EVAN is debuting with RIDE OR DIE on 22nd June 2026.
The debut was revealed through a short announcement video showing EVAN browsing images on a laptop. The video concludes with the title RIDE OR DIE and its release date, confirming his solo debut on June 22.
Shortly after, BELIFT LAB followed up with a Weverse notice, introducing his official social media accounts including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X etc.
The debut marks EVAN’s first official music release as a solo artist. Since adopting the stage name EVAN, fans have been eager to see what direction he would take musically and creatively. RIDE OR DIE will offer listeners their first full look at his identity as a solo performer.
At the time of writing, details regarding the song’s genre, concept and accompanying promotions have not yet been revealed. However, the announcement has already generated excitement among fans as they await further updates ahead of the release date.
The title RIDE OR DIE is particularly intriguing. This phrase is commonly associated with unwavering loyalty and commitment, therefore, the phrase may resonate with fans who have continued to support EVAN throughout the changes in his career. While the meaning behind the title has yet to be explained, some listeners may view it as a reflection of the strong tie between the artist and those who have remained by his side.
The leader of ENHYPEN, Yang Jungwon, recently appeared on Lee Youngji’s YouTube talk show, offering fans a more personal look at his personality outside of group promotions. While the episode was light-hearted overall, one moment stood out when Jungwon mentioned that he has never really thought about having a solo career, saying that he is nothing without the group. It was a small comment, but one that immediately caught attention among fans due to past and current discussions surrounding solo activities within ENHYPEN, particularly involving Heeseung.
Jungwon also mentioned their daesang/ grand prize win in November 2025 when asked about contract renewals. He emphasised that he was told before the announcement the most important thing is lasting a long time as a group, not awards, and believes that the one who told them this before were right.
The team is the most important.. I only became who I am because of ENHYPEN
Under normal circumstances, the comment may have simply passed as another light-hearted moment from the episode. However, with ENGENEs already heavily discussing solo activities due to Heeseung’s recent schedules, many found themselves paying closer attention to Jungwon’s perspective on the group itself.
Following the episode, fans quickly began discussing the moment across social media, with many connecting Jungwon’s words to the wider conversations currently surrounding ENHYPEN.
In the end, the moment became less about the comment itself and more about the different ways fans chose to interpret it, with conflicts between fans still ongoing.
With his first solo in-person fan-sign, despite not having any solo content out yet, scheduled for 24th May 2026 in Tokyo, Evan has, yet again, become the focus of online discussion among K-pop fans tracking his recent public appearances.
From airport sightings to livestream moments, posts circulating on X have sparked ongoing speculation about his connection with ENHYPEN following his departure from the group.
On 23rd May 2026, Evan was spotted at Incheon Airport in South Korea, where fans on social media platforms such as X, quickly took notice of a specific keychain attached to his bag. He later posted on Weverse a selfie and a picture of his shoes next to his bag which gave the fans a clearer view of the keychain.
The keychain is actually a paired matching one with his former member, Kim Sunoo, suggesting it indicates that he remains on good terms with the members following his departure from ENHYPEN. However, others cautioned against overspeculation of small personal items, noting that there is no confirmation regarding any private relationships with Evan and the group.
In a separate moment, fans highlighted a livestream shortly after he landed in Tokyo, in which Evan appeared to mention “ENGENE,” the fandom name associated with ENHYPEN.
Viewers noted that he seemed to pause and redirect himself shortly afterwards, with some clips circulating on X before the livestream was later deleted.
A YouTube channe, EVANTOPIA, shortly posted the full livestream with captions where viewers can see the artist mention “ENGENE” at 9:29 which can be viewed here.
This led to further speculation online, with some users suggesting the removal may be linked to the mention, while others argued there is no confirmed reason for the deletion. Similar situations have previously been observed in other livestreams, including a birthday live from Park Jongseong, which was later re-uploaded with parts blurred for privacy reasons.
On 24th May 2026, clips from the fan-sign circulated online showing Evan asking whether a translator was available during interactions with fans. Some attendees noted that he appeared to struggle with speaking Japanese throughout parts of the event, despite continuing to interact warmly with fans and maintaining a positive attitude.
The moment led to sympathetic reactions online, with several fans praising his efforts to communicate during his first solo fan-sign overseas and instead were slamming the company for the way they arranged this.
The tweet posted by @/iS2semetery above is a summary of what happened during the fan-sign, events described by a Japanese ENGENE who attended the event. Evan not being provided a translator seems to be reckless planning as he is unable to speak fluent Japanese and this was an event where he was supposed to interact with his fans stress-free. Another tweet was a translation of what he said at the event, humorous and promising.
Before he arrived in Tokyo, many people were surrounding him and he only had one bodyguard, which fans found outrageous. However, this is not new to them, having minimal security has been an on-going issue. After the fan-sign event when Evan arrived back in Korea, fans were seen throwing letters at him. Evan has a reputation of always taking his fans letters, even if he can’t do anything else like take a picture.
On 18th May 2026, the K-pop soloist Evan had a Weverse account opened for him for his upcoming project announcements and to connect with his fans. He held his first livestream on this account shortly after the account was established.
This caused an emotional conflict for fans across social media platforms.
Fans shared their opinions of this on the social media platform X:
From the tweets provided, fans are more accepting towards his solo career than they have been before when they had first heard of this transition. For them to actually see Evan on a livestream interacting with them, it was some kind of closure for them, as most of the fans are now speaking excitedly of his upcoming debut and wishing the best for him, rather than reminiscing with heavy hearts. Although some are still quite upset and some fans are even at conflict with each other, the overall demographic of fans are looking up to see what’s actually in store for Evan’s future as it is actually moving in real-time rather than just words i.e. the departure of ENHYPEN and a solo career was mentioned with no solid, visual evidence or reassurance.
