AOA Seolhyun decided to leave FNC, her agency for the last 10 years.
“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked”, said investment guru Warren Buffet.
By this, he means that one’s true skills will be revealed in a crisis situation, and in the case of FNC, the agency’s real issue will be revealed upon Seolhyun’s departure.
As FNC’s “representative artist” Seolhyun left the agency, her group AOA is also effectively disbanding. That this is far from being a beautiful farewell.
In particular, AOA’s image went down after former member Kwon Mina accused the group leader of bullying her and other members of being “bystanders”. Meanwhile, FNC’s capability was insufficient to restore the image of the group, leading to an indefinite hiatus. As a result, member after member of AOA separated from FNC, causing the group to be on the verge of disbandment.
On October 20th, the final nail hit the coffin when FNC announced, “After long conversations and discussions with Seolhyun, we have agreed to end our management work.”
Since last summer, rumors have begun that Seolhyun was thinking of leaving FNC, where she had worked for 10 years, early. These rumors claimed that Seolhyun decided not to renew her contract, and was searching for a new agency.
Back in August, FNC did not talk about Seolhyun’s contract renewal, and discussion was perhaps still underway. Two months later, as the contract period was approaching, the two parties announced the end of their contract, calling it a “beautiful farewell”.
When they first debuted in 2012, AOA brought a new wave to Kpop. At the time, they were an authentic band with musical instruments, but were met with disappointing results. Consequently, it didn’t take long for a band that prioritized their musicality first to transform into a girl group with a sexy concept of short skirts.
Later on, AOA became a girl group that represented the sexy concept, with costumes that emphasize the body, high-level choreography, and even controversy over sensationalism. The group also released quite a number of hit songs, including “Mini Skirt”, “Short Hair”, “Like a Cat”, “Heart Attack”, and more, and was active in various fields such as music and entertainment.
At the time, Seolhyun was considered an embodiment of the word “sexy”, so much that there was even a case of stealing her life-sized standee from a telecommunication company.
After Choa left in 2017, AOA’s popularity declined. Although AOA was shaken by this crisis, they managed to turn the situation around by appearing on Mnet’s “Queendom” in 2019. At the time, the group became a hot topic with an extraordinary performance that broke stereotypes about sex by putting down the sexy concept, wearing a suit, and roaming the stage with bogging dancers. Driven by this momentum, AOA started to change the mood by releasing “Come See Me” in the same year.
However, in 2020, former member Kwon Mina published an article that said, “AOA leader Jimin tormented me, and the members and the company neglected me”, making it difficult for AOA to recover.
With little proof to back up her claim, the only certified truth in Kwon Mina’s post was that FNC was a complete bystander. The members complained of mental pain and self-harm, reaching a climax in their conflict, but nothing was resolved by FNC.
Instead, the company pushed AOA to go on a murderous schedule, without caring for the members as human beings. There was no intervention while the members’ conflicts reached a boiling point.
Although the rest of the members were embroiled in rumors and hurt by Kwon Mina’s sharing, FNC remained silent. At the end of all events, the image of AOA and the members were ruined.
The FNC’s treatment later on was also insufficient. Other than Seolhyun, who also works as an actress, other members receive no entertainment activities. A member, Yuna, left FNC at the end of her contract, obtained a yoga instructor license, and is working as a yoga instructor.
After Seolhyun left, the remaining members of FNC were Hyejeong and Chanmi. It is unlikely that the two will remain with FNC, so AOA was practically disbanded in an extremely messy way. What direction will the future of FNC go without its pillars?
Source: daum
