r/hobbydrama [KPOP] DaNSE: the group where a drug scandal wasn’t even the biggest drama in the fandom
Image by Amber Lee. Adapted from Political Drama, 1914, by Robert Delaunay (National Gallery of Art, Gift of the Joseph H. Hazen Foundation, Inc.) and TVXQ in Paris France, 2007, fan-taken picture (Wikimedia Commons).
Editor’s Note
In a creatively written piece, author M. Xinyu Liu crafts an uncanny imitation of K-pop fan discourse on Reddit. Their playful rendition of the rhythms of fannish writing (recalling the generic fan guide, the Tumblr meta post, the Twitter/X explanatory thread) positions K-fan discourse online not as singular or unique but as part of broader digital genres that circulate, echo, and overlap across the Internet. The piece leans on repetition and repeatability: K-pop fan discourse is relentlessly cyclical (present debates and conversations always seem to echo those of the past) and iterative (it uses speech styles that mirror online fandom spaces beyond K-pop itself). With a fictional Reddit post, M. Xinyu Liu makes the implicit argument that K-fandom’s bold and playful explanatory posturing is not only instantly recognizable—especially for the “chronically online” fan—but also a genre capable of being imitated. Far from singular or new, this deep-dive-style narration of “K-pop drama” belongs to an existent niche of nonfiction writing: that of the Internet fan, whose style manages to be at once personal and emotional, archival and knowledgeable.
Author’s Note
There has been a plethora of explanations offered for why K-pop has been such a uniquely magnetic phenomenon, both online and off, ranging from the fostering of parasocial idol-audience bonds to the perceived exotic but anodyne, novel social milieu it introduces your average Western audience to. Not to say that any of this is incorrect, of course—K-pop fans are multitudinous, and there is no denying the exponential growth of a largely American, non-Asian audience driving the current expansion of popularity. But an often forgotten foundation of the establishment of international English-speaking K-pop fandom is in the early adoption of Asian diaspora fans, for whom K-pop was and continues to be simply an expected part of our pop culture landscape. I grew up in a majority-Asian suburban community in and around the Greater Toronto Area, and my high school classmates were as likely to trade EXO photocards as they were to collect One Direction albums. My friends who grew up in other Asian enclave-type locations—like the San Gabriel Valley, of course—have had similar experiences. All of this is to say: for many of us, K-pop fandom simply was fandom. After the flood of the first few hallyu waves, the tides remained, found different crevices to settle in, formed little pools where community understanding thrived.
Of course, this degree of history breeds many things, key among them The Discourse. One thing that has struck me over the years that I’ve been either passively or actively involved in K-pop fandom has been the recursive nature of this still very new industry. If pressed to name something about K-pop that was particularly unique, I would point to the relative newness of it; so many things that we take today as industry norms have their roots in only the last 10 or 20 years. And yet, despite its newness, I have already seen echoes of and parallels with only slightly earlier K-pop phenomena within its brief history. It is common in K-pop discussions to separate out its history into “generations”—never mind that fans fight about where the delineations are drawn. We are currently in the time of K-pop’s fifth generation—which it has been called since about 2020 or so—but at this point in time, most people agree that we’ve finally arrived. Each generation seems to be marked by the same scandals: idols selfishly leave or, actually, idols get unfairly kicked out of their groups (no one seems to agree on which is the case); groups sue their companies (whose side we’re on depends entirely on how the early reporting frames the conflict); idols strike out to form their own entertainment companies. This time, things will change. Am I talking about 2009, or 2024?
The following piece highlights the sometimes absurd ways in which we tend to have the same conversations, just about different groups. The group under discussion here is a fictional amalgamation of classic second-generation tropes—astute readers will be able to spot the parallels. This is an age-old story: Twitter discourse dredges up an overlong Reddit explainer—history is lost, but history is excavated! We reach into the past to explain the present. The K-pop old guard think they know it all, but surely the past can never precisely predict the future. Can things change, this time? Will the groups of tomorrow finally, finally be managed well, stay together, and find wild popularity without falling apart?