On 1st May 2026, ENHYPEN started their Blood Saga World Tour, beginning in Seoul. Overall, it was a success for the members and the turnout of those in attendance. The company they are under, HYBE BELIFT, promoted an article written by Naver on their X account. The article had included the phrase – “the absence was not felt”. The article is originally in Korean and the English translations came to this statement, with other similar phrases. This is referring to Heeseung’s absence for the first time for this world tour because he officially departed the group on March 10th 2026. This received lots of backlash from fans across different social media platforms.
To say his “absence was not felt” is quite dismissive as he was a big topic of discussion regarding this tour without him. The group consisted of 7 members for 6 years, learnt choreography as a 7-member group for years, making it muscle memory, for the company Heeseung (Evan) is still under to promote an article which practically says his absence was irrelevant is strange. The remaining 6 members had to change a large portion of their choreo to make up for his absence, which is time-consuming. Many fans saw BELIFT’s decision to support the statement as dismissive and unnecessary. Moreover, a petition got 2 million signs in under a week for the company to reconsider their decision and allow Heeseung to pursue solo activities while remaining in the group, protest trucks were sent to park outside HYBE’s building in Seoul, “#bringbackheeseung” reached number 1 for trending hashtags on X, some spam emailed those in authority at HYBE and some even
A large majority of fans were outraged at this repost, and did not hold back with their responses on social media:
As shown, there is a lot of negative opinions towards BELIFT’s promotion of this article by Naver. A Heeseung fanpage on X (@/LHSGlobal) posted an email template for fans to email HYBE regarding this. Even though an incredibly large portion of the fandom came together and agreed that this was not a good move, the fan account’s email template post got backlash. It was minimal, but it still counts.
@/ikeusim6 on X
@/mysa1115 on X
@/inlatenovember on X
Although there are only few tweets that were found, the ones provided come across in a harsh tone. @/ikeusim6 has “6hypen” in their bio, meaning that they are an “ot6” stan, which means they do not care for Heeseung’s absence – making their tweet biased. Additionally, @/inlatenovember also has “for enhypen6” in their bio, which makes them biased aswell. The user @/mysa1115 does not have any proof to be an “ot6 stan”, their posts are not defamatory in any way either. Their tweet is quite reasonable and tried to clarify what the article meant, without bashing the opposing side.
Regardless of what happens in the fandom going forward, there is no denying that since Heeseung’s departure, the fandom has split and is at conflict with each other.
ENHYPEN were initially a 7-member group under the HYBE BELIFT LAB company. The group consisted of: Jungwon, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo and Ni-ki. However, as of 10th March 2026, the company and he had released a statement about him departing the group to pursue solo activities. Despite fan protests and conspiracies to bring him back into the group whilst pursuing solo activities, it seems as if nothing has worked and their 2026 tour, continuing into early 2027, is going forward with 6 members for the first time.
ENHYPEN, now a 6-member Korean boy-group, started their Blood Saga Tour today in Seoul and fans have mixed opinions. Every song on the setlist features Heeseung as they have not got an album without him. This received a mix of backlash and support, although the support had no correlation to the member, whereas everything that even had the slightest link was negative towards a 6-member tour. Across platforms like X, fan reactions quickly reflected this divide.
A somewhat portion of fans responded positively, praising the members for maintaining their performance standard despite the change in line distribution and choreography:
As usual, there were fan posts admiring their visuals and such. However, this was only a small percentage compared to the sea of other posts that were ENHYPEN-based.
With evidence provided above, it is clear that ENGENE’s are still mourning Heeseung’s departure from the group. This is similar to a situation that occured with a different group called RIIZE under SM Entertainment; a member had left in 2023, after only being active in the group for roughly 2 months. Even now, fans comment under RIIZE posts that “RIIZE is 7”, despite the member (Hong Seunghan) being in a different group under the same label (XngHanAndXoul).
For many fans, this shift is not simply about performance, but about emotional attachment to the group’s original dynamic. The continued reactions suggest that, for some, the identity of ENHYPEN remains closely tied to its original line-up.
As the Blood Saga Tour continues, fan responses are likely to evolve, reflecting both support for the current members and an ongoing sense of what has been lost.
On 22nd April 2026, Evan, formerly known as ENHYPEN’s Heeseung, made his first public appearance as a soloist at the opening of Musinsa Megastore in Seoul, Korea.
Fans quickly responded online, with many expressing both emotional and visual reactions to Evan’s first appearance:
Also, on the 22nd April 2026, Evan was added to the KCON line-up as a “special performer”. Fans speculate that his solo album will be released before this, so in June-July 2026. To support this, he had posted pictures on Instagram the same day, one slide showing audio files on a laptop, hinting at his album’s progression.
Fans continue to express a mix of support and concern surrounding Evan’s presence at KCON, with differing reactions emerging across online discussions, and it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold as the event progresses.
A new chapter is unfolding for former ENHYPEN member Heeseung, as recent updates signal towards a re-defined identity beyond his previous group. With the launch of a personal Instagram account (@/h_evva_n) and changes made to the official BELIFT LAB website, fans are now officially being introduced to a new name — Evan.
Screenshot of Heeseung’s Instagram profile.
Screenshot taken from BELIFT LAB’s website, EVAN’s section.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
On 8th April 2026, Heeseung made his first post on a personal Instagram account. Although the account was made in March 2026, it only became publicly active on this date, marking his first visible independent presence on the platform.
He is now introduced as “EVAN” and described as a “versatile vocalist defined by a trendy, sophisticated tone” on the BELIFT website. The profile acknowledges his participation in the K-pop group ENHYPEN as Heeseung, where he debuted in 2020, before highlighting his transition towards a new chapter as a solo artist.
The description further states that the identity “Evan” represents an “alternate dimension” of his identity, allowing him to explore a sound shaped by his own artistic direction and emotional depth, as he prepares for an upcoming solo debut.
