OnlyOneOf: The Drama That Took Over the K-Pop World

Okay, maybe the title sounds a bit dramatic—but trust me, once you hear the news, you might not think so in the end. Yesterday, the K-pop world got shaken up by a sudden wave of news involving a group that’s been relatively quiet as of late. We’re talking about OnlyOneOf—a group that’s always sparked a bit of controversy but has also been well loved by international fans alike.

So, why are they suddenly everywhere again? What exactly happened to bring them back into the spotlight—and could any of it have been avoided? Let’s dive into the OnlyOneOf drama and break down everything you need to know.

Who is OnlyOneOf?

OnlyOneOf debuted on May 28, 2019, and their discography is packed with bangers like Savanna, Chrome Hearts, dOpamine, the fan-favorite libidO, and my personal favorite, Ultimate Bliss. They’ve always stood out—not just for their music, but for their bold and

consistent group concept that runs through each album. That concept? Boys Love (BL). It’s what initially drew me to them when I first discovered the group, and I know I’m not alone in that.

Originally, the group had seven members: KB, Rie, Yoojung, Junji, my bias Mill, Nine, and former member Love, who left in 2021 due to personal reasons. After his departure, the remaining six members were paired off into couples, leaning even further into the BL concept.

Of course, in a conservative country like South Korea, this kind of concept was both controversial and progressive. Right from the start, OnlyOneOf faced criticism from multiple fronts—some accused them of pushing boundaries too far, while others claimed they were fetishizing gay love to attract attention and fans. But no matter what you believe, I think it’s clear that while their concept was definitely meant to attract fans, that doesn’t mean it can’t also serve a greater purpose.

Whether intentionally or not, they offered visibility, comfort, and a sense of belonging to fans—especially LGBTQ+ fans—both in Korea and around the world.

My Hot Take

Before we get into the real tea, let’s rewind a bit and talk about OnlyOneOf’s earlier success—and some of the struggles they faced along the way. Starting with a closer look at their concept.

All over the world, you can find different versions of Boys Love (BL) and Girls Love (GL) in media. Whether it’s through books, comics, TV shows, or music, queer-centered stories have always been part of storytelling across cultures. But it’s especially prominent in parts of Asia such as Thailand, for example, has fully embraced the BL genre. BL dramas there are huge, and honestly? They’re the most popular. It’s a major part of their entertainment industry, both on-screen and off.

So when OnlyOneOf chose to lean into a BL-inspired concept in K-pop, it was a bold move—and one that definitely turned heads. In my opinion, their careers really took off with the release of libidO. That music video? The live performance? Jaw. On. The. Floor. They didn’t just suggest a theme—they committed to it. From sensual on-stage performances to affectionate couple interactions in live content and fan meetings, they were giving the BL fans everything. At one point, they even starred in their own full BL-style drama. And I do think it was a smart strategy. OnlyOneOf was selling their concept with everything they had.

Now, obviously, this blog is based on opinion and rough interpretation, but I find their approach genuinely fascinating. As a BL fan myself, I totally get the audience they were targeting—and it’s a big, passionate one. But I also can’t help but feel like, as exciting and groundbreaking as the concept was, it may have also boxed them in a little.

Where other groups sprinkle in BL-coded moments or "fanservice" without making it their whole brand (I’m looking at you, Eyes on You by Seventeen—go watch if you don’t know what I mean!), OnlyOneOf fully committed. And while that earned them international love and a unique identity, I think it might’ve limited their growth, especially within Korea. If I were part of their company, I would’ve advised them to keep the BL concept flexible—maintain the support and visibility it offers but allow the group room to explore other themes too.

Something more fluid, more expansive.

Let’s be honest—K-pop is oversaturated. And when you’re coming from a smaller company, you need a strong identity to stand out. OnlyOneOf did just that. But they also may have unintentionally capped their domestic reach in Korea, which was their main market at the time. If the plan was to stick with the BL concept long-term, I think their team should’ve leaned harder into international markets—Thailand, Japan, and Western countries in particular. To be fair, they did plan an American tour early on, which was bold and promising. But it was also a major financial risk for a still relatively unknown group from a small company.