[To begin reading, click between the two images below:]
Okay, so, truthfully, I think this post has been a LONG time coming—honestly I’m surprised that no one’s covered it yet so far, but maybe the landscape has shifted more than I thought and everyone really has forgotten all about this story. I know these days the narrative is very much about the big three (plusminus you know…) but imo the thing that should be kept in mind is that back just a few short generations ago, entire companies and groups lived and died that no one these days have probably even heard of.
Luckily, I’ve been cleaning out my old posters and old accounts, so I’ve been thinking a lot about this particular piece of k-pop history, and I’m here today to share—I think there’s a lot to be gleaned from this, actually. So! Sit down, grab some popcorn, and let me tell you about the rise and fall of my favourite old person k-pop group, DaNSE.
DaNSE? Who?
One thing to know about the k-pop fandom is that memory does tend to be fairly short. Newer fans learn some things here and there about the classics, but by and large, the legacy of groups from pre-2013 is pretty scarce. So if anyone remembers the days where DaNSE fans and TVXQ fans would get in brawls in the halls, please, let’s hang out and trade war stories. DaNSE was one of those groups that were genuinely huge back at the time, but for some reason, I’ve found that these days, most people have forgotten. If you asked an average kpop stan today, you maybe would get someone who recognizes their name from early smash hit and virally popular MV On The Floor, but by and large, new releases don’t even crack the charts and our fandom (Freestyle, get it?) generally tries to stay under the radar. Frankly, we’ve had enough drama, as you’ll see.
But in the ancient times (AKA the 2010s), DaNSE was considered one of the heavyweights of the industry. As the name suggests, they were known for their intense choreography and performance skills, a heady mix of both professional synchronicity (seriously, pick any dance practice video from their prime and they could rival current 5th gen boy groups, but I digress) and powerfully addictive stage presence. Their reputation was built off being a group of all-rounders: the saying back in the day was take any DaNSE member out of the mix and he could shoulder a whole group himself. They regularly EASILY sold out stadium tours across all of Asia, were named one of the 25 Most Influential Boy Groups by Rolling Stone, and were one of the first Korean pop acts to play Tokyo Dome. I begged my parents to let me go to the LA stop of their first sold-out world tour that I remember genuinely as one of the best nights of my life. At their height, they were undeniable.
Debuting in 2010, DaNSE was originally a five-member lineup with leader Ha Junghoon, main rapper and now popular actor Lee Minsung, powerhouse vocalist Choi Hyungmin, songwriter and producer Anson Valentine Wu, and, youngest of the group known for his heartthrob good looks, Seo Eunjun. They were the shining jewel of JumpStar Entertainment, which is still one of the biggest media entertainment companies in the industry. Debut single Darling did alright, but it was their sophomore follow-up On The Floor that really made their name, sweeping at end of year award shows and winning them Best Dance Performance at that year’s MAMAs (think the Grammys of K-pop).
So, the scene is set. It’s 2010, and DaNSE is off to an explosive start. They’re ready to make K-pop history.
Of course, that’s when the first scandal hits.
The Tragedy of Anson Wu
So something that I haven’t gone into is that even people who are still DaNSE fans in 2024 might not know who Anson Wu is, even though he was a member of the group until (spoiler) 2013 and fully IN one of their most popular music videos. To this day, a lot of fans either won’t recognize him as having been part of the group or honestly just straight up forget.
Why? July 2013, Anson was spotted exiting Incheon airport a couple hours later than some of his group members. Fan rumours were that he was detained and questioned, but at the time no one knew what the reason was. JumpStar never released an official statement on this matter, but from what we know now, it’s likely that this was the first whiff of trouble for Anson. July 2013 was when the news broke that Anson was under investigation for possession of illegal substances. JS releases a non-statement statement. Eventually, he’s fined for what turns out to be zolpidem use, AKA ambien.