FANS’ RESPONSE
The response from fans has been mixed following these developments. While some have expressed excitement at the anticipation of a solo debut, others have questioned the timing, particularly in the context of recent events. This divide is widely reflected across social media platforms, like Instagram and X.
There’s a bittersweet feeling in seeing this unfold. While it’s easy to feel attached to what came before, moments like this highlight the need to step back and recognise the direction things are now taking.
Looking back, the most difficult part was the uncertainty—the feeling of being left in limbo, without a clear goodbye. In comparison, this shift towards “Evan” feels more defined. There is now a sense of direction, and with it, a sort-of closure that makes the transition Just A Little Bit easier to accept.
It is 31st March 2026, a day that was supposedly meant to be filled with good news from HYBE BELIFT LAB.
Previously, on March 10th 2026, BELIFT announced the oldest member, Heeseung’s, departure from the once 7-member group. This broke out chaos within the fandom; protests happening internationally, trucks being sent to HYBE’s Seoul location, being the number 1 trending topic on X and even a petition which gained 2 million signs for Heeseung to return to the group whilst pursuing solo activities. Sadly, it seems as if our efforts have gone to waste.
The reality of this outcome is that ENHYPEN is now be a 6-member group, regardless of how they are in our hearts. We are no longer Heeseung’s ENGENE’s because he is no longer in ENHYPEN. At award shows, for the fans choice award, it will be ENHYPEN versus Heeseung. New ENGENE’s will learn the group as 6 members and question who Heeseung was for the group, not knowing he was the backbone of their entire discography. BELIFT knowing that Heeseung already has a fan-base (whether that’s ENGENE’s or solo stans) makes it a perfect business strategy for them to gain more revenue, which is the sad truth. A company will forever look for more ways to increase their profit, and they just discarded the social aspects of it. To them, it is a win either way because they know the fans care for all 7 members and that majority of them will not boycott a soloist, who had previously been buzzing when talking about his album to his fans. I want Heeseung back, but chances are lower than ever now, so all we can do it support his solo career, so that I don’t feel like I’ve failed as a fan. In some way, I am excited for him, but the way he left was dealt with horribly – we didn’t even get a goodbye! When I used to think of ENHYPEN, I would think “comfort space”, but now it is just associated with sad connotations. They did amazingly in 2025 – released their first English single “Loose“, performed at Coachella, released their album “Desire: Unleash“, went on their Walk The Line tour and even won the grand prize (daesang) when BTS had one every single year before them! How has it came to this?
I will continue to support ENHYPEN and Heeseung, but Home will always belong to the version of them that had seven.
As of 10th March 2026, BELIFT LABS released a statement announcing that Lee Heeseung will be leaving ENHYPEN to pursue a solo career.
Before I continue, read my article of what happened throughout the first week here.
UPDATE 9 – LAST-MINUTE CANCELLATIONS:
It was previously established that Heeseung would participate in an online fan-sign which was originally meant to be late March, is now cancelled entirely for Heeseung; it is rumoured to happen on the 22nd March instead, but with all these delays, rescheduling and cancelling, it is confusing on what to trust anymore.
@/heeseungggiiee on X provided screenshots of this
Fans are outraged as his departure was announced whilst there were still The Sin: Vanish promotions are ongoing, which are then cancelled last-minute. The fans want clear answers immediately. Moreover, for this event, Ni-ki won’t be included due to Japan-China disputes. This also happened on March 8th 2026, 2 days before the Heeseung departure announcement. It was first an ot6 event on 08/03/2026, now it will be ot5 on 21/03/2026 as Heeseung is no longer a member. Until a clear explanation is given, fans will continue to Shout Out.
UPDATE 10 – FANS PORTRAYED IN A BAD LIGHT:
South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) is a major shareholder in HYBE, which is the parent company of the K-pop group, ENHYPEN’s management agency, BELIFT LAB. Today, 18th March 2026, it has been announced by Kim Sung Joo, the chief executive of NPS, in a Facebook post that their international support centre was flooded with fans, not allowing those who need assistance to receive it; their work does not interfere with individual companies, to say they don’t have control over the Heeseung situation. However, this would’ve been happening since 10th March 2026, so why release this information now? Are they trying to drown out other news which may be released? Moreover, BTS (who are also under HYBE, BELIFT LABS) have their album comeback is this Friday (20th March 2026), the timing of these articles being released is suspicious; it has came out 2 days before the petition which brought in 2 millions signs is being handed in, 2 days before the BTS album release and 3 days before the scheduled Annual General Meeting (AGM) shareholder’s voting window which may consider Heeseung’s situation. Just to add, the AGM notice was filed with South Korea’s financial regulator on March 10th – the same day that BELIFT LAB announced Heeseung’s departure from ENHYPEN.
@/The7thMovement on X with 16.9K followers, posted alleged dates of HYBE’s schedule, on 15/03/2026
posted on 16/03/2026 by @/enhaizna, although the text is slightly wrong, fans believe boycotting till the shareholders meeting/ decision.
Original post of information about HYBE’s shareholder meeting, posted by @/enhamagazine
Translated post of @/enhamagazine
This seems a little confusing at first, but ENGENE’s think that they may discuss the Heeseung controversy as it the fan activism is going beyond borders (reaching NPS).
@/heesblossom on Instagram
Lastly, there is a google document that an ENHYPEN fan has made which includes all the detailed information of who is important and why. You can find this here. Also including email templates in multiple languages to send to HYBE staff to fully illustrate concerns that they are not just angry fans, they are willing to fight for their favourites, even as it turns to what many would call it Fatal Trouble.
UPDATE 11 – EVERY LAST PENNY:
BELIFT insists that Heeseung has left the group and will not return, yet continue to involve him in ENHYPEN’s schedule. On 19th March 2026, a fan-call schedule was released listing Heeseung as an attending artist, with his participation also appearing on a separate day.
