In K-Pop, you see many groups debut with concepts you’ve never seen before. It’s always a race between companies to see which group can pull off this concept better, or if what this concept this group debuted with is revolutionary or has never been seen before in the industry. But what if I told you that there was a group that debuted with such a unique concept that hadn’t been seen before, but somehow hadn’t gotten the same amount of attention and success as many of their other counterparts?
Let me introduce you to KARD, a co-ed K-Pop group that debuted in 2017, which brought a whole new sound and concept to K-Pop and helped normalize co-ed groups debuting today.
Who is KARD?
KARD is a four-member co-ed group formed by DSP Media, which is known for forming groups like Kara, April, and, recently, Young Posse.
They released three songs before they debuted their first song, “Oh Nana”, in 2016. After the release of “Oh Nana”, they released their second song, “Don’t Recall” in February of 2017, and their final pre-debut project, “Rumor” in April 2017. Their official debut was the EP Hola Hola, containing the title track of the same name.
As I’ve mentioned before, KARD has four members: J.Seph, who is the main rapper, lead dancer, and sub-vocalist; BM, who is the main dancer, lead rapper, and sub-vocalist; Somin, who is the main vocalist and visual; and Jiwoo, who is the main dancer, lead vocalist, sub-rapper, and “maknae” (youngest member of the group). The interesting thing about KARD’s concept is that each member represents an individual card and suit. J.Seph is the ace and spades, BM is the king and clubs, Somin is the black joker and hearts, Jiwoo is the color joker and diamonds, and the group’s fandom name is Hidden KARD, which is what they represent. KARD recently made their comeback on July 2nd, 2025, with their digital mini album, “Drift.”
Not Your Average Idols
First, it’s not common to have co-ed groups. While some have been successful, there aren’t many co-ed groups. Some, such as Triple H, have previously disbanded over the years due to scandals that have tainted their image. But not KARD as they’ve been active for many years and have maintained their image in the industry.
KARD is also has a unique sound that is different from typical K-Pop groups, which have that commercial pop sound. KARD uses and implements different elements of music that you would typically hear in hip-hop, reggeton, tropical house, mombaton, and EDM, which dominated music in the late 2010s. KARD uses this to their advantage, as it has helped them appeal to a wider audience outside of Korea, which is what many companies have been attempting to do ever since K-Pop began to enter the American market. KARD’s music is more reminiscent of Latin, Hip-Hop, and EDM all mashed together, which is really cool. Their comebacks have different concepts, and it’s really refreshing to see that in the industry. Another interesting thing about KARD is that they are a mainly self-produced group, and all of the members have full control over writing and producing their own music. It is very interesting to see a group that has creative control in regards to their music because not many artists have full control over their music, let alone their comeback concepts, and all of that is left in the hands of the label, which always never ends well.
Their 2020 single, “Way With Words,” reflects the underlying message of the effects of verbal abuse and cyberbullying. This message is also displayed in the title track, “Gunshot,” both in the lyrics and in the music video. In the song, the members compare the hate that they get online to bullets and the words to gunshots. In the music video, we see the members being tormented by these other versions of themselves that aren’t who they truly are and are just personas that they’ve created for the cameras and for the public. At the end of the video, we see Jiwoo finally face-to-face with this other version of herself, whom she kills and discards.
“Gunshot” has this dual meaning where it’s not only about verbal abuse but also reflects how celebrities, specifically K-Pop idols, are treated by the public. They are seen as nothing more than just a persona that they’ve made, and if people see one crack in that persona, the whole fantasy is ruined.
Why Isn’t KARD Well Known
However, despite KARD’s relative success, there are some key factors to take into account.
Firstly, KARD has a huge following in North and South America, particularly Latin America but, compared to other kpop groups having a homebase in South Korea, KARD’s Korean fanbase is relatively small compared to All Day Project, who had a relatively successful debut. This can be because of KARD’s lack of promotion in Korea as a group since it’s rare to see all four members on a variety show promoting their latest comeback, it’s more common to see two of the four or maybe one member doing solo promotions. Of course you can chalk it up to scheduling conflict between the members but many fans blame DSP Media for the lack of promotions.
On top of that, KARD rarely releases any music, and whenever they do come back with new stuff they of course promote on music shows and stuff but there isn’t anything else. Companies usually schedule music show performances, tv appearances on variety shows, online content and the artists themselves also promote their music as well. With KARD, a lack of promotion in Korea is a problem, especially if their Korean fanbase is as low as it is.
Many fans just concluded that KARD is not as well known because the Korean general public doesn’t like them. One Reddit user said that despite KARD being promoted the same as other groups that were just debuting at that time, “[t]hey didn’t have anything that the GP were interested in or wanted at the time… There wasn’t anything memorable about them. They were simply a standard idol group.” The same commenter elaborated, “Are they talented? Yes. But that’s not enough to reach those high levels of success… It’s not always due to their company’s supposed mismanagement. Talent does not always drive the idol market. It’s also about being in the right place at the right time. KARD was not in the right place or right time.”
One argument I keep seeing online regarding KARD’s popularity is one regarding the rookie coed group, All Day Project, a coed group that debuted last year. They had a really successful debut but were also the subject of controversies with one member being related to the Samsung family and being accused of using money to get through training and ADP’s other accomplishments and another member being accused of being racially insensitive. Many people have been saying that because All Day Project is under a relatively larger label and other members having connections, they were able to make a breakthrough career wise whereas KARD had to wait eight years to do so. I think this argument is plausible to some extent but it’s important to take other factors into account like DSP seeing other opportunities internationally and them not getting much promotion in Korea. In other words, both arguments can be true at the same time.
But, despite KARD not having that much popularity or success in the industry, they have a very dedicated and loyal fanbase who has helped spread their music around. Overall, KARD has an amazing discography and a group of talented and successful members. Their music should be appreciated more and after you read this article, you should listen to KARD’s music or listen to it while you’re reading this article!