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Many K-Pop fans know about the “7-year curse” in the music genre because so many K-Pop groups tend to disband around the 7-year mark. Some, however, have stood the test of time, and continue to promote even today long past their 7-year marker!
The following 10 groups are the longest-lived currently active K-Pop acts in the industry, and while some are certainly more active than others, all of them are impressive for having lasted as long as they have.
BIGBANG
BIGBANG debuted on August 19, 2006 with the song “We Belong Together”. They had one of the longest-lasting line-ups in K-Pop as well, until Seungri left in 2019 due to his ongoing scandals. The four remaining members — G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, and Daesung — have now been together for 14 years and 27 days!
BROWN EYED GIRLS
Brown Eyed Girls is one of only two female K-Pop groups on this list, which isn’t too surprising since female groups seem to break up earlier and more frequently than boy groups for various reasons. They debuted on March 2, 2006, with the song “Come Closer”, and the four members that they debuted with — JeA, Gain, Narsha, and Miryo — are still with the group today! That puts them at 14 years, 6 months, and 11 days so far.
GAVY NJ
Gavy NJ is officially the longest-lived female group that’s still active, though unlike Brown Eyed Girls, they haven’t stuck with their original members. They debuted on November 9, 2005 with the song “Happiness”, and their original line-up consisted of 3 members: Hyemin, Heeyoung, and Sihyeon. When Hyemin left in 2009, she was replaced by Misty. Heeyoung left in 2011, and Misty left shortly after in 2012, and they were replaced by Jenny and Gunji.
Finally, when the final original member, Sihyeon, left in 2016, she was replaced by Seorin, and so the current line-up is Jenny, Gunji, and Seorin. Even though the group is made of different members, Gavy NJ itself has lasted for 14 years, 10 months, and 4 days.
SUPER JUNIOR
Super Junior has been through many different member line-up changes, both in the original group as well as their subunits. They debuted on November 6, 2005 with the song “Twins (Knock Out)”, and originally had 12 members: Leeteuk, Heechul, Hangeng, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook, and Kibum. Kyuhyun joined shortly after in 2006, so the group had 13 members at its largest (not including Henry and Zhoumi, who are just part of the Super Junior-M subunit).
Currently, their line up includes everyone but Hangeng, Kangin, Kibum, and Henry, though Sungmin has been inactive for some time after his marriage. Despite all of these changes, the group has continued on for 14 years, 10 months, and 7 days.
SG WANNABE
SG Wannabe debuted on January 20, 2004, with the song “Timeless”. They started off with 3 members: Yongjun, Jinho, and Dongha. After a lot of success, Dongha did end up leaving the group in 2007 and was replaced by Seokhoon. Tragically, Dongha took his own life in 2011 after struggling with depression since his SG Wannabe days, and the group went on hiatus for a time after his passing. They have released music since then, however, and they’ve never disbanded, so they’ve been together now for 16 years, 7 months, and 24 days.
TVXQ
TVXQ debuted as a 5-member group — made up of Yunho, Changmin, Junsu, Jaejoong, and Yoochun — on December 26, 2003, with the debut song “Hug”. They were together for a pretty long time, but in January 2011, the latter 3 members left to form JYJ, leaving TVXQ as the duo it is today. And so, TVXQ has lasted since its debut for 16 years, 8 months, and 18 days so far!
FLY TO THE SKY
Fly to the Sky debuted on November 21, 1999 with the song “Day by Day”. The duo is made of the same two members now as it was back then — Brian and Hwanhee. They have had some long hiatuses in their time, including recent days, but since there hasn’t been any official disbandment, they’re assumed to still be together! This means they’ve lasted 20 years, 9 months, and 23 days to date.
G.O.D
g.o.d. debuted on January 13, 1999 with the song “To Mother”. They still have their original members: Joon Park, Danny, Kyesang, Hoyoung, and Taewoo. Though they did go on hiatus in 2004 until 2014 to allow the members to focus on solo activities, they have released an album as recently as 2019, so the group is still going strong after 21 years and 8 months.
SHINHWA
Shinhwa debuted with their current 6 members — Eric, Minwoo, Dongwan, Hyesung, Junjin, and Andy — on May 9, 1998, with the song “Resolver”. They’ve managed to stay together with all 6 members since then, which is a very impressive feat! This puts them at 22 years, 4 months, and 4 days together.
SECHSKIES
Sechskies debuted with 6 members - Jiwon, Jaejin, Jaeduck, Suwon, Sunghoon, and Jiyong — on April 15, 1997, with the song “School Anthem”. Though they actually disbanded after only 3 years in 2000, the group reunited in 2016 with 5 of the original members (everyone but Jiyong). They promoted as 5 members until January 2019, when Sunghoon left the group. Including their disbanded time, the group has been together for 23 years, 4 months, and 29 days, making them the longest-lasting group in the industry!