I understand that this may have been pre-planned, as most things are. However, from the image, it’s clear that the youngest member, Ni-ki, has black and white hair—something that was only dyed just before Christmas Day (2025). Heeseung’s departure was said to be handled with “considerate deliberation”, but is less than three months really enough time for something so trajectory-changing for a group to be considered? Even if it was, why include him in this event? It all feels Mixed Up, as though BELIFT are trying to use Heeseung as much as they can, with the justification being that he was technically involved in the last album comeback.
UPDATE 12 – “THE 6 OF US”?
Today, on 21st March 2026, the youngest member, Ni-ki went live on Weverse – the day that he is absent from a group event due to Japan-China disputes and when the HYBE shareholder voting window opens – and spoke about their XO choreography. He said it looks odd with just him doing it, but it looks good with “the 6 of us”, as if to confirm it will remain 6. Although it is a strange thing to say as they have not performed XO (Only If You Say Yes) choreography as 6, only as 7. Either hinting at a choreo change for all songs or, some are saying that he had been told to mention it, as the Heeseung protests are not fading away and that the fans may listen to an actual member saying it. Unfortunately, that is not the case, they have still not backed down in hopes of getting Heeseung back, even if it’s Just A Little Bit of hope they’re holding onto. Moreover, it could be a mistranslation, some are saying that it translates to “6 others” excluding himself from the statement, not just 6 together. The validity of this section is low, as I am not fluent in Korean and can not know for certain whether people translating it are tweaking the truth for hope or not, as it has been done before.
UPDATE 13 – HEESEUNG FANCALLS AND JUNGWON’S WEVERSE MESSAGES:
Today, March 22nd 2026, Heeseung had scheduled online fan-calls which he attended; in many, fans are saying his smile does not look genuine. The only time he looked at ease/ genuinely happy was when a fan on the call spoke about video games, which ENGENE’s know Heeseung loves to play. After that moment, he had resumed to his self from a few seconds before, where he looked slightly anxious and kept looking to the side and down, as if reading a script. He also mentioned that he is soon releasing his album, which we assume is a solo album, not the one Ni-ki teased ENHYPEN is working on yesterday on Weverse live.
There are also many videos psychoanalysing his behaviours on the call coming to conclusions that he isn’t happy, but then there are videos saying that maybe it really was his choice in the end. How ever will we know?
Jungwon has resumed posting frequently on Weverse, and two of his replies particularly stood out. In one, he responded to a fan apologising with, “I’m sorry too” (Screenshot 1) — but sorry for what? In another, when told he had worked hard, he replied, “ENGENE worked harder” (Screenshot 2). But in what way? The only significant thing ENGENEs have done recently is protest for Heeseung’s return — could this be a subtle way of encouraging that, or something else entirely?
Screenshot 1 – taken from Weverse on 22/03/2026
Screenshot 2 – taken from Weverse on 22/03/2026
If anything, it only highlights the growing pressure to Make The Change — yet nothing is being clearly addressed.
UPDATE 14 – FUTURE ACTIVITIES AND SUNOO FANCALL:
Today, 23rd March 2026, a fan even schedule was released and it showed all 7 individuals on it.
(acknowledge translation errors for the dates: “2069”)
While the other six members are each hosting in-person fansign/café events with 30 winners, Heeseung will not be in attendance. Instead, he has double the number of winners (60) for video calls, making his workload significantly higher—despite his option also being the more expensive one.
With Heeseung still scheduled for events until May 12th, the claim that his departure is being planned becomes increasingly questionable—his continued inclusion almost feels like a Daydream. If he is no longer part of the group and is pursuing solo activities, why does he continue to be included?
Also, Sunoo was asked for tour spoilers; he replied to the fan saying it is a big deal to prepare a stage for 6 people. The OP said it could be a mistranslation, but in the video Sunoo even holds up 6 fingers. There is no tour schedule released yet, but they are to perform in Abu Dhabi for the second time, in April 2026, most likely as a 6.
I could be reaching here, but Sunoo’s eyes are darting from side to side, instead of maintaining eye-contact with the fan – is that not strange to anyone?
UPDATE 16 – HEESEUNG REMOVAL:
As of 27/03/2026 at around 9:00 KST, Heeseung has been removed from Weverse, under ENHYPEN’s section on BELIFT’s website and ENHYPEN’s Spotify description. The description on Weverse has also been changed from “7 members” to something else.
Screenshot taken from Weverse:
Screenshot taken from BELIFT’s website:
As you can see in the photo above, the team have made the mistake of not changing the 3rd last sentence – seems a bit tacky for a big company.
Screenshot taken from Spotify:
However, around the same time this this change was made, another fan event was released, where it specified Heeseung will be in Japan on 24th May 2026. Heeseung officially left the group on 10th March 2026, yet this is dragging close to the middle of the year.
YZY fan event screenshot:
He is not a part of the group, so why does his presence suggest he still has a place to call Home?
UPDATE 17 – WORLDWIDE REACH:
On 28th March 2026, the hashtag “ENGENES_MADE_ENHYPEN_7” was number 1 in trending hashtags on X worldwide.
credit – @/cupcakehee on X
This really shows the international support for an ENHYPEN with 7 members. Will the fans’ efforts pay off before an alleged announcement or decision on 31st March at 10AM, or is this outcome already Blind to change?
Allegedly leaked photo of HYBE’s schedule – seems pretty valid to relate to Heeseung as the “decision date” being 10th March 2026, is the date his departure was announced.
This photo was leaked alongside the one above, the validity I do not know for certain but I believe everything big that concerns the fans should be taken into account. What if it really is all a social experiment?
UPDATE 18 – OT6 WORLD TOUR?
As of 00:00 on 31st March 2026 (KST), BELIFT has announced a ten-month long world tour, “BLOOD SAGA”, on Weverse, the day that ENGENE’s expected news about Heeseung. They used a poster with 6 members on the front – excluding Heeseung.
