INTRO

Claimed to be the biggest boy band in the world, Super Junior and its thirteen members have succeeded paving a way for Asian pop to be recognized by the world. In less than a decade, the band has experienced many ups and downs, yet they still manage to keep their influence in the Asian music industry if not more. They have moved beyond music into television, commercial brands, various stage performances and the silver screen as a solid evidence how big their name is through their whole career.

THE BAND

Super Junior is a band founded by SM Entertainment which originally consisted of twelve members; Leeteuk, Heechul, Hangeng, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook, and Kibum. Hangeng was the only Chinese member of the band, scouted as a mean to expand the band’s influence in China. The band debuted on November 6, 2005 under the name of Super Junior 05 with a single called “Twins (Knock Out)”. A year later, they dropped the suffix “05” and added another member, Kyuhyun, and they remained as a thirteen-member group until 2010. The band is also divided into sub-units, Super Junior K. R. Y., Super Junior-T, Super Junior-M, and Super Junior-H, each sporting a different kind of genre to relate to many listeners of music. The band’s success has brought immense popularity to its members, that they are even recognized outside the music industry as models, actors, MCs, radio hosts, and many others.

THE NATIONAL SUCCESS

Even in the month of their debut, Super Junior successfully put their first album at number three in the chart of December 2005. With the release of the album “Miracle”, they made their international chart-topping in Thailand. After the addition of Kyuhyun in 2006, Super Junior released “U” which was entitled to be the most popular song of the year. That year, Super Junior closed it off by collecting many awards from top award ceremonies in South Korea. Rest assured, this was only the beginning of their super stardom.

THE SUPER SHOW

After the release of their second album “Don’t Don” in 2007, Super Junior started their own solo concert tour entitled “The 1st ASIA TOUR, Super Show” in a couple of Asia countries. With the increasing of their popularity, Super Junior held their second tour, “The 2nd ASIA TOUR, Super Show 2”, in more countries up until “The 3rd ASIA TOUR, Super Show 4”. Now that they have proved their establishment in the pop industry around the world, in 2011, Super Junior started an even bigger tour called “The WORLD TOUR, Super Show 4”, which reached countries beyond the continent of Asia.

THE INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

Arguably, Super Junior received their international recognition through their third album, “Sorry, Sorry”. The catchy tune and memorable dance moves had brought them outside their own country into a supra-national stardom. The particular album was granted the title of the best-selling K-Pop album in many countries and collected the total of ten number-one awards in South Korea. It is by far the most successful release of the group.

THE CONTROVERSIES AND LEGAL DISPUTES

Leading up to their success, Super Junior did not have a relatively peaceful internal condition. The debut of the sub-unit, Super Junior-M, caused a controversy within the opinions of the fans regarding the addition of two members, Zhoumi and Henry. Despite the fans’ protest over the presence of the two additional members, Zhoumi and Henry stayed, and Super Junior-M remain as the most successful sub-unit of Super Junior. Later in 2009, Hangeng filed a law suit against SM Entertainment, arguing over his unfulfilled rights and demanded his resignation from the agency. Hangeng and SM Entertainment settled their case in 2010, and Hangeng flew home to China to pursue his solo career out of his former agency. Another member, Kangin, also had his own criminal charges regarding a DUI incident not far before Hangeng’s law suit. The conflict encouraged Kangin’s decision to fulfill his military duties for two years, leaving the band temporarily. With Kibum focusing on his acting career and Heechul enlisting in the mandatory military service, Super Junior keep doing their activities as a nine-member band.

THE COMEBACK

The year 2009 was claimed as the darkest year of Super Junior’s career with Kangin and Hangeng out of the group. There were months of the group staying low under the radar as fans waited nervously for a confirmation if the group would ever have activities together again. As Leeteuk has said many times, Super Junior always try their best to not let the fans down. In 2010, they made a comeback with their fourth album, “Bonamana”, whose sale succeeded that of “Sorry, Sorry”. Super Junior kept going and released their fifth album, “Mr. Simple”, once again showing the world why they are the superstar of the hallyu movement in Korea.

THE WORLD DOMINATION

With five studio albums, various collaborations, and a world tour ongoing, Super Junior is on their way of world domination. They have proved to be trendsetters and the first of many things, setting themselves as examples to a new generation of music groups. They have been through a lot of things, they have even lost a group member, and yet they’re still here. You can rest assured that they will still be here for quite a while.