6 stories
SM Entertainment's girl groups aespa and Hearts2Hearts are both releasing lemon-themed albums this summer, sparking fan discussions about a growing "lemon universe" that stretches back through the NCT catalog.
Rising K-pop girl group Hearts2Hearts has announced a comeback scheduled for June 22, with a new extended play titled "Lemon Tang" set to arrive during one of the year's most competitive music seasons.
Four acclaimed K-pop girl groups — MAMAMOO, izna, STAYC, and Hearts2Hearts — are all making their comebacks in June 2026, ranging from a long-awaited full-group reunion to a rising fifth-generation act's summer push.
Hearts2Hearts' "RUDE!" becomes the first K-pop girl group song of 2025 to hit 100 million Spotify streams, while rookie group XLOV claims their debut award and Japan grapples with a growing AI voice cloning crisis that has implications for Korean creators too.
From XLOV's first award win and upcoming album drop to Hearts2Hearts hitting 100 million Spotify streams, and a major think tank arguing K-beauty and K-food could power Korea to $1 trillion in annual exports — it's been a defining week for Korean culture and the economy behind it.
From XLOV's first-ever award win and a second mini-album on the way, to Hearts2Hearts crossing 100 million Spotify streams with "RUDE!", plus a major economic report arguing K-beauty and K-food could power South Korea to trillion-dollar export territory — it's been a big week for Korean culture.