Screenshot taken from Weverse 31/03/2026 (KST)
Fans were distraught and furious that there are 6 members on the poster, and soon an “original” copy of the poster was spread on social media:
credit – @/innishii_ on X
The photo in larger scale –
You can clearly see there are 7 members here, which goes to show that he was meant to be apart of the tour. Moreover, 2 days before his announced departure he had spoiled their tour on national tv and on a fancall on March 7th 2026, 3 days before the announcement – which further shows that his leave was a last-minute decision. The validity of this photo being real is a mystery, though some of the actual organisers of the tour used this photo to advertise the upcoming event such as Peru’s, which you can see here.
Screenshot provided of @/lpmusicperu ‘s Instagram post.
With little time now, all that remains is the outcome – and whether the voices of fans will have made any difference at all.
Note: Due to the developing nature of this situation, and its personal impact, I will not be providing further minor updates at this time.
Today, March 10th 2026, BELIFT released a statement on Weverse and stating that Lee Heeseung will be parting from the K-pop group, ENHYPEN.
“Hello, this is BELIFT LAB. We would like to express our gratitude toward ENGENE for their unwavering support for ENHYPEN and provide information on ENHYPEN’s future activities. BELIFT LAB has given much thought and consideration into ENHYPEN’s future direction and goals. Through in-depth discussions with each of the members about the future they envision and the direction of the team, it became clear that HEESEUNG has his own distinct musical vision and we have decided to respect it. As such, HEESEUNG will be parting ways with ENHYPEN, and ENHYPEN will continue official activities henceforth as a group of six members. It’s difficult to relay the whole process through a short notice, but this decision comes after extensive deliberation. We understand that this news is a lot to process and may be received with mixed reactions. Nevertheless, we hope you understand that this decision was made for the future of ENHYPEN and HEESEUNG. ENHYPEN remains committed to sharing energetic performances with ENGENE. HEESEUNG will be preparing a solo album as an artist under BELIFT LAB. We ask for ENGENE’s continued love and support for ENHYPEN and HEESEUNG as they start a new chapter of their journey. Thank you.”
This was released at 16:00 KST and brought out frustration and sadness from ENGENE’s (fans) such as myself.
9 minutes later at 16:09 KST, Heeseung released his own statement on Weverse. In short, he showed his gratitude towards the fans and said that he is preparing hard to see the fans as soon as possible.
Fans were bamboozled at this and adamant that it was not a planned decision as their merchandise drop was unexpectedly postponed. Why would they postpone a merch drop if this was a planned decision? Even if it was planned, the timing of it is strange because there are still events they are/ were scheduled to attend as a 7-member group.
Not even 5 hours later, petitions were created for BELIFT to reconsider their decision and have Heeseung pursue a solo career without having to leave the group. Choi Yeonjun was mentioned multiple times under fan-posts, as he was able to pursue a solo career whilst staying in the K-pop group TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT). However, it is no secret that the K-pop industry has been accused of overworking it’s workers, so it may have also been a work-life balance decision. For example one of the petitions was made on change.org which you can view here – it currently has over 200,000 (time is 17:00 GMT).
Moreover, fans have made their own theories on his “distinct musical vision”, that it may be the mixtape he was excited to show ENGENE’s which he expressed in his EN-loG posted on Youtube in 2025. He also dropped a ringtone for fans and showed the behind-the-scenes of it, which then had people commenting “drop the solo album!”. The contrast in attitudes from those comments till then and now are drastic – “I feel slightly guilty because I was always saying like when’s he gonna drop that album he needs to drop it now.. and now he finally is but as a soloist, it just doesn’t feel right.” – @/_.rihvnna on Instagram.
To lighten the mood, international ENGENE’s are urging K-ENGENE’s to send trucks in protest to HYBE for BELIFT to listen to fan’s concerns or at least give them more of an explanation on X – you can find a post uploaded by ENHYPEN HEESEUNG GLOBAL about fundraising for a truck with 4 payment options. For context, in December 2024, some immature fans sent a truck to Yang Jungwon with cruel text on it from merely dating rumours with Winter from AESPA. So the somewhat “joke” is that they should “make themselves useful”.
A post by @/enhypen_members on X was uploaded at 00:41 KST, saying that we should respect the decision made, they shall continue to grow and showed gratitude for ENGENE’s support. This is seen as almost a confirmation to fans that there really is No Way Back.
UPDATE 1 – PROTESTS:
Around 1:30 KST on 11th March 2026, the petition on change.org (linked previously) has reached over one million signatures. This is all under 48 hours – this really shows the intensity of Heeseung’s fans love for him. Moreover, there are protests outside of the HYBE building and nearby in Seoul, Korea, with the common phrase “ENHYPEN is 7”.
photo credits – @/dazedwonnie on discord
Fans hope to be taken seriously as this has clearly affected a large scale of people; they are determined to not give up as they have stated that even though it took over a year, Mark Lee from NCT Dream returned back to the group, they should not give up. ENGENE’s will be by Heeseung’s side, No Doubt.
Fans on X have also posted about an alleged flight cancellation for the now ex-member whilst trying to gain insider intel which you can find on @/bvnnyhoon’s page here.
UPDATE 2 – IS HE REALLY GONE?
Jake and Jay (the now two oldest members of ENHYPEN) appeared on The Morning Show (Australian) via video call on March 12th 2026 at roughly 11:00 AEDT. They were asked about how they do not have fixed choreo formations and Jake responded with “there’s been a change in choreo formations” which left fans Drunk-Dazed at the subtle confirmation from the members that Heeseung is really gone and will not be making an appearance at the Hello, Melbourne festival.
Later on, at 18:00 KST on March 12th 2026, this was posted by Applewood Korea, a global entertainment company on X:
This has given fans even less hope on a return from the ex-member.
