After taking a look at K-pop’s biggest agencies, I’d like to turn my attention to the smaller (but still important) players in the K-pop game, three at a time.

Disclaimer: As with my write-ups on K-Pop’s biggest agencies, this is written from an outsider’s perspective. I’m not privy to any business-related financial information beyond what any other fan would know. The purpose of these articles is to examine how well these agencies are serving their artists and the general K-pop fan-base.

MYSTIC STORY

Mystic Story is a new addition to this feature because they now have more acts on their roster than some of the other agencies I write about! They’re making their name as a quirky alternative to mainstream outfits and have moved further into the idol market this year.

Lucy continue to chug along, steadily building a devoted fan base and touring the world. They sell well for a band and their most recent album is their most successful yet. However, the band has entered its era of military enlistments so it remains to be seen what the next few years look like.

Mystic’s girl group Billlie hit a bit of a snag this year, with only one comeback (and some Japanese work). It feels like they’ve lost some buzz since their debut, though health-related hiatuses may have contributed to this. The agency also debuted new boy group ARrC this year. Their future is a big question mark, with tons of potential but little movement for their first album. It’s still very early, though.

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RBW (RAINBOW BRIDGE WORLD)

RBW continue to have a stable roster, not debuting any new groups in 2024. Mamamoo remain on hiatus as a group, but each member is active as a soloist and together they released quite a bit of music this year. This music was varied in sound and scope, but unfortunately only two the members are still signed with RBW as soloists. It will be interesting to see if they ever return as a four-piece.

Boy group ONEUS’s only 2024 comeback was a cover of a 2000 Fin.K.L hit. That’s a bit of an odd choice, though they did the song justice. Instead of constant promotions, RBW shipped them off to Road To Kingdom. Honestly, they feel a bit too seasoned for this show, making their participation a strange choice. I assume RBW hopes to capitalize on any buzz with a new album? Otherwise, I’m not sure what the point was. On the other hand, their brother group ONEWE continues to see steady growth despite relatively sparse promotions. They seem content with their core fan base rather than reaching for huge notoriety, and that’s fine.

Girl group Purple Kiss are struggling to find a sound or concept that really clicks. Their music remains solid, but they should really be selling more albums than they are. Like ONEUS, it doesn’t feel that RBW really know what to do with them.

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WAKE ONE ENTERTAINMENT

Wake One is the go-to agency for idol groups formed on survival series. Nearly every artist on their roster spawns from a 101/Planet/I-LAND series. But despite this inorganic approach, the agency has gotten better at differentiating its acts.

ZEROBASEONE continue to be a bright spot. Their music has its own point of view and the group released a lot of it this year. In between their two albums, they found time for OSTs and Japanese work. Sales slumped a bit, but they’re still well within the million sellers club. That’s nothing to scoff at! ZB1’s individual members are also booked and busy.

Kep1er had a transitional year, releasing their final album as a full group and re-configuring shortly after. While it’s exciting to see them continue past their initial contract, we’ll see where their music goes from here. Despite the member changes, they feel pretty stable commercially.

It’s still too early to judge new group Izna’s success, though they arrive with plenty of commercial firepower behind them. I’m not yet sensing the level of excitement I’d expected, but they only debuted a few days ago so I’m not sure we can draw any conclusions yet.

Of the agency’s solo acts, Jo Yuri remains most successful as an actress. The Squid Game sequel will be out soon, buoying her star power even further.

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