[Edaily Starin KIM HYUNSIK Reporter] Popular K-pop idol groups are capturing fans’ attention by unveiling new sub-units one after another. Groups that already have popular sub-units are drawing attention as they expand their group narratives and scope of activities with new lineups.

◇V8’s Debut Album Sells 550,000 Copies… Proving Their ‘Album Power’
Seventeen has launched its new unit, V8. Previously, Seventeen introduced various units—including Busuksoon (Seungkwan, Hoshi, Doyoung), Jeonghan X Wonwoo (Jeonghan, Wonwoo), and Hoshi X Woozi (Hoshi, Woozi)—which received positive responses from fans.
V8 is a new unit consisting of D.O.8 and Vernon, who have each been active in the group’s performance team and hip-hop team, respectively. They released their first mini-album, *V8*, last month and began their promotional activities. The album features a total of eight tracks, including the title track “Singasong.”
V8 sought to differentiate itself from SEVENTEEN’s “Complete” album by telling stories of wandering, confusion, recovery, and growth through electronic music featuring diverse colors and textures. Both members participated in the entire album production process, infusing their individual tastes and creative worlds into the work. Vernon stated, “We chose a new direction rather than sticking to familiar methods,” while D.Eight added, “It was most important to showcase our own creative world as a duo.”
According to the music sales tracking site Hanteo Chart on the 2nd, V8’s debut album surpassed 550,000 copies sold just three days after its release. Based on Hanteo Chart’s June monthly chart, only six groups—ATEEZ, RISE, Boy Next Door, TREASURE, Hearts2Hearts, and Triple S—have produced albums that sold over 500,000 copies. V8’s high album sales demonstrate that their unit activities possess commercial appeal on par with their full-group activities.

◇A New Unit from a Long-Running Idol Group Is Born
Following in V8’s footsteps, Super Junior-83z (Pal-Sam-Z), a new unit from the “long-runningidol group” Super Junior, will begin promotions on the 13th. Super Junior has previously introduced various sub-units, including K.R.Y. (Ryeo-wook, Yesung, Kyuhyun), T, D&E (Donghae, Eunhyuk), and L.S.S. (Leeteuk, Shindong, Siwon). This time, they will meet fans with a combination of Leeteuk and Heechul, who were both born in 1983.
Super Junior-83z is a unit that highlights the fact that its members were born in the same year and their “unexpected chemistry.” Their agency, SM Entertainment (SM), introduced the group, saying, “This is a unit formed by Leeteuk and Heechul, who are the same age but different in every other way,” and added, “Fans can experience the charms of these two members, who possess diverse talents in vocals, performance, and variety shows, all at once.”
Super Junior-83z will embark on a fan concert tour following the album’s release. The first three-day leg of the tour, taking place from the 24th to the 26th at the Olympic Hall in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul, is already sold out. They will subsequently visit Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Kaohsiung, Singapore, and Taipei.

Girls’ Generation is also generating buzz with a new subunit. Following Girls’ Generation-TTS (Taeyeon, Tiffany, Seohyun), which brings together the main vocalists, and Girls’ Generation-Oh!GG (Taeyeon, Sunny, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Yoona)—formed in 2018 with members who remained at SM Entertainment—the subunit Hyori-Su, consisting of Hyoyeon, Yuri, and Sooyoung, has recently debuted. A distinctive feature of Hyori-Su is that the unit was formed as a result of YouTube content.
Hyori-Su, which brings together members known as Girls’ Generation’s “dancer line,” is being called a “comedy unit” and is already generating buzz even before releasing their official debut song. Last month, they appeared on MBC’s *What Do You Do?* and further boosted their popularity and visibility.
In addition, members of various idol groups are connecting with fans through subunit activities. MONSTA X’s Shownu and Hyungwon released an album as “Shownu X Hyungwon,” while DRIPIN’s Cha Jun-ho, Kim Dong-yoon, and Lee Hyuk released an album as “Cha Dong-hyuk.” UAU (Yu-A-Yu), formed by Dreamcatcher’s Ji-yu, Su-ah, and Yu-hyun, released a new album on the 1st, marking their comeback after a year.
An official from a K-pop agency said, “Unit activities help expand the group’s narrative and add variety and richness to group concerts. They allow each member’s individual charm to shine more clearly than during full-group activities, which leads to a higher level of fan engagement.” The representative added, “By showcasing a lineup that stands out from existing units, we can reveal new dynamics and characters among the members, and there’s also the advantage of broadening the scope of our activities through separate albums and performances.”