UPDATE 3– EN-O’CLOCK CANCELLATION:
BELIFT has released another statement on X, on March 11th 2026 at 21:00 KST, regarding ENHYPEN’s variety show “EN-O’CLOCK” being cancelled.
Since the Tuesday of this week where fans were hit with news of Heeseung’s departure, they were waiting to see whether the weekly show would have any major cuts of Heeseung’s screen time. Instead, they were distraught to hear that they have decided to cancel the show entirely. ENHYPEN released a teaser for this new series of EN-O’CLOCK on YouTube you can see here.
Fans are left wondering whether we will ever see that content they had teased in this video. As seen above, BELIFT said “We will return with even better content in April.”.
“The way that the company’s acting it’s as if he was never apart of the group and that’s not fair.”
2 ENGENE opinions on EN-O’CLOCK cancellation – @/am4mna and @/kitkatwonn on instagram.
“ENGENE’s are gonna fight for Heeseung’s right.”
ENGENE’s are curious to what this “better content” is. Why are they trying to erase him? Surely, if there was nothing serious beneath all this, there’s nothing wrong with him being seen with his former bandmates – he’s still under the same company. Until then, fans remain caught in a lingering Fever of questions.
UPDATE 4 – SUBTLE SIGNS?
I am now at the fourth update and I would like to apologise that most of my updates involve claims made and evidence are from X and Instagram, however I believe it is still credible as it encapsulates the chaos that fans are going through.
Fans on X think/ believe that ENHYPEN were informed of such decisions on 14th February 2026, when Billboard Japan content was filmed.
@/heesblossom on Instagram + the comments in the YouTube video linked are all agreeing that they have low moods and speculations on why.
ENHYPEN are Prada ambassadors, so they attend their events as they would. Yesterday, on 12th March 2026, Jungwon was seen raising in hands into the connect symbol. This gesture was shown to fans outside the events perimeter through a window.
Screenshot of gesture taken from @/tatiw∅n ‘s post on X
Why is this so significant? It’s just their introductory gesture? As a matter of fact, Heeseung created this gesture back in 2020 when they had debuted as a 7-member group. Fans are taking this as a sign of hope – a moment that almost seems to Foreshadow the group speaking up despite the risks.
UPDATE 5- HEESEUNG STILL APART OF PROMOTIONS:
If you’ve made it up to here, you must not be surprised that my next piece of evidence comes from someone’s post on X.
From March 13th to March 18th 2026, there is a final YZY fancall event purchase period for ENHYPEN’s album The Sin: Vanish which includes the 6 ENHYPEN members as an option and Heeseung. However Heeseung is scheduled to have it as a different date from the other members, on the 6th April, instead of the 26th March.
I have translated the following media from Chinese to English via Google Lens so it is easier to understand by reading from the post than my regurgitation.
YZY final fan-call announcement.
Fans are furious at BELIFT for this as it is contradictory to their statement of Heeseung leaving:
Examples of X posts about this.
Having him do it on a different date is only giving the message that although he isn’t a part of ENHYPEN anymore, the company is still going to make as much use of him as possible after their last comeback — treating him like a product, something that should be Not For Sale.
UPDATE 6 – ENHYPEN IN AUSTRALIA:
If you remember from my second update, I wrote about APPLEWOOD’s statement saying that Heeseung will not be performing in Australia with the rest of the ENHYPEN members for their first visit as a group. Today, 14th March 2026, the concert happened as a 6-member group, as you could imagine. However, what really caused fans to be angry, was the picture displayed on two screens before they had started to perform.
photo taken from X where multiple people have reposted it, unable to find person who initially uploaded it.
Also from X
For them to photoshop an image onto a Melbourne-style background and cut out one of the members is just hurtful for the group and its fans; for many, it feels like a Forget Me Not moment, almost as if they’re trying to erase his existence.
UPDATE 7 – INTERNATIONAL REACH:
K-pop fans around the world have protested so hard that this news is reaching internationally. It has hit Dutch news NOS, ads in Monterrey, Mexico (Figure X), change.org UK’s Instagram, NYC Times Square Billboard (Figure X2)and much more areas, whether that’s the news, adverts, pop-ups or protests. It is clear this issue needs to be addressed properly through BELIFT themselves, instead of having their words regurgitated through news outlets with no proof of their statements. The One and Only media that can be trusted right now is BELIFT’s official statements, usually done through Weverse.
Figure X
Figure X2
UPDATE 8 – FABRICATION?
Today, March 15th 2026, The Korea Herald released an article claiming that BELIFT has re-affirmed that Heeseung will not be returning to ENHYPEN. Fans on all social media platforms are criticising this article for many reasons. One being that BELIFT themselves have not released this statement, so how are we to trust this article? Also, the article says and I quote: “According to the agency, Enhypen’s schedule remains extremely demanding throughout the year, making it difficult for members to develop independent musical projects while maintaining full group activities.” This is almost a confession to how the company overworks their artists; as their company, they are in-control of their schedule and can change this, if they really wanted to. As I have said at the beginning, other people have been able to do solo careers whilst staying under their company (e.g. Choi Yeonjun in TXT) – so how is this any different? The backlash they are facing for removing Heeseung, without a goodbye or any sort of actual reasoning, is almost Karma.
I understand everyone can make mistakes, but a big news outlet like that should have proof-read their articles carefully before they publish it. They made the mistake of writing that Heeseung left on March 21st and only corrected it once they faced backlash.
Screenshot of TKH’s article before they corrected themselves
UPDATE 8 – PETITION HITS 2 MILLION SIGNS:
Today, 16th March 2026, the petition that was launched on 10/03/2026 had reached 2 million signs by 16:43 GMT. This marks a major show of support from fans in less than a week; really proving they’d rather Go Big or Go Home.
