Shocking Departures: NCT Mark, Enhypen Heeseung, and TEN

This episode Hosts Stephanie and Pd-nim explores the recent wave of departures from major K-pop groups like Mark from NCT, TEN leaving SM, and Heeseung from Enhypen, analyzing the industry trends, artist motivations, and implications for the future of K-pop and the evolving business models in the industry. Join the Kpopcast Slack: Chip in for editing: Connect with Stephanie: Instagram @Catchlight27 HIT REPLAYS: 도끼 (DOK2) & 이하이 (LeeHI) - You & Me (Official Visualizer) 전소민 (SOMIN of KARD) - 'Backseat' MV Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction to recent departures in K-pop and industry shifts 01:08 - Doki and Lehi’s relationship and their new label 808 Hi 02:52 - Spotlight on Lee Hi's solo comeback and her career background 06:03 - Soman’s solo debut and her long history with DSP 10:14 - SM’s contract expirations: Mark and Ten’s decision not to renew 11:27 - The significance of center members leaving and industry norms 12:58 - The surprise of artists choosing to exit before scandal or conflict 14:22 - The trend of contracts ending around age 30 and its industry implications 16:27 - The evolving model: from lifelong contracts to graduation and solo careers 20:11 - The Japanese idol model of graduation and potential adoption in K-pop 21:23 - Fan reactions to member departures and the resistance to lineup changes 25:46 - Industry practices: re-releasing music without certain members, revisionist history 30:02 - The trend of debuting groups younger and the decline of lifetime contracts 33:34 - Predictions for future artist projects and band formations 36:42 - Speculation on individual artists’ future directions: Lee Heesung, Mark Lee, Ten Lee 37:58 - Final thoughts: the future landscape of idols, agencies, and fan culture Optional insights: Mark Lee's Solo Work Lee Hi's Music Japanese Graduation Model Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Shocking Departures: NCT Mark, Enhypen Heeseung, and TEN is an episode from Kpopcast by Kpopcast.

This episode is 37:15 long.

This episode was published on Apr 8, 2026.

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