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Kard (Korean: 카드) is a popular South Korean co-publisher group formed by DSP Media, known for merged various genres such as hip-hop, EDM and pop in their music. The group made their debut in 2017 and quickly obtained recognition for their unique concept of a Co-and group, which was a rarity in the K-pop sector. Kard is made up of four members: J.Seph, BM, Somin and Jiwoo.
Biography
- Group name: Kard (Carta)
- Debut date: July 19, 2017
- Company: Media DSP (Label: RBW)
- Number of members: 4
- Members: J.Seph, BM, Somin and Jiwoo
- Name Fandom: Hidden Kard (Hidden Card)
Official SNS
Career
Pre-debut
Somin made his debut in the Japanese group of DSP Media Group in 2012, which melted in 2014. He later competed in “Kara Project”, ending up second and made his debut as a leader of April in 2015 before leaving the group in November.
J.seph trained for five years, while BM trained for four and a half, initially he prepares to debut as a hip-hop duo. Before his debut, BM appeared in Goo Ha-Ra’s song “La La La” and was his dance partner.
Jiwoo was formed with FNC Entertainment for two years before joining DSP Media in 2016.
Activity after debut
DSP Media announced Kard’s formation for the first time on 1 December 2016 after opening several social media accounts with the group name. After being revealed in a sequential order, all the members of the group were revealed by December 5, with the label that developed more on their concept of the card game.
The group is composed of BM (King Card), J.Seph (ACE Card), Somin (Black Joker) and Jiwoo (Joker color). Their unique concept of “card game” included the addition of “hidden paper” functionality in their pre-debuting versions. Their first single project, “Oh Nana”, with Helo Young-Ji as the first “Hidden Card”, was issued on December 13, 2016, obtaining international recognition and ranking n. 5 in the Billboard World’s sales table. Similar to its predecessor, “Don’t remember” was scheduled on the sales chart of Billboard’s digital songs and reached the peak at number 5 in its number dated 18 March 2017, but remained longer in the standings, for 12 weeks. On April 21, 2017 LG Electronics announced Kard as a global ambassador for the G6 smartphone. As part of this collaboration, all the contents for their single project, “Rumor”, including its music video, have been produced in collaboration with LG. Released on April 24, 2017, the video characterized the choreographer Z.Sun as a third “hidden card” of the group.
In 2017, Kard took their first international tour, “Wild Kard”, who covers North and South America. They officially debuted on July 19, 2017, with their “Hola Hola” EP, which traced Billboard and Gaon well. The track of the homonymous title of the album also entered the Billboard’s digital song sales table at number 4, while other traces of the album, “I Can’t Stop” and “Living Good”, were classified respectively the number 10 and number 12. They continued in tour in a widely way in Europe, North America and Asia during the release of their second EP, “You & Me”, in November.
In 2018, Super Junior’s “Lo Siento” participated. Somin and Jiwoo joined Super Junior to perform the song on various Korean music programs. They also released their third EP, “Ride on the wind”. The EP debuted and reached the number 7 in the Gaon album ranking for the week that ends on July 28, 2018. The EP also debuted and reached the number 8 in the Billboard World album ranking. On August 19, Kard held their first solo concert in South Korea from their debut, completing their concert “Wild Kard in Seoul” held at Yeas24 Live Hall in Gwangjin-Gu, Seoul.
Kard returned on March 27, 2019, with their first digital single “Bomb Bomb”, which reached the number 3 in the Billboard World’s digital songs table. They followed this with concerts, including Wild Kard 2019 in Seoul and Dream Concert 2019 shows. In July, they embarked on their game your Kard Right tour in India.
On September 21, they published “Dumb Litty”, which also reached the number 3 in Billboard’s digital song sales ranking, bringing their debut to the Billboard Social 50 table. In October, they visited the United States for Wild Kard Tour in the United States 2019 and later appeared at Young Hollywood.
In 2020, they released their fourth EP, “Red Moon” (February), and their first single album, “Way With Words”, with “Gunshot” (August). J.seph enrolled for military service in October, leading Kard to promote as a trio. BM debuted as a soloist in July 2021.
J.seph was discharged at the beginning of 2022 and June Kard made their return to the complete group with their fifth EP, “Ref:“,” With “characterized by”The alarm sounds. “They renewed their contracts with media DSP in July.
In 2023, Kard confirmed a return in April. On May 3, a teaser was published for their sixth mini album, “Icky” which was released on May 23rd. On June 6, it was announced that the group will hold a world tour, entitled “2023 Kard World Tour
On August 13, 2024, they released their seventh mini-album, “Where now? (Pt. 1: yellow light). “On 7 December 2024, Kard announced their fourth digital single” Detox “, scheduled for December 17, 2024.
Discography
Mini albums
- Hello hello (2017)
- Tu & me (2017)
- Ride on the Wind (2018)
- Red Moon (2020)
- Ri: (2022)
- Icky (2023)
- Where so far? (Part.1: yellow light) (2024)
Single albums
Digital singles
- Oh Nana (2016) (pre-debut)
- Do not remember (2017) (pre-debut)
- Rumor (2017) (pre-debut)
- Bomb Bomb (2019)
- DUMB LITTY (2019)
- Without you (2023)
- Fireworks (2023)
- Detoxification (2024)
Remix singles
- Kard Remix project (2023)
- Kard ‘Without Te’ Remix “(with Alok) (2023)
Characteristics
- Super Junior – “Sorry” (2018)
OSTS
- The Lovebirds 2 Ost (2017)
Disputes
Racism accident
In July 2017, Kard appeared in the Brazilian variety show “Terma do Vovô Raul”, where the guest Raul Gil made racist gestures and comments towards the group and a young Japanese child between the public. The interpreter avoided translating offensive observations, leaving the members unaware.
The accident aroused controversy, with Korean fans criticizing the show and Brazilian netizen who sell themselves. This highlighted the issues in progress of racism against Eastern Asians in Latin America.
In the meantime, Kard’s fans have expressed frustration due to the lack of Korean promotions of the group and frequent tours abroad.
The controversy on Somin’s bullying
Between discussions on the past disputes of April, the former original member and leader Somin has been mentioned again in relation to the bullying scandal involving Lee Hyunjoo.
Somin, who left April in 2015 before the group obtained recognition, faced the accusations of having been the first to Bully Hyunjoo. Some Netizen said that his departure did not fulfill her from responsibility, while others claimed that since he left before Hyunjoo he would live bullying, he had not involved in the accident.
The debate divided the opinions, with some questions if Somin has played a role in the controversy, while others have defended him, stating that his release since April preceded the accusations against the group.
Facts on Kard
- BM and J.Seph, both subadami Kim, are called “Kim Brothers”, while Jeon Somin and Jeon Jiwoo, who share a surname and a year of birth, are nicknamed the “Jeon brothers”.
- Their debut was designed as a three -phase project with hidden members present in each version. The members of the group were formed for an average of 5.5 years.
- Male members use theatrical names, while women use their real names, breaking a media tradition DSP.
- In July 2017, their official name changed from Kard to Kard.
- Unlike many k-pop groups, all members had personal instagram accounts from the beginning.
- Jiwoo’s participation in “Good Girl” has significantly increased Kard’s Base of Korean, but their global audience remains dominant. Despite this, the DSP media often load behind the scenes and the contents of daily life without subtitles in a foreign language, leading to frequent complaints by international fans and even to Korean fans who criticize the lack of efforts of the company in satisfying their main audience.