Screenshot of change.org’s Heeseung petition
UPDATE 9 – MEMBER’S SILENCE:
Ever since the news of Heeseung was released, none of the ENHYPEN members have said anything about their former member. When speaking of the group they never name which members and only say or type the phrase “my members”. For example, on Weverse after their first Melbourne concert, Jake posted a thank you to his members. Of course, that was much easier than naming 5 (or 6) members, but they’ve not say anything related to him. Just now, at 23:03 GMT, the member Jay, commented on a post on Weverse a fan posted and deleted his comment moments later. The post was AI images of all the members with a kangaroo (because they’re in Australia) and he commented “AI detected”.
The post slide that ENGENE’s believe caused Jay OR the company to tell Jay to delete his comment.
Word on X suggests there is a BELIFT shareholders meeting about this situation that has turned into chaos amongst the fandom, on the 21st March 2026.
Will Heeseung return to ENHYPEN or will it be solidified that his place in the group was never his to keep, only Given-Taken?
LNGSHOT is a four-member South Korean boy-group under the company MORE VISION. The group consists of: Kwon Ohyul, Kim Ryul, Jung Woojin and Louis Elliot Jordain Lim. They officially debuted on January 13th 2026 with the EP “SHOT CALLERS“.
THE EVENT:
The event was hosted by SOKOLLAB at their store at 14 Rathbone Place, London, W1T 1HT on 9th February 2026. The actual event started at 3pm, though they asked fans to line up from 2-3PM to check-in. During the fan-sign, fans could greet artists and have a brief 30-second conversation during their turn with each of the members (Ohyul, Ryul, Woojin and Louis) till they are prompted by staff to move along.
Fans album unboxings:Cece C, a fan who attended the LNGSHOT fansign:
“It felt like a really intimate interaction… you could connect with them on a different level.”
Her words reflect the emotional value fans placed on the opportunity to interact with the group in a more personal setting.
REFLECTIONS:
As fan-sign events are still relatively rare in the UK, the success of this event suggests there is a clear demand for more opportunities that allow fans to engage with artists in a more personal setting. Beyond fan engagement, events like this also serve as an effective way for artists and organisers to strengthen fan loyalty while supporting album and merchandise sales.
There are many types of tickets – one of them is a VIP ticket (sometimes referred to as VVIP or VVIP+). This is the ticket people usually fiend for as it allows fans to interact with the members after the concert ends. It is typically coordinated by staff, who take these ticket holders into a separate room where interactions happen in rows, depending on the venue’s management. These tickets range from £300-500 for this treatment.
Data Analysis
For this specific enquiry, I conducted my own research with an online survey to find out what people really think of VIP send-off.
56% of participants said they do like that VIP send-off is an opportunity for concert-goers, whereas 44% disagree. Although 55% like the concept of it, only 5% of participants have actually purchased a ticket. Why is that? Well, good thing I asked 😉! I asked participants how the experience was if they attended, or why they didn’t purchase a VIP ticket.
From the figure, the common themes identified are all negative besides one of them which is the positive experience and fan connection, though it is one of the lowest ranked themes (7.7%). Over a quarter of respondents (25.6%) cited cost as the primary barrier, while concerns around value, access, parasocial pressure, and safety each accounted for roughly a tenth of responses.
While the chart highlights the most common reasons respondents have not engaged with VIP send-off, it does not capture the intensity or reasoning behind these views. To explore this further, participants were asked directly for their opinions on VIP send-off pricing and the experiences they have seen which have influenced their responses.
The prices of these tickets were repeatedly mentioned to be excessive and disproportionate with the time spent with the artists:
“Literally outrageous.”
“Paying an extra £100-200 to spend maybe 3 seconds with each member of the group (if you’re lucky) is so unfair.”
“Daylight robbery.”
Other respondents echoed similar concerns, arguing that no concert experience should exceed £200 without a guaranteed meet-and-greet. Several participants compared send-offs unfavourably to cheaper fan interactions such as fan-calls, questioning why significantly higher prices offer less certainty.
Inequality and Hierarchy among fans:
Participants raised concerns that these tickets were only for wealthy fans and a way of showing superiority to other fans:
“Only accessible to people who view that money as pocket change.”
“Pressures other people to spend more due to emotional attachment.”
“Those with more money get special treatment and feel “closer” to the artist.”
Other respondents claimed to know people who have only gone if they have gotten VIP, and if not they don’t go at all, hinting that they view the regular tickets as inferior.
Organisation Failure:
To actually begin the send-off experience, VIP ticket holders are ushered into another area where they wait for the artists to come in and speak to them. However, from the responses given, majority believe that although the artists are there, it is not enjoyable for everyone:
“It’s such a messy way for fans to meet idols.”
“Overselling of the ticket makes it suffocating for both fan and artist.”
To elaborate further, people are called in rows, which are randomised and highlights the intensity of the interaction will be based on luck.
Emotional Labour and Artist Well-being:
After performing for a maximum of four hours, which is dancing whilst singing to the best of their ability, they are expected to act over the moon in-front of their fans. Do not get me wrong, I am certain they love their fans, but after a long day, I’m sure it’s not one of the first things they’d like to do.
“It dehumanises idols – like they’re just products.”
“They have to force a smile after performing for hours.”
“Can be stressful having people waving things at you to sign and phones all around.”
“It’s draining for both sides.”
Most respondents agreed and said their enthusiasm during this time is situational and may not be a great experience for everyone.
Parasociality, Entitlement and Fan Behaviour:
It is no secret that most fans buy these tickets to stand out amongst other fans and have their interaction go viral on X or TikTok.
“Some fans just buy it for a Y/N moment.”
“It pushes unhealthy parasocial relationships and blurs the line between admiration and intimacy.”
“There will always be “fans” that forget their limits and make artists uncomfortable.”
“Fans act absolutely insane and put their idols in danger without realising it.”