This is where it gets kind of dicey? People have argued back and forth about this, and I do have my own opinion, but I’m going to keep it neutral here. Essentially, drugs are a HUGE deal in Korea. Like, people have gotten kicked out of their companies, gotten probation, and even JAIL time for possession and sale of weed, so. Prescription drugs are also a big deal, especially if you’re getting them filled overseas, like Anson likely was. So if your reaction is something like, “What’s the big deal, it’s literally just ambien?” just know that there’s a greater cultural context to this. All this is to say that Anson essentially gets this slap on the wrist early in the year and if it was just that, things might have quieted down. DaNSE releases their next studio album that same month and the promotion cycle largely swallows the scandal, even if Anson sits out the first few music show performances.
Unfortunately, November 2013 comes around, and Anson is mysteriously missing from a fansign event. It eventually is leaked that he’d suffered some sort of medical emergency. No one knows what to think for two days, until it’s made public that he’s been charged with the same thing: possession and clear use of illegally obtained prescription drugs. This is the part that I will say is pretty fucked up, but the news story that eventually makes it to Dispatch details out pretty much everything, down to the fact that he was found to be intoxicated with alcohol at the time of the incident with a later positive urine drug test for, what else, but ambien again. Speculation is rampant as to what exactly happened on that specific day, but by the end of the week, JS releases another statement: JumpStar Entertainment and Anson Wu have decided to formally part ways. Anson is charged with a year of probation, and from this point on he largely disappears from the public eye for the next few years.
Now I do want to close out this section with something positive LOL. The truth is that it does take a lot to come back from a scandal like that, especially with the perceived repeat offense. Also there were clearly other factors surrounding the issue. (Anson was one of the early international idols, being of Chinese ethnic origin and originally from Vancouver, Canada, but international idols and their perception in k-pop is… a whole other post in and of itself. Let’s just say his position was already decently precarious.) But! These days, Anson is doing pretty well for himself. If you’re a k-pop stan at all, you might recognize the AVW producer tag at the beginning of some well known hits and he’s a frequent collaborator with popular Asian American label 88rising. Plus he releases his own music like once every few years, to a moderate but passionate fanbase.
Okay, back to DaNSE: the early drama of the incident mostly means that when you mention DaNSE, what comes to mind for people who are familiar is probably the four remaining members who would go on to be the faces behind their later hits and be the ones largely responsible for their reputation/legacy.
So… That’s It, Right?
Well! That’s what we all wanted to think! Seriously, I remember staying up late with a friend of mine who was genuinely having a panic attack over, like, Skype, when the Anson news broke. We were terrified at the time that this would spell the end. But, after the Anson scandal, DaNSE does continue their meteoric climb. Honestly, I think because JS cut and ran so quickly and because Anson was always more of a behind the scenes type member, they basically continued on as usual, churning out hit after hit, charting for weeks and weeks on Melon with each single. Some notable standouts from this era are Love Bullet (watch for the slick choreo and cinematic style that would become a standard) as well as CRISPY (I swear to god after the first few times it gets stuck in your head. K-pop absurdity at its finest).
So of course, it’s all the more surprising when literally at the 11th hour in December 2013, leader and main dancer Ha Junghoon announces that he’s suing the company for contract breaches.
Now, important context is that this is coming right on the heels of another massive member-sues-the-company event as three members of TVXQ have successfully won their own lawsuit against SM entertainment a few years ago. Who knows, maybe Junghoon thought he’d have more of a shot with precedent. Whatever the case, the ensuing legal battle is, of course, long and drawn out and overly complicated. As it stands, eventually Junghoon and JS settle, but Junghoon subsequently departs from the group, leaving it leader-less and floundering. This is more hearsay than anything else, but worth noting that supposedly this was after they’d done a lot of the recording and mastering for a planned repackage album, rendering all of that work essentially moot.
And what’s more MORE is that at the very end of that same year, Lee Minsung ALSO announces his intent to depart, citing conflicts with JS unfairly not letting him pursue acting opportunities. Another long and involved legal battle later, Minsung also departs. Eventually he signs with a different company mostly as an actor. These days, he’s an accomplished drama actor and is apparently making his Hollywood debut in the in production second Eternals movie.
So rolling into 2014, DaNSE has gone from debuting with five members to being down to two. They push out one non-album single release at this time, which honestly in retrospect is pretty remarkable, despite it performing middling at best. Was this the end of an era?
