There are a lot of cool things to look forward to in 2024. From confirmed comebacks to debuts of new groups, K-pop fans have a lot to get excited about. While a lot of confirmed plans have been released, no one really knows what the year will look like, so here are a few of my predictions for the new year.

Zerobaseone (ZB1) will become one of the most popular boy groups 

Zerobaseone debuted through Mnet’s reality competition show, Boys Planet, with the plan that they will be active for two and a half years on a special contract before ending in Jan. 2026. Considering ZB1’s popularity in 2023, it doesn’t seem unlikely that they will continue to rise in popularity. After all, ZB1 was the first debut album ever to sell one million copies in one day. Considering that five out of nine members speak English, I think that they will begin planning U.S. promotions and will become very popular internationally.

Seventeen will begin enlisting in the military

Many netizens believe that the three oldest members of Seventeen, S.Coups (Choi Seungcheol), Yoon Jeonghan, and Joshua Hong, will begin the enlistment process. All three members are currently 28 years old; Korean enlistment may be postponed until one is 28. S.Coups and Jeonghan will enlist at the same time, and Joshua will enlist towards the end of the year before his birthday in December.

IU will release her next album and go on an Asian tour

Since her mini album release in 2021, IU has focused on her acting career; fans have awaited her return as a singer. IU confirmed her comeback album, with plans to release it in the first half of 2024. I think following her comeback, she will announce an Asian tour to promote her comeback. As much as I would love to see her live, the last time she performed in the US was in 2014 for KCON in Los Angeles. Since 2014, all of her concerts have been done in East and Southeast Asia.

BTS Jin will release an album following his military leave

Fans have been awaiting Jin’s (Kim Seok-jin) return since his enlistment in October. He is expected to return in June. With this return, I think it is very likely that he will also continue to grow as a soloist and release an album this year. The remaining members of BTS are expected to return in late 2024 to 2025; until then, Jin has the opportunity to pursue other paths while his members complete military enlistment.

Blackpink will be inactive for 2024

During Blackpink’s Born Pink World Tour, the members performed in 22 countries, doing a total of 66 concerts. The tour lasted from Oct. 2022 to Sept. 2023. The group gained a lot of negative attention from netizens and fans about their lack of enthusiasm on stage. This lack of enthusiasm from the idols only makes sense, however. Going on tour is very taxing and puts a huge mental and physical toll on all the members. In fact, one of the members, Jennie, was even seen with an IV drip before her performance. 

While all the members have renewed their contracts with YG Entertainment, the contract is only exclusive to Blackpink as a group. As for the individual members, they have split with YG Entertainment to pursue their solo careers. It has been confirmed that Jennie has launched her own label called Odd Atelier (OA), and Jisoo will be pursuing solo activities under her brother’s agency, Blissoo.

NewJeans will continue to rise in popularity and begin promotions in the west

NewJeans has taken home dozens of awards despite only debuting in 2022. They won 31 awards in 2023 and have already won four awards in 2024. NewJeans has already become very popular in the West thanks to their viral songs “OMG” and “Super Shy.” I think their agency, ADOR, will want to push the group internationally and release plans for a worldwide tour.