It’s no secret that some K-pop idols and young Korean actors have forged friendships with one another, with stars often spotted hanging out together and sharing pictures on social media of their friendships. Nowadays, several large groups of friends have garnered attention for their tight relationships in the cutthroat Korean entertainment industry.
Recently, BYH48 has garnered attention for the likes of “Reply 1988” actors Ryu Jun Yeo and Lee Dong Hwi, EXO’s Suho, WINNER’s Mino, actor Byun Yo Han and many more. The group of celebrity friends, who were brought together mostly by Byun Yo Han, were dubbed “BYH48” by fans, in mimicry of the large Japanese girl group AKB48. Despite being a large group, BYH48 often spend time together and celebrate each other's birthdays and achievements.
Another group filled with many popular celebrities, NUTHANG (pronounced “new thang”) was formed prior to the debut of Big Bang, and contains Big Bang’s G-Dragon and T.O.P as well as actor Lee Soo Hyuk and HISTORY’s Song Kyungil. While the group has major star power, they are also include several non-celebrity friends among their ranks including Yang Seungho and Lee Hyun Jung who previously acted as 2NE1’s stylists. Like BYH48, NUTHANG is just a bunch of guys who became friends over the years and are often featured on one another's Instagram accounts.
The 91 Line is one of the largest K-pop entourages and, yes, it is all about the idols born in 1991. Early on in his career, SHINee’s Key realized that debuting so young kept him from having normal friendships, but made an effort to befriend others born the same year as him. Since then, many of the K-pop idols born that year have become friends and have spoken publicly about attending each other’s birthday parties and being in chat rooms with 20+ idols. 2AM’s Jinwoon, FTISLAND’s Jaejin, INFINITE’s Woohyun, former KARA member Nicole, miss A’s Min, Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun, BEAST’s Dongwoon, MBLAQ’s Mir, SISTAR’s Soyu, CNBLUE’s Jungshin, After School’s Nana, U-Kiss Hoon, and many others are all part of the 91 Line.
Key isn’t the only SM Entertainment idol who started his own group of friends. Super Junior, with a dozen or so members of varying ages, has spawned a few celeb-filled entourages.
Perhaps the darkest group of friends was unveiled in 2009 by Super Junior’s Leeteuk as people coming together to provide mutual support through depression. The Milk Club, featuring Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon and YoonA, SHINee’s Onew, and former TVXQ member JYJ’s Yoochun were all members of the Milk Club.
Super Junior’s Heechul also began his own group of friends, known as Chocoball. All of the members are known for their bizarre, but charming, personalities. Many of them are known for also having AB blood type. FTISLAND’s Hongki and Jonghun, TRAX’s Jungmo, Supreme Team’s Simon D, Mighty Mouth’s Sangchu, actor Jang Geun Seuk, Epik High’s Mithra, singers Jo Sung Mo and Nassun, and BEAST’s Junhyung are all members of the group. Many of Chocoball’s members appeared in the video for “Shut Your Mouth” by M&D, a project group created by Heechul and Jungmo.
Another well known group created around a Super Junior member is the Kyu-Line, which was founded in 2011 after a smartphone app determined that TVXQ’s Changmin and CNBLUE’s Jonghyun looked exactly like Super Junior’s Kyuhyun. At the time, Kyuhyun shared the pictures on social media and dubbed the three “Kyu-Line.” Since then, the group has grown to include SHINee’s Minho, and Super Junior’s Ryeowook. The requirements are that the members have to like wine and games, both things that Kyuhyun likes, despite the Kyu-Line’s unofficial leader being Changmin. Kyuhyun’s publicly discussed the group on "Radio Star" and a variety of other Korean talk shows and radio shows.
Most recently, Super Junior's Ryeowook spoke about his particular group of friends, who he dubbed the Ryeo-Line. The group is made up of entertainment industry juniors who he's become friendly with, including INFINITE's L, EXO's Chen, and all of the members of BTOB.
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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 has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey, and Paste Magazine.
