A Bittersweet End To ZEROBASEONE

From Seoul, the popular boy group hold a final encore concert and say goodbye as the group splits in half.

ZEROBASEONE’s final selfie, ahead of their encore conert.

You could argue that ZEROBASEONE’s members exiting through a large stage door at the end of their final encore show in Seoul last night was supposed to be a cinematic end to a once-in-a-generation group.

But it was mostly a sad spectacle.

One by one, through sobs and bowed heads, the members were forced to reckon with the fact that one of the most memorable times of their career had now come to a close. ZEROBASEONE, as we know it, is done. While five members — Hanbin, Matthew Seok, Jiwoong, Taerae, and Gunwook — remain, four others — Zhang Hao, Ricky, Gyuvin, and Yujin — depart. Throughout the night, it was hard to tell who was more miserable: Those who were spared to stay and those who were leaving for the great unknown. There was barely a moment that the members weren’t crying or struggling to get through a line of a song. And as the night wore on and the memories dug deeper, the sobs grew louder and harder to miss. By the time the group performed their debut single, “In Bloom”, the energy felt like a tsunami about to make landfall.

What makes ZEROBASEONE’s end so striking is that they are a group that, in many ways, defied the odds. The group was formed on Boys Planet, a competition reality show that became an utter phenomenon in 2023, as 98 trainees vied for nine spots in a group formed by WAKEONE.

ZEROBASEONE’s first selfie as a group.

There were the trainee introduction videos that went viral (Ricky’s “young and rich, tall and handsome” clip will stand in history as iconic), as well as performances like “Jelly Pop”that sounded like an immediate hit. And of course, there were the members themselves, who worked hard across 12 episodes to craft storylines that tugged at heartstrings and drew viewers. Over one million votes were cast for the finale, bringing in truly global viewership from Japan, China, Korea, and the U.S.

A central figure throughout Boys Planet was Hanbin, an all-around ace who is an incredible dancer. Hanbin was a clear favorite from the very first episode: His entrance was met with gasps and murmurs about his incredible agility as a dancer. But his friendships gave the series an emotional punch for viewers to cling to: First, as the show explored his background with Matthew, when they were both trainees. Their reunion was loving and at times, complicated. Matthew, who is Canadian, could sometimes be sensitive to shifting dynamics and favoritism, while Hanbin could be crafty and cunning in his approach to competition. I have never seen a contestant as laser-focused on winning as him.

Over time, Hanbin developed a close friendship with another all-rounder, Zhang Hao, a Chinese contestant who gave up the violin to become an idol. Like Hanbin, Zhang Hao was keenly aware of the cameras and highly competitive. Their friendship developed from admiration for one another. They would win together through brute force, which they did. Together, Hanbin and Zhang Hao racked up the most votes, with Zhang Hao ranking first – a remarkable feat for a Chinese contestant.

Other members, like Jiwoong, had been in the K-pop trenches for years. Jiwoong had debuted twice before, then found modest work as a BL actor. At 25, ZEROBASE one was arguably his last chance to debut and succeed. This added real urgency to debuting the boys. If not now, when?

Alliances developed throughout the maknae line too: Gunwook and Gyuvin became best friends throughout filming. In the final episode, Gyuvin pulled an upset and made the team. As he and Gunwook hugged each other, you could barely see their eyes from how hard they sobbed.

Project groups are challenging to market: they never last more than a few years, and fans are often wary of investing too heavily in them. Why become attached to a group that has a definite expiration date? Why break your own heart? But not since IZ*ONE, a group that launched several of this generation’s most popular idols, has a project group captivated K-pop fandom the way ZEROBASEONE did.

Their debut single, “In Bloom,” was a triumph. It has always stuck with me that, for a single created for a boy group with unknown members, it seamlessly fit the members’ innocence and lightness. The members radiated joy when they performed it, and the fandom, eager for something new, responded ravenously. Mnet hailed ZEROBASEONE as the beginning of a new fifth generation of K-pop, and the group broke records with album sales.

I only saw ZEROBASE perform once at their KCon Los Angeles debut in 2023. The night was electric, and they were one of my most anticipated acts. They wore suits that referenced the ones they debuted with on Boys Planet, and they performed many songs from the show, like “Here I Am”, too. I remember the members being giddy, particularly Matthew and Hanbin, who were often paired together to introduce performances throughout the night. Their performance of “In Bloom” was thrilling and euphoric.

By the end of their set, I believed the hype: They were going to be the next big thing.

I imagined the group would have a bright future with world tours and a possible push into the North American mainstream.

But that actually never happened. ZEROBASEONE would return to KCON for two more years of performances, but American ZEROSEs who wanted to see them in person would only get those three opportunities. The group never toured outside of Asia, rarely gave interviews to publications that took them seriously, and in time, seemed to disappear into the churn of the K-pop machine.

I can’t claim to be a huge ZEROBASEONE stan. I followed their releases loosely, and I enjoyed several of them. CINEMA PARADISE and NEVER SAY NEVER stand as excellent releases. But other times, their comebacks seemed rushed. I would often hear that they had a release weeks after the fact. Sometimes the music and concept seemed confused. Often, it seemed like the group was barely given enough time to really build up momentum. But then I’d remember: What momentum can you gain in just two years? Right as most groups seem to gel, ZEROBASEONE would disband.

For most groups, though, this wouldn’t be a cause for complaint. But ZEROBASEONE’s time was so short – and their members were so unique and had so much potential – that it seemed like such a shame they could never achieve more success.

Maybe it is that loss of potential that we are all mourning. Watching the members on stage last night, it seemed clear they were not ready to end their time together. It’s rare to find a group where the members enjoy each other’s company as much as this one. What could they have accomplished together with more time? What dreams are being broken by separating them?

Of course, ZEROBASEONE 2.0 will push on. But the first iteration will always be a special group. At times, I think of ZEROBASEONE as the beginning of a new era for K-pop, when the global floodgates broke open, and the industry realized that anything is possible.

On stage in LA that night, I watched as they performed a theme song from Boys Planet, “Here I Am”. The song’s opening reminded like a graduation song processed through an EDM machine. As cheesy as this sounds, it is one of my favorites from the show: It captures the members’ youth and how tender our friendships are when we’re young. Two and a half years later as the group said goodbye to one another, I thought of this song again. Nothing lasts forever, even our best times with friends.

Last night in Seoul, as he said goodbye to half of his team, Gunwook seemed to understand this fragile truth best. “The fact that we’ve come this far is destiny,” he said. His eyes were bloodshot and teary as he stared straight ahead. “And because of that, I think my team means more to me than simple idol relationships.”