To sum it all up: OnlyOneOf carved out a unique space for themselves, and that deserves major respect. But by keeping their concept a bit too narrow, I think they made it harder to grow—and in the ever-evolving world of K-pop, growth is everything.

Now Let's Dive In

Let’s move on to a little precursor before diving into the main topic of today.

OnlyOneOf originated under the company 8D Entertainment, and at the time, they were 8D’s only active group. Pretty early on, there were signs that the boys were being mistreated by their company (and let’s be real—mistreatment of idols by companies could be a whole other blog post). This treatment didn’t go unnoticed. Fans of OOO, known as lyOns, decided they had to do something. Their solution? Push for the group to leave 8D altogether.

To make that happen, fans chose to boycott—specifically, they boycotted OnlyOneOf’s second world tour. Now, boycotting is a big deal in K-pop. It’s a common tactic fans use when they feel something isn’t right. And while sometimes it sparks real change, I’ve rarely seen it work exactly as intended. In this case, although the intention came from a place of love and protection, I personally feel it did more harm than good.

If you were a lyOn who participated in the boycott—there’s absolutely no judgment here. You acted out of concern and care, and that’s valid. But sadly, the outcome wasn’t what anyone hoped for. The tour boycott caused major financial loss for both OnlyOneOf and 8D, a blow they still haven’t fully recovered from. Some members—maybe all, though it's still unclear—ended up leaving the company. But leaving didn’t necessarily make things better. Around this time, members began enlisting, others went MIA, and without solid management, the group was left in limbo. Rumors of disbandment started to circulate, and honestly, the group’s future felt uncertain.

So how could this outcome have been different?

This part is tough, because in all honesty, I also wanted them to leave an abusive company. But I wish there had been more planning, more structure, and more communication. If leaving was truly the goal, it needed more time and a solid strategy.

This whole situation reminds me of what happened recently with another K-pop group: The Boyz. They made headlines when they collectively decided to leave their company IST and move to One Hundred. That kind of group-wide transfer is extremely rare and took a lot of preparation—months of negotiation, sit-downs, and planning. Fans often only see a problem that needs a quick fix, but behind the scenes, it’s so much more complicated. Contracts, branding, management rights, ongoing promotions—none of that can be handled overnight.

If I could offer some insight, I think as soon as the boycotting began, there should have been more effort from the group (or their team) to address fans’ concerns openly. Maybe a message, a livestream, or even hints that they were working on making a change. Some kind of communication to show fans they were being heard.

If leaving the company was already in the works, canceling the tour and redirecting focus to an album or other project could have been a smarter move. That way, they would’ve avoided further financial loss while also giving themselves time to transition.

Now, let’s say things still played out the same way and they did leave the company. At that point, I think their best bet would’ve been to focus on individual branding. Going solo—even temporarily—could’ve been more lucrative and sustainable. Many groups do this as members start enlisting; it keeps them visible and connected with fans while giving them time to reconfigure behind the scenes.

That’s not to say they didn’t try—I honestly don’t know everything that went on behind closed doors—but it seems like there was a lot of silence, uncertainty, and missed opportunities. And that’s what makes this whole situation even more frustrating as a fan.

Now on to the real tea!

Now it’s time to dive into the latest news about OOO. Just a heads-up—this is all based on rough translations of the information I’ve come across, so things could change as more facts come out.

This story primarily revolves around one member, KB, who was born on April 2, 1992, making him the oldest in the group. After everything went down with 8D, KB left the company, and I’m still not sure about the status of the other members. But soon after, KB and another member, Nine, started showing up more frequently on TikTok live streams. This raised a lot of eyebrows, especially since it seemed like they were experiencing financial hardships—there were also some references made during the lives that hinted at this.

While on live, KB and Nine noticed two users in particular who were gifting them more expensive items than usual. (I’ll be redacting names and usernames since this is still an ongoing investigation, and I don’t want to give unnecessary attention to these people until everything’s cleared up.) At first, everything seemed fine, but soon enough, KB and Nine started receiving a lot of hate in the comments—both directed at them and at other fans. This obviously made them uneasy, and it’s unclear whether KB, Nine, or their manager (who is not associated with 8D) reached out first. However, they ended up getting in touch with both of the top gifters from their TikTok lives.

