8 Non-Korean K-Pop Groups and Solo Artists Who Received Either Hate or Love Upon Debut

K-pop's success and popularity continue to expand throughout the globe, which, as a result, makes the industry not limited to Korean idols only. Thus, Asians and other races started debuting with their respective groups in Korea, hoping to make it big. Popular example non-Korean idols are BLACKPINK's Lisa, TWICE's Tzuyu, former Super Junior-M Henry, GOT7's BamBam, and many more.

Due to this, some companies and agents are starting to approach an innovative concept using the same genre, but what differs is that these K-pop groups are formed with non-Korean members or no Koreans at all. Also, some non-Korean K-pop solo artists are also trying to enter the K-pop industry, receiving either love or hate after debut.

1. CoCo Avenue

In 2017, the first African-American K-pop group debuted with their track, "Eottae." The group is composed of Jenny and Jenna Rose. The group rose to popularity after uploading Korean song covers on YouTube, and due to this, they even performed in Seoul through K-Cons.

However, they received severe criticisms as well, with netizens calling them "Koreaboos," and questioning them as K-pop duo without Korean members, despite the fact they can speak and sing/rap in Korean.

2. EXP Edition

EXP Edition is the first-ever K-pop band with no Asian or Korean members. The four-membered group, consisting of Frankie, Hunter, Sime, and Koki, debuted in 2015 and have Korean debut in 2017 under IMMABB. The group also have a fandom called "BB." When the group debuted, EXP Edition became controversial and received severe hate from music fans for alleged "culture misappropriation."

The group was actually launched by Kim Bora for her thesis project, aiming to look for the answers to these questions, "Is it only K-pop if Korean people do it? How can we push K-pop? What limits are there?" The reason why they are named EXP short for Experiment Edition.

3. KAACHI

KAACHI is the first European K-pop group, and when they debuted in 2020, the group made a massive noise among K-pop enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the hype that they got weren't all support but are actually criticisms, not only for their "lack" of training, reflecting on their first debut song, but also due to allegedly saying negative remarks to K-pop idols as well. In addition to this, KAACHI faced backlash for allegedly plagiarizing other K-pop groups' logo and MV.

On the other hand, despite the hate that they are receiving, KAACHI has plenty of fans as well, reaching 10 million views in July, which is a huge achievement for a rookie K-pop group.

4. 5-High

5-High is the first-ever all-Indian K-pop group which is expected to debut this 2020 or 2021! The group is composed of five members including Hitali, Nana, Dhevi, Nasa, and Maria, who were selected through the program, "India's Top K-pop Stars."

In May, 5-High released their first Korean music video, which is the cover of Dreamcatcher's "Piri." The Indian K-pop group drew netizens' attention but were eventually called out by music fans.

5. ROSEGOLD

The group was initially introduced as the first US K-pop female group, but upon introducing themselves in May, ROSEGOLD received tremendous criticism from K-pop fans and was eventually hated even before their debut. Due to this, from being US K-pop group, they clarified and changed their concept as "K-pop inspired group" after hearing the reactions of the K-pop community.

6. USHN

The 10-membered international group was produced through the show "Foreign School Girl", aired in MNET. The group debuted under Stone Entertainment with their single "Popsicle." However, unlike the other K-pop bands listed above, USHN gained support from K-pop fans and Korean for their amazing debut song. In particular, netizens are commenting that the members are actually good and are not cringey at all.

7. Yukika

A former member of the project girl group, "Real Girls Project," Yukika Teramoto, who is a Japanese voice actress, before moving in Korea in 2015, debuted as a solo artist under ESTIMATE Entertainment. Due to her cuteness and adorableness, Yukika received love from fans when she released her single "Neon."

8. LANA

The first-ever Russian K-pop solo artist, LANA in 2019 released her single "Take the Wheel." Several K-pop fans rooted for her, but there were also netizens who were criticizing her for debuting as a K-pop idol.

Recently, she joined, China's "Produce Camp 2020," but was eliminated in Episode 9.