiziU. They seem to have randomly selected kids from various countries, trying to make them look “cute” in the typical JYP way, as if that will automatically attract fans. There’s a strange disconnect in this forced exchange, almost like they’re treating the members as mere stand-ins on a larger platform. Honestly, the level of skill is like that of foreign students majoring in Korean language studies, who were recruited with long-term residency in mind.
[…]
The music video is shockingly cliché, with a scene where the members dream of becoming idols, but their audition scene is judged by three foreigners. J.Y Park himself appears as a solo judge, treating their journey as if it’s meant to be some heartwarming, motivational storyline, which just feels superficial. There’s even a male actor who vaguely resembles Simon Cowell, appearing in a scene during the evaluation. It feels overdone and somewhat cringe-worthy.

— HYBE Document

9. IVE & aespa

Speaking in regards to the skills that LE SSERAFIM have, the documents implied that aespa and IVE had bad performance skills that would ultimately be the deciding factor, despite their popularity.

No matter how many popular songs IVE or aespa have and how much public recognition they gain, I believe the reactions during their tours will ultimately come down to their performance skills, and expect this will soon reflect in the results.

HYBE Documents

This seems to be a continuation of the unexpected attention placed on aespa by HYBE over the last few months.

As more details of the documents are released, there will likely be more groups that have had insulting words thrown at them.