From the text screenshots that have been shared, it seems like KB and Nine originally reached out for assistance to help mediate the hate they were receiving in the comments. But according to KB, a lot of the texts that were shared by the main user of this story were falsified—so keep in mind that some of this could later turn out to be false. The texts eventually became more complicated, sharing personal information with each other and seemingly becoming friends.

As things went on, the mod began sharing that they had been bullied by lyOns to the point where they stopped stanning OOO altogether. Eventually, this mod convinced KB and Nine to block certain accounts they felt were being hateful and harassing others. KB and Nine did just that—and of course, this led to an uproar when lyOns found out they’d been blocked without any explanation. The backlash made things even worse for the group, and Nine eventually stepped back from live streams, going more or less MIA since then.

But KB didn’t stop. He continued to message the mod and even went live for fans. Fast forward to one of KB’s live streams, where this mod asks KB to stop the stream mid-way due to a situation happening on their end. KB ignored the request and carried on with the live. The mod then responded with something along the lines of KB forgetting his friends. Fans, especially lyOns, noticed this and started to assume it was another case of a parasocial relationship gone wrong.

The situation took a bigger turn when the mod decided to post all the texts on Instagram, exposing everything. At this point, KB blocked the mod and, shortly after, went live with a subscribers-only stream where he addressed the issue. In that live, KB claimed that much of the text exchange had been falsified and even accused the mod of being behind accounts that spread hate. KB went as far as saying that these accounts shared the same domain address.

As of now, both KB and the mod are seeking legal counsel, and it’s unclear what this means for the future of OOO or what the next steps will be. The situation is still developing, and honestly, it’s a lot to unpack.

OnlyOneOf's Fate

Now let’s talk about what could’ve prevented all of this from spiraling out of control. Yep, you guessed it! The first mistake was reaching out to that user in the first place. For fans, it might be a dream come true to get a message from their favorite idol, and this mod probably had that very intention when they started gifting. But my advice would’ve been simple: don’t get involved with accounts like this. There always needs to be a clear line between idol and fan, and this situation blurred that boundary entirely.

Bottom line, whoever the manager was should’ve advised against this from the beginning. However, based on the text message evidence, it seems like the manager might’ve actually encouraged the interaction and even messaged the mod too.

Now, some of you might respond by saying, “They should’ve signed an NDA!” And you know what? That would’ve prevented a lot of this mess from blowing up. Why an NDA wasn’t signed in the first place is beyond me, and these are the consequences. If only they'd had that kind of protection in place!

From here, you might wonder: How do they recover as a group? Honestly, I don’t have all the answers. This situation doesn’t look great for OOO, and it’ll take a lot of damage control. I think they need to focus on solo careers for a while, allowing the heat to cool off. When the storm blows over, they can figure out their next steps as a group. As for KB, I think it would be smart for him to lay low for a bit. Maybe take a break from TikTok and focus on proving his claims through the proper channels. This isn’t the worst thing a K-pop idol has ever done, but for now, staying out of the spotlight is probably best. At the end of the day, he and the rest of the group need to focus on securing a new company and making sure their future publicity is all good.

Personally, I was a fan of OOO, even attending their first concert. Looking at the messages, I think KB was definitely manipulated and preyed upon to some extent. The mod involved had already been disliked by the lyOns community due to their inappropriate behavior and spreading hate. They’d had multiple DWAYORS (Deal With At Your Own Risk) made against them and even changed their username to avoid being recognized in the lives. From the start, in my opinion, it was a setup.

That said, KB isn’t a child—he’s an adult, and he should’ve known better. But while he’s definitely not blameless, I believe a lot of the blame can also be placed on the manager. This should’ve been addressed and stopped immediately, with proper protocols followed to avoid this entire mess.

Thanks so much for reading, and I’d love to know your thoughts on all of this! What do you think could’ve been done differently? Do you think KB and OOO can recover from this? Let me know in the comments!