Where Is ANS Now? The Disbanded K-Pop Girl Group That Battled Mistreatment And Scandal
Content Warning
ANS (Angel N Soul) debuted under ANS Entertainment on September 16, 2019.
The group’s debut was promising, with “BOOM BOOM” receiving over one million views on YouTube.
And one of their later comebacks, “Say My Name,” released on January 10, 2020, has over five million views on YouTube.
Fans loved the members’ vocal skills and captivating performances.
But on August 16, 2020, the group fell into massive controversy as maknae Haena made several later-deleted Instagram posts.
In Haena’s Instagram posts, she detailed the alleged bullying she’d received from her own members, which had given her a panic disorder and caused her to attempt to take her own life.
I can’t hold it in any more. My life is ruined. It’s so hard, it’s like I’m dying, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone else, right until the end. But I feel so sorry to the people who have been giving me their support, and to those who like me, even though there’s just nothing good about me. That’s why I’ve just been holding it all in myself.
Is it that difficult to apologize? Well, I didn’t even hope for an apology. But don’t you think this is just too much?
Are you really human? Now I’m not afraid of anything, whether it’s death or waking up. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I can’t keep it in anymore. I haven’t even said anything, I’ve been quiet, so when will you understand that? What was I so good at, that I had to undertake alone? I was desperate, I know how that feels. I didn’t want to ruin things and make things complicated. If I just quietly die, no one will know the reasons why. If you were really human, you would at least live the rest of your life filled with guilt. I didn’t want to wake up, but when I did, I was even more scared. You say you never did that because there’s no proof of it? I kept quiet, no matter how unfair it was. But it’s not because I’m dumb.
This will be the last time I give in to you, so think about it. If you apologize, even though I can’t forgive you, I’ll shoulder it on my own and go.
— Haena
In one of her pots, Haena would express her frustration that her members “[had their] suspicions about [Haena], and [would] continuously call [her].” Specifically, Haena claimed that her members seemed to be most concerned about her skipping school, which she explained was because she “had to secretly go to the hospital because of [her] depression and panic disorder.”
My hands are just shaking so much. I went back to school and didn’t have any issues with attendance, and now not going to school is more of a problem than not attending group practice. I did well during our promotions, so why are you pretending to be a staff member and call my homeroom teacher everyday while recording the conversation? You didn’t want to say anything about it, so you just said sorry.
— Haena
In her third post, Haena detailed how much she had been struggling, alluding to her bullies being her members, referencing that there were seven of them.
The agency knew of my family situation, but you guys had no idea what I was going through, right? I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about how the seven of you would gang up on me.
— Haena
She also opened up about attempting to take her own life.
I almost jumped off a building. I made cuts with a knife. I took strong medicine I don’t usually take, and consumed 50 sleeping pills, which forced me to be hospitalized. Was it just because I wanted people to pity me? Why would I pretend to need pity while telling my family’s situation to you? Do you remember what you said to me in the cafe that day? You told me do turn off my phone the moment I got there.
I wouldn’t have done all these things if you didn’t say that. I cried on my way home from that cafe. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. That was the first time I talked about what happened. Proof? There’s not a lot, but I’ll reveal what I have one by one. Did you all even get criticized at all for what you did? You guys just do all of the things the agency tells you not to do.
— Haena
This led to fans’ immense concern for Haena’s health along with the future of ANS.
On August 20, the other seven members of ANS uploaded a statement of their own, addressing fans’ concerns. In the statement, the members revealed that the group had actually disbanded on August 11 after the seven members filed for their contracts to be terminated.
Hello, this is ANS’s Lina, J, Royeon, Dalyn, Raon, Bian, and Dami. That’s everyone except Haena. First, we’d like to apologize to our fans for the concerns raised by the recent media coverage about our group. We understand the news could create misunderstandings and worries, so we decided to share the details regarding the current situation that we’re facing.
As of August 11, all members of ANS except Haena have requested that our contracts with the agency be terminated effective immediately — with the help of our legal representative. We believe, however, that our trouble with the agency has something to do with Haena’s trouble with the agency. Thus, we found it reasonable for us to clarify the situation and explain ourselves to our fans. While it is shameful to reveal everything, here is what happened.