Summerland Entertainment
“What I have learned from my treasured youth as an idol is that there is always a way to do it better.” That was the closing statement from a press conference called by Ha Junghoon, less than a year after his departure from DaNSE and JS Entertainment as a whole. The subject of that conference? The official announcement of the new venture Junghoon intended on pursuing: his own entertainment company.
That’s right, while Minsung was winning over the GP’s hearts with his surprisingly good acting and Hyungmin/Eunjun were drilling hours in the recording studio as the remaining two holding up the fort, Junghoon was surprisingly quiet. Keep in mind, as someone who was frequently openly critical on radio (often to his detriment), this was unusual for Junghoon, and fans quickly grew suspicious. Of course, no one expected a venture quite this ambitious.
At the time, public opinion was pretty solidly on Junghoon’s side. His previous reputation as a loudmouth morphed into him becoming a maverick. He was seen as a pioneer, braving his own name to call out the evils of the company. Capitalism is capitalism around the world, after all, and people love an underdog story almost universally. The company Junghoon goes on to found takes a few years from announcement to establish itself. Summerland Entertainment is formed late 2014, almost as if Junghoon was ready for it. They sign a few soloists at first, who go on to do fairly well if nothing to sneeze at. But the reason why some of you might know their name is their first ever idol group venture: 8TERNITY.
8TERNITY debuts in 2019 to great anticipation from people who were expecting Junghoon to succeed and people who were expecting Junghoon to fail both. I won’t get into the details of them since this isn’t really the point, but they honestly were kind of a flop at first. If you ask me, it’s because there was way too much pre-debut hype and hate both, when their eventual debut song was just kind of mid. Infamously, they get snubbed for Rookie of the Year at MAMA. Time will only tell if they’ll go on to make their name beyond “the group that Ha Junghoon formed.”
The Fallout
Back to 2013/2014: where’s the fandom at? Like I said before, the general public largely liked Junghoon and Minsung both, the latter for quickly establishing himself as a household name. The fandom was a different story. The DaNSE fandom calls itself Freestyle (haha, get it?) and honestly it’s a hot mess in here folks. The only other fandom that’s worse/could rival is TVXQ’s Cassiopeia (seriously, that post is worth a read if you haven’t already).
Freestyle is in absolute shambles. They’re barely recovered from two departures in a year, busy trying to stream for the latest release to prove that their faves aren’t dead, and trying to fight a civil war all at once. Made worse is the overall misinformation and impossibility of knowing how the DaNSE members themselves feel about the situation. Minsung has gotten flak from the fandom for, on multiple occasions, being dismissive towards his “idol past,” although his defenders will tell you that he was only trying to make his name in a part of the industry that looks down on idols. Junghoon is quiet, like I said before, but the very act of starting his own company is seen as outright war for obvious reasons. He also wasn’t shy about giving interviews about all the mistreatment at the hands of JS, including an incident where an alleged fan dropped an iPod box out a window on TOP of Hyungmin, fracturing his collarbone, and JS did… nothing. Needless to say, fans are torn between the “Junghoon was selfish for leaving” narrative and the “Junghoon was exposing JS!!!” narrative.
Hyungmin himself never comments on that incident, which does complicate things, as you might expect. My point is: shit’s messy. Fans quickly separate out into OT2 stans (DaN2E stans, if you will), Junghoon solo stans, Minsung solo stans, and then OT4 stans who still hold onto hope that there will be a chance for things to work out. And that’s all the people who have at this point long forgotten Anson’s existence lol.
Some notable incidents during this time of great turmoil:
DaNSE goes on Official Hiatus following their middling 2014 release, lasting until 2016; following the announcement, Eunjun takes to Twitter for an impressive now deleted 15 Tweet thread. The links are long since dead, but here are some screenshots of a snippet of the middle of the thread (translation by LJ user blue_skiesfreestyles), where he alludes to his disappointment at how “some people in your life just can’t be trusted” and speaks about someone who he “thought he knew.” The implications here are pretty clear.