It can be frustrating for artists trying to divide their attention to all the fans in front of them whilst they are having their name called left, right and centre.
Anecdote:
For me, I personally do love seeing send-off videos and have wanted to be in the OP’s shoes, but when I actually think about how those people got there, I automatically try to forget about it. I believe spending half a grand on artists, no matter how much they may have helped you, puts them on a pedestal, and makes you seem inferior to them. Also, the artists know how around how much would have been spent to be there. Personally, I’d feel ashamed that I’ve gone to these lengths for an interaction which lasts less than two minutes. However my perspective may be swayed by my religious beliefs.
I believe having fan-meets (ticket-sold, not raffle-won) as separate events would be much more appropriate and hassle-free for both parties.
Today, the 28th November 2025, the MAMA awards was held in Hong Kong – and watching ENHYPEN win the daesang hit much harder than I expected.
It brings me joy to see people win awards because I believe everyone has something to celebrate; the happiness on their faces, the disbelief, the gratitude — it’s such a pure type of moment. There’s something so comforting about seeing people finally receive what they’ve been working towards.
The voting for the VISA Fan’s Choice Award was held from 30th October to 10th November 2025. From then, I made it my mission to vote every day for my ult group – and so did many other ENGENEs. The voting worked so that you could vote once per device, so I even went ahead and asked my family and friends to vote. I may have made promises I did not intend on keeping at all, like owing them a meal if ENHYPEN won… but I’m sure they’ve forgotten about that! When it came to the final vote, I ended up talking to people in my uni who I didn’t speak to regularly just so they could vote — and bless their hearts, they actually did. They were hesitant though, may I add: “Your group better win after this.”
So, today from 10:30 AM, I was watching the awards live, unable to take my eyes off it. Wherever I went, my phone was in front of me — there was no way I was missing any of it. The live vote was announced shortly after and ended within an hour. After a good three hours, it was finally time for the VISA Fan’s Choice Award winner to be announced. I held my breath; it’s almost as if time stood still for a moment. There had been known misconduct with the voting, such as people cloning accounts, so towards the end of the vote ENHYPEN wasn’t placed as number 1. There really was no way of knowing if they were going to win.
I had waited so long for this moment. As soon as the host said “ENHYPEN,” I cheered as if it was my own win. Seeing them get what they dreamed of achieving in 2025 warmed my heart so much. Yang Jungwon — the leader of the group — of course began his speech with, “ENGENE!!!” Bless his heart, he broke into tears after that, and so did all of us who were rooting for them. It was such an emotionally intense moment, even more so for them.
This moment made me realise that I am not ashamed of being in fandoms, because this feeling can’t be matched by anything else. Rewatching them being announced as the winners reminds me of the adrenaline I felt, and it was great. I will never grow out of this behaviour, and I am forever thankful I was born with the fangirl gene.
You can watch the announcement of the VISA fan’s choice award here.
Blending faith, culture and classic British humour, actor and writer Abdullah Afzal is taking the stage once again, this time with his independent production, Snow Brown and the Seven Chachay [Uncles], suitable for the whole family.
This independent production was produced by the original team behind Cinder’Aliyah and Beauty and the Balaah (previously Muslim-inspired pantomimes). It is described as a “a celebration of Muslim life with cheeky panto humour” – the show’s timing during the festive season offers inclusivity for audiences who may not typically feel represented. While Muslims do not celebrate the annual holiday Christmas, productions like Snow Brown allow everyone to share the feeling of togetherness during this time of the year.
Afzal described the show as “Nigel Farage’s biggest nightmare” online, highlighting its light-hearted yet bold approach to diversity on the British stage. Moreover, the production will raise money for humanitarian causes, such as for Gaza and other countries in need.
SPOTLIGHT
I attended one of the Snow Brown pantomimes after not going to pantomimes for years due to the lack of relatability and I was curious to see how this played out. Afzal very kindly allowed me to interview him as I was curious to what inspired him to create this iconic blend of South Asian and British culture of a show.
He said he decided to create a Muslim pantomime to create a safe space for Muslim children to experience the same joy as traditional British pantomimes — but rooted in his own beliefs and morals as a Muslim.”. For example, traditional pantomimes often use crude language and suggestive innuendos — something he wouldn’t want his young children to see.
Afzal understands what the audience wants to see/ how society is currently working; Snow Brown was not the stereotypical Muslim woman who fiends for marriage – “she’s got a bit of bite to her… she knows what she wants… that’s what the modern Muslim woman is like and I wanted to put that on stage,”.
He said his upbringing influenced the pantomime by what he sees in everyday life e.g. the chachays’ [uncles’] behaviour was influenced by his own uncles and how they acted very old-school which explains why we saw their horrific reactions to Snow Brown wanting to marry Prince Khaled (the male protagonist).
A snippet of Abdullah Afzal’s wise words about the pantomime and to young Muslims from the audio interview!
“Do not compromise on your upbringing.. be yourself, enjoy it and tell your story and be truthful to who you are.”
Afzal also spoke to me about a film project he hopes to make, titled Haldi and Milk — it follows a young boy from Bradford who reluctantly agrees to go to Pakistan for his dad and pretends to find a wife. Surprisingly, he does meet a girl and wants to marry her, but she doesn’t want him, which subverts the stereotypes of Pakistani girls yearning for marriage with no other life goals. He wanted to make this film to show people the beauty of Pakistan as most of what is heard about the country is negative. Although funding is difficult, Afzal believes he will make it happen in the next few years!
ANECDOTE
I am so glad Afzal has created something like this for Muslims to look forward to. As a visibly Muslim girl myself, it’s easy to feel like a stranger in predominantly white spaces; this pantomime made me appreciate my culture with humour instead of being ashamed as I have been when I was younger due to the lack of inclusive exposure my childhood in British institutions has been. I hope there are more shows like this to look forward to in the future.
mominatalks 