— ANS
Then the statement exposed the alleged mistreatment the ANS members had been suffering since early 2020. According to the members, there wasn’t any staff taking care of the members, they didn’t have an office or a practice space, and had to move their dorm. The members were left in charge of managing their schedules and even ran their fan cafe while pretending to be staff.
Our agency, ANS Entertainment, has laid off most of the employees in March then again in April. We had no one taking care of us, not even a manager. By June 14, the agency got rid of the office. We had to move our dorm from Sinsa-dong (Seoul) to Gimpo. Since then, we have been without a practice room. Without a manager, it has been up to us to communicate and stay on top of our schedules. No one was taking care of the fan cafe, so we pretended to be employees in charge of managing that page. Most of the time, we only got one vehicle so some members ended up having to take taxis. That’s why when we held the fan meeting on June 20, we ran into a lot of problems during the event. If we didn’t have the help of former employees who visited the fan meeting for us, the event would have completely fallen apart.
— ANS
Similarly, the members hadn’t received any vocal or dance lessons from their agency, and when they asked for help “the agency denied saying that there is no money.” The members then sent an official request for the company to take care of them as stipulated in their contracts, but ANS Entertainment “verbally abused” them. This led to the members filing for contract termination.
With legal help, we sent the agency an official request on July 22. We requested that as per our contracts, we are provided the proper management. We requested that the agency has an office and practice rooms. We requested vocal and dance lessons. We gave the agency 14 days to correct the breach of our contracts. Unfortunately, the agency opted to call one of our mothers and insist that the agency is not guilty of anything. The agency also threatened and verbally abused us by saying, “The agency is planning on eliminating members so ANS can be comprised of members who have good character. The rest are garbage. The agency is also going to make sure that the eliminated members stay home and get depression so they can’t ever return to the industry.” Once we became fed up with this, we filed for termination on August 11.
— ANS
The members said that Haena’s struggles came to light as their conflict with ANS Entertainment worsened. Contrary to Haena’s posts, the members explained that they “didn’t have any issues with Haena.”
That’s when Haena’s struggles surfaced. Coincidentally, right after we sent the agency our official request, the agency talked to us about Haena’s problems. Shortly after, the agency told us that Haena had been hospitalized and that we needed to visit her. And after we took legal action against the agency, Haena shared those Instagram posts.
To be honest, we didn’t have any issues with Haena. It’s not like our relationship with her had been bad. She became a part of the group in December 2019, as our maknae member. She was in 11th grade at the time so she had to go to school. When the agency started having difficulties with operating, we as a group stopped having a lot of opportunities to perform. So really, Haena and we didn’t even get to spend that much time together.
— ANS
And they shared that they believed the “bullying” incident she referenced might have occurred when they gathered to try and convince Haena to return to school. According to the seven members, as they were left with no agency support, they had to supervise Haena’s education themselves and once received a concerned call from her teacher.
That day, we asked Haena to meet us at a cafe. We told her what we heard from her teacher and asked her what’s going on. Haena didn’t really explain, but said the reasons are personal. So we persuaded her that between all of us there should be no secrets or lies. And we asked that she comes and talks to us if there’s something she wants to discuss. We encouraged each other to keep trying our best. We never cursed at her or scolded her. And something like this should have been handled by the agency. But the agency didn’t care, so we had to be the ones looking after Haena’s school life too.
— ANS
The members also alleged that they had not spoken to Haena since June 12 and that their maknae didn’t even attend their fan meeting on June 20. After ANS Entertainment talked to the members about Haena, the members were afraid to reach out to her.
Then, after we sent the agency our official request, we were told to visit Haena at the hospital. The agency made it sound like we were the reasons Haena ended up at the hospital. We were terrified that the agency might be plotting something against us. We couldn’t even reach out to Haena because we were so worried. When we heard that she was okay, we were relieved.
— ANS
Finally, the members thanked their fans and asked for their understanding.