Eunjun himself drops a solo project in late 2015, lead single aLONE topping Gaon at #5 and earning him his first solo music show win on Inkigayo. Notably, Hyungmin is nowhere to be seen during any of the behind the scenes content, leading to fans thinking DaNSE even in its two member incarnation is well and truly dead at this point.
Minsung and Junghoon are spotted getting lunch together on multiple occasions, adding fuel to the flame that they were secretly planning this whole thing together this whole time.
A sasaeng (or, stalker fan) posts a long exposé (I’m not linking to the piece because frankly it makes my stomach turn) about being a longtime Hyungmin supporter-turned-anti accusing him of essentially being a slut? This was part of a huge flame war at the time, which has been lost to the sands of the internet as it was largely discussed on netizen forums that have long since been deleted and defunct LJ/Dreamwidth links on the international fan side. I’m not even too sure of the details since I stayed really far away from it all at the time. Suffice it to say, there were a lot of things slung around at this point…
Where We Are Now
Eventually, DaN2E do come back with an album in 2016. It is, against all odds, another MASSIVE hit. They chart again for weeks, pull off one of their best performances at MAMA that year, the whole nines. It even wins them a nom for Best Album at the MMA awards, no small feat for a changed landscape with newer groups usually dominating end year awards (they don’t win, but losing to BTS is no skin off anyone’s back). They continue to sell out stadium tours as two at home, and in 2019 go on an Asian tour that seems to be definitive proof that, well, they’ve still got it. Hyungmin releases his own solo in 2019 with lead single Golden Days that seems to be about this time, although it’s mostly a reminiscing/nostalgia sort of vibe.
All in all, the fandom is very much still divided, though nowhere near with the same heat. That’s not to say that people still won’t vehemently defend their own chosen combination of DaNSE members—truly the thing about Freestyle is that if someone says they’re a Freestyle, it means absolutely nothing about who they support. They could be OT2 and vehemently anti-Junghoon/Minsung, they could be OT2 + Minsung because they think starting a company is crossing a line, or they could be OT2 + Junghoon because they’re still holding a grudge over something Minsung said five years ago on Radio Star and hating on his recent Stephen Colbert interview or something. Or you could be OT2 + Anson because you don’t care about drugs and you think he was unfairly kicked out all those years ago, but you can’t ever forgive the deep betrayal of choosing to leave the group! There are probably people out there who think Eunjun’s solos are cringe or hate Hyungmin for uhhh getting engaged this past spring (a WHOLE other post).
Still, a lot of it is contained to the fringes of Freestyle Twitter, where the fans fight each other, but are mostly left alone. The members themselves don’t talk about this much anymore for obvious reasons. Everyone seems to have… moved on, largely. Especially as they’ve ventured deeper into their chosen niches in the entertainment industry.
It does make me wonder sometimes… In a lot of ways, this was the group of my childhood, you know? You will definitely see that sentiment often in the general kpop fandom—anyone who followed a group this closely feels this way, to some extent. But DaNSE being friends, properly, and without reservation, was important to me in a way that was difficult to articulate, other than the fact that I made some of my closest friends in the fandom because we all believed in that kind of relationship, and we’re still close to this day.
Anyway, ultimately, I think the story is kind of sad when you take it on the whole like this. There’s plenty of scandal in k-pop of course, but it’s hard to deny that being cut from five to two is pretty damn tragic even for a group of their generation. And as much as they continue to make bangers as DaN2E and have an undeniable legacy of greatest hits before that, it’s hard not to imagine what they could be had all of this not befallen them. Hell, what could they make if Anson was still attached and had gotten to flex his production skills on that level?
Like I said before, time will only tell in terms of how Junghoon’s company does, how 8TERNITY might carry on this legacy, whether there can ever be hope of a reunion in the cards. Who knows! Wilder things have happened in terms of k-pop reunions. Thank you for making it all the way to the end of this very long post! I’ll put a list of recs for my favourite songs and things to watch if you’re interested at all in checking out their work in whatever combination of members, since I unfortunately do have a mental catalog of pretty much all of it lol. I hope someone finds all of this at least somewhat interesting, if not meaningful in some way, as I clearly do. <3 Ə