Here are the biggest K-pop news stories of the week:
Tao's Father Announces Son's Departure from EXO
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This past week saw the third departure from what began as an SM Entertainment group with twelve members. EXO is down to nine members following a series of letters and interviews attributed to the father of EXO member Tao.
In a letter published on China's social media site Weibo, Tao's father spoke about requesting Tao to leave EXO due to injuries, health complications, and business dealings with SM Entertainment. SM Entertainment issued a statement calling for discussion between the company and Tao's side. Later in the week, Tao's father gave an interview where he claimed that Tao agreed to leave EXO. Rumors also abounded revolving around a potential departure of the fourth and final Chinese member of EXO Lay, following his extended absence from EXO's promotions and a tweet allegedly written by an SM C&C employee.
EXO continued to promote "Call Me Baby" with eight members.
KCON Goes to Asia For The First Time, Will Head To East Coast
After beginning in California in 2012, KCON grew into an international Korean music festival-convention by heading to Japan on April 22. Around fifteen different K-pop acts performed at the convention throughout the day. It was the first time KCON was held outside of the United States.
Later in the week, it was revealed that KCON will not only head to Los Angeles in the summer, but also hold a show in Newark on August 8 in order to reach fans on the East Coast of North America.
Girls' Generation's Yuri Revealed To Be in Relationship
Korean media outlets reported that Girls' Generation member Yuri was dating Korean baseball player Oh Seung Hwan. SM Entertainment confirmed the claim, revealing that Yuri is the fourth Girls' Generation member to be in a relationship with another celebrity. She joins members Sooyoung, YoonA, Tiffany, and Taeyeon as a Girls' Generation member maturing into public relationships.
Shortly after news broke, there was a dip in SM Entertainment's stock prices. However, there was no immediate backlash from Girls' Generation towards Yuri and Oh Seung Hwan.
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Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and a MTV Iggy contributor. She currently works in the newsroom of one of New York City's largest news stations.
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