Dear fans, we’ve been blessed with your love and support. We’re terribly sorry that we caused you guys to worry with this situation. We terminated our contracts with the agency because we had no other choice. We have no idea what will happen to us from here on. We feel like we’re standing on nothing. We don’t know if we can continue to work in the industry. We don’t know if we can even remain one team. But even so, we chose to fight against the agency. We ask for your understanding. And should we be given another chance at this, we promise that we’ll return as better versions of ourselves. Thank you so much for everything.
August 20, 2020
ANS’s Lina, J, Royeon, Dalyn, Raon, Bian, and Dami— ANS
Netizens seemingly agreed with the members that the timing of Haena’s posts was convenient for ANS Entertainment provided their statement was accurate.
- “Oh I get it. The agency was trying to cover sh*t up by pitching Haena against the rest of the members, huh? Trying to destroy their futures and stuff. My god…”
- “What a statement. Thank you for sharing everything about what happened. Now we know the ugly truth behind small agencies who are absolutely worthless.”
Although seven members reportedly filed to terminate their contracts, ANS Entertainment and six members (excluding Bian and Haena) were still undergoing contract disputes in March, 2021. Reportedly the members won their dispute as of September 17, but ANS Entertainment reportedly submitted an appeal.
So where are the former members of ANS now, three years after their disbandment?
Royeon
Royeon (Jeon Hyun Joo) is currently active on her social media, uploading posts about her daily life for fans after having stepped away from idol life.
She currently models…
And even keeps up with her vocal and dance skills through covers.
Lina
Lina (Oh Se Jin) also regularly updates fans on her daily life through social media.
She seems happy to have stepped away from idol life.
J
J (Lee Ye Ji) has become a makeup and lifestyle YouTuber, showing off her makeup routines and daily styles.
She also stays active on social media, showing fans how she’s enjoying life.
Dalyn
Like her former members, Dalyn (Lee So Hyun) regularly posts on social media to keep fans apprised of her daily life.
And she also focuses on her impressive dance covers where she shows off her skills, dancing to many popular K-Pop songs.
Raon
Like Dalyn, Raon (Lee Seo Young) continues astounding fans with her impressive skills even though she is not promoting as an idol. Instead, she uploads impressive song covers to her YouTube channel.
And updates fans on her daily life through social media.
Bian
After ANS disbanded, Bian debuted in ANS Entertainment’s new girl group, MAJORS.
MAJORS debuted in March 2021, and Bian’s inclusion in the group surprised fans as it had been previously reported that she had also tried to terminate her contract with ANS Entertainment. Still, fans were excited to see Bian actively promoting and showing off her skill.
However, Bian seemingly left MAJORS in May 2022, as her mother claimed on Instagram. But fans were confused as ANS Entertainment quickly denied that Bian and other MAJORS member Vita had left the company. Notably, MAJORS’ official Twitter account still follows Bian.
ANS Entertainment shares that Bian and Vita haven't officially left the group but are in an indefinite hiatus due to health/personal reasons.
MAJORS will continue with a 4 member system. pic.twitter.com/MpNPPxXGGl
— nugu promoter (@nugupromoter) May 25, 2022
Bian has not updated fans on Twitter since her last post on January 10, 2023.
인스타 업로드 ♡
Upload it on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/XK59CYt2Yf— 유지원 (@im_m_bian) January 10, 2023
But she regularly uploads to Instagram, showing fans her daily life.
Fans are hoping to get an update on MAJORS soon.
Dam I
Like most of her former members, Dam I (Hong Da Young) seems to have retired from idol life. Instead she updates fans about her life through her Instagram account.
Often showing off her adorable pet…
And dance students.
Haena
After ANS’s disbandment, Haena was the only member other than Bian to stay with ANS entertainment. Currently Haena works as a model for the company.
She has also graduated from the well-known School of Performing Arts Seoul (SOPA).
She seems to have picked up golf as a fun hobby and hopefully is happy and healthy.
You can read more about ANS here.
This article has been updated to include Bian’s active Instagram account.
Where Are They Now?
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