They say that the road to success is never smooth. This saying goes for every idol group in the Kpop scene.
iKON experience a lot of hardships before their debut. After training for years, they were subjected to survival programs. They lost the first one to Winner and, once again, put under pressure when YG Entertainment threatened to shuffle the members.
However, the hardship paid off. At last, the original six-member group added a new member and debuted earlier this month. Below are the top six scandals involving YG's new boy group, iKON.
1. MNET exclusion - Ahead the group's official debut, iKON released a single "My Type" on Sept. 15. However, this song was snubbed by Mnet at the "M! Countdown" music chart. Fans of the new male group as well as YG Entertainment became upset and complained to Mnet's unfair treatment of iKON.
2. iKON's half album fell below expectations - When iKON dropped its single "My Type," not everyone is happy with the single as it seemed far from the music that the group was known for during their trainee days. YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun Suk said that iKON is a group that will focus heavily on hip-hop, but it released a slow pop song.
3. Dissing other idols - Netizens reacted that it includes disrespectful lyrics for saying that other idol groups are unlike them and tend to cause "problems," according to Kpop-centric website Soompi. The lyrics say, "We're not picky. About the time and place for instance. We're not pretentious. Idols are problems these days." Some netizens claimed that the group is "careless" for saying this to their "sunbaes" considering that they just debuted.
4. Logo Plagiarism - iKON and YG Entertainment were recently called out for alleged plagiarism of the group's logo. Unknown Bike co Korea said that the logo similar to theirs. However, YG Next Creator responded that the logo was based on the Korean flag and was made in August 2014, according to All Kpop.
5. Kim Jinhwan and AOA's Park Jimin - iKON's main vocal Kim Jinhwan was allegedly in a relationship with AOA's leader and rapper Park Jimin. This rumor is fueled when the latter used a photo of Jinhwan's dog as profile picture in Line.
6. B.I.'s father embezzlement - Before iKON's debut, B.I.'s father was involved in an embezzlement scandal and was arrested. Fans were worried at that time that it will affect the group's debut, but apparently did not.