LOONA: Where are they now?
- Magda Kanecka
- Feb 24
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 26
Magda Kanecka | February 2026
The K-pop girl group LOONA debuted on August 20, 2018, after revealing each of the 12 members one by one each month from October 2016. This ‘girl of the month’ concept started with member Heejin’s song “Vivid”, and ended with Hyeju (under the stage name Olivie Hye) with “Egoist” – my personal favourite of the pre-debut singles.
Each member was given their own colour and a representative animal. The meanings of this were significant in the LOONA lore, as the group continued to create this through music videos and albums. The LOONA-verse became so complex over time that it could have an article of its own, so I won’t delve into this too much this time.
11 out of 12 girls, apart from the youngest member Yeojin, were placed in sub-units: yyxy, Odd Eye Circle, and 1/3, each with distinct concepts and meanings in the LOONA-verse.
However, in late 2022 and mid-2023, LOONA raised legal concerns with their former management company, Blockberry Creative, over unfair contract terms, non-payment of earnings and unauthorised contract transfers, evoking a series of lawsuits by all 12 members.
This led to the departure of all the girls from the company, but since these departures did not all occur at once, new groups and activities formed among the girls as they continued to express a desire to reunite once the remaining lawsuits are concluded.
One thing was clear: a rebranding was coming, no matter if the original group name was kept or not. The 12 girls never let fans think otherwise: the lawsuits felt like a pause to group activities rather than a sudden end – and the fans were understanding as ever.
Loossemble
Loossemble was the first group to re-debut in September 2023 with the track “Sensitive” and a self-titled EP. The group consists of 5 former LOONA members: Hyunjin, Yeojin, Vivi, Gowon and Hyeju.
Their contract with their new management company, CTDENM, expired in November 2024, but it is rumoured that they are jointly seeking a new company and are currently in a transition period, which member Gowon further confirmed in a live video in May 2025.
ARTMS
Arguably the more active of the two re-debut groups as of now, ARTMS consists of 5 other former LOONA members: Heejin, Haseul, Kim Lip, Jinsoul and Choerry.
They re-debuted in May 2024 with the lead single “Virtual Angel” and the album “Divine All Love & Live” (DALL), under the management company MODHAUS. Following the group’s EP release of “<Club Icarus>” in June 2025, they just wrapped up the European leg of their tour.
Most of the ARTMS girls also have solo songs, and Heejin even had her own EP released before ARTMS debuted.
The LOONA sub-unit Odd Eye Circle (consisting of Kim Lip, Choerry and JinSoul) still releases music, and they re-debuted under the same name with the EP “Volume Up” released in 2023, even before ARTMS’ debut. The three girls frequently perform their old songs in concerts, such as the popular “Girl Front” and “Sweet Crazy Love.”
Solo careers
Chuu, now signed with the company ATRP, made her debut in October 2023 with the EP “Howl,” after being the first one to leave LOONA’s old company. She has so far released three EPs and one full-length album.
Yves is currently signed with Paix Per Mir, making her re-debut as a soloist in May 2024 with the “Loop” EP. In 2026, she is set to go on a European tour in cities such as London, Berlin, and Paris.
As previously mentioned, most former LOONA members also have solo albums or songs, whether as one-off tracks on K-drama soundtracks or as their own separate comebacks.
The LOONA girls have repeatedly expressed their desire to reunite as a group, and they now have the rights to the name “LOONA” reserved for them. Their old company, BlockBerry Creative, is defunct and inactive as of 2024. The girls perform their old songs separately in concerts, without their former company earning money from it.
The large-scale fan boycott of the old music videos and of streaming LOONA’s original music on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music was a huge part of this. Instead, podcasts or re-uploaded versions of their songs allowed fans to listen to their favourite girl group without giving money to a company that was actively working against the members.
LOONA is an excellent example of artists standing up for themselves and persevering against mistreatment. This is especially significant in a culture of K-pop, where idols are taught to prioritise their careers above all else.
The excellence of the group pre- and post-lawsuits, is highlighted throughout their complex lore featuring themes like time-travelling, moon phases, fate and complex quantum physics, as well as their consistent work in pushing the boundaries of traditional K-pop culture by including women of colour in their music videos, and Yves herself saying to a fan how grateful they are for their LGBTQ+ fanbase.
LOONA are truly one of a kind, and, together or not, fans, including myself, are so glad they are getting the fair treatment and pay they deserve, along with more creative freedom over their projects than they had before. I am so excited for what’s next, though, admittedly, a reunion with all 12 members is my biggest dream.
Follow Loossemble here: Hyunjin | Yeojin | Vivi | Gowon | Hyeju currently inactive
Follow Yves here!
Follow Chuu here!
