LE SSERAFIM: The K-Pop Group That Turns Internal Conflict and Public Criticism Into Music

When Pop Groups Fight — and How LE SSERAFIM Chose a Different Path

So here's the thing about pop groups falling apart: the music industry is basically littered with cautionary tales. The British boy band Five imploded after backstage arguments turned physical. All Saints famously fell out over a pair of trousers. And Oasis — well, Oasis went sixteen years without speaking after Noel Gallagher threw a plum at his brother Liam, who then retaliated with a guitar. Not exactly conflict resolution at its finest.

But what happens when a group actually decides to work through its problems — and then writes songs about it? That's exactly what K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM has done, and it's honestly one of the more refreshing things happening in pop music right now.

Five Members, One Honest Conversation

LE SSERAFIM debuted in 2022 under Source Music, a label under South Korea's HYBE entertainment giant. The group consists of five members: Huh Yunjin (허윤진), Kim Chaewon (김채원), Miyawaki Sakura (宮脇咲良), Nakamura Kazuha (中村かずは), and Hong Eunchae (홍은채). Their name is an anagram of "I'm Fearless" — and their early discography leaned hard into that energy, with sharp, bass-heavy dance tracks like "Antifragile" and "Unforgiven" projecting the kind of unshakeable confidence that K-pop girl group debuts often trade in.

But their second full-length album, "PUREFLOW pt.1," released in 2026, goes somewhere much more vulnerable. One track in particular — "우리 어떻게 더 사귈 수 있을까" (roughly translating to "How Can We Be Closer?") — does something genuinely rare: it chronicles the real friction between two of the members, Yunjin and Chaewon, and their efforts to work through it.

"Is friendship all just for show? ... I need your company ... No matter how you hurt me."

Those are actual lyrics from the track, sung over a melancholy guitar melody. And yes, they are singing about each other.

What the Song Is Really About

In a phone interview with BBC Music, Yunjin — who was born and raised in New York before moving to South Korea to pursue a K-pop career — explained the emotional core of the song.

"I wanted to talk about that strange and complicated feeling of wanting to get close to someone but finding it physically difficult to admit that. Sometimes we doubt our own feelings — like, 'Am I the only one who wants to be this close? Is the other person not as sincere about this relationship?'"

Chaewon, who was unable to join the interview due to a throat injury, had previously addressed the song on the Korean talk show "Limousine Service." She clarified that the tension described in the lyrics came less from outright conflict and more from a difference in personalities and communication styles.

"People might think it's about a falling out when they read the lyrics, but everyone is different. There was a period where we had to adjust to each other's differences."

What's really interesting is where things ended up. The two members actually talked it out — honestly and openly — and came out of it closer than before. So close, in fact, that they jumped off a 233-meter bungee platform together at Macau Tower. After landing safely, Chaewon told Yunjin: "I was just holding onto you the whole time." Oasis, take note.

From Fearless Debut to Public Backlash

Of course, LE SSERAFIM's journey hasn't been without its rougher chapters. As the group's profile grew, so did the volume of online criticism — targeting everything from their live vocal performances to their physical appearances to their families. A 2024 documentary captured just how deeply that affected the members.

Sakura, a veteran of the Japanese idol groups HKT48 and IZ*ONE (a hugely popular Korean-Japanese collaboration group that ran from 2018 to 2021) before joining LE SSERAFIM, was shown in tears: "I don't know why I'm doing this, why I'm suffering and crying."

It was a striking moment, given that Sakura had spent years in the industry before debuting with LE SSERAFIM. But the scrutiny K-pop groups face — particularly in the social media era — operates at a different intensity than most entertainment industries.

The "SPAGHETTI" Turning Point

Rather than retreating, LE SSERAFIM leaned in — and found their footing with a track that became something of a mission statement. "SPAGHETTI," released in October 2025, is a confident, hook-heavy swipe at their critics, essentially asking anti-fans: if you dislike us so much, why are you so obsessed with us?

The track features a guest verse from j-hope (Jung Hoseok), a member of globally renowned K-pop group BTS — which added considerable momentum to an already buzzy release. The song hit big, and for Yunjin, it marked a shift in how the group understood itself.

"We realized how positive and energetic we are as people. Turns out, enjoying ourselves really suits us. It helped us figure out what we want to do with our music — and that's how 'SPAGHETTI' was born."

The group's musical evolution has been equally adventurous. "Crazy," released in 2024, drew from New York ballroom culture's house music roots. "Come Over," from 2025, was produced by British funk-influenced band Jungle. British singer-songwriter PinkPantheress — a self-described LE SSERAFIM fan — even performed "Crazy" during her Coachella set, telling the BBC the track "is ahead of its time."

Humor, Satire, and a Character Named Saki

The new album also shows the group deploying humor in ways that feel genuinely playful rather than performative. "PUREFLOW pt.1" includes a posse rap track called "Saki," which gives Sakura an alter ego to use as a vehicle for satirizing the rumors and narratives that have swirled around the group.

Yunjin described it simply as "a kind of satire," noting that fans are already obsessing over the question of who exactly "Saki" is.

This balance between self-reflection and self-deprecating humor has always been part of the group's off-stage personality — whether it's members trying (and failing) to skip practice, endlessly teasing youngest member Eunchae, or Kazuha sneaking up on fans dressed in a horse costume at a concert. Now that energy is making its way into the music itself.

The Numbers Behind the Fearlessness

It's worth noting the scale of what LE SSERAFIM has built. Five of their albums have charted in the U.S. Top 10, and the group has appeared on Spotify's global chart more than 33,000 times. They are, by any reasonable measure, one of the most commercially successful K-pop acts in the world right now.

And they've extended that influence to junior artists navigating similar terrain. The members of Katseye — a K-pop-influenced global girl group also signed under HYBE — have spoken publicly about receiving guidance from LE SSERAFIM as they dealt with their own waves of online criticism.

Katseye member Sofia said she talks to Yunjin "almost every day." Member Lara put it plainly: "If anyone is going to understand us, it's LE SSERAFIM sunbaes (a Korean term for seniors or mentors in a shared field)."

Why This Actually Matters

There's something genuinely meaningful about a pop group that processes its struggles — interpersonal, professional, public — through the music itself rather than through a PR statement or an awkward interview deflection. LE SSERAFIM isn't pretending the hard parts didn't happen. They're writing songs about them. And in doing so, they've created a body of work that's not just chart-friendly, but surprisingly honest.

Fearlessness, it turns out, doesn't mean the absence of fear or conflict. For LE SSERAFIM, it means showing up anyway — and turning the mess into music.

This article is based on reports from Bbc, Nc, News.