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Will Super Junior disband? Members clash over Kwangya and mention contract renewal

'Doesn't it feel like they tried to squeeze in too many SM artists who didn't even have any storyline before...it's too confusing,' said Eunhyuk

Super Junior is one of the oldest and still active K-pop groups that is also popular worldwide. They are the only active group from the year they debuted i.e., 2005. They also have a good relationship with their company, SM who even created a special K-pop label just to handle Super Junior’s activities. They have also amicably kept on renewing their contracts since their debut. But it doesn’t look like they are agreeing over SM’s Kwangya concept.

SM first introduced their latest venture ‘Kwangya’ with the debut of their newest girl group aespa in November 2020. In their annual press conference SM Congress 2021, they explained that Kwangya was the name for their SM Culture Universe aka SMCU, which is like the shared Marvel Cinematic Universe. It means that all of SM’s groups will be connected through the storytelling in their music videos. But fans of the different SM groups like EXO and Red Velvet were not happy, while TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, and Super Junior members struggle to understand Kwangya.

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Kyuhyun and Eunhyuk talk about Kwangya

While promoting Super Junior’s latest comeback 'Callin', the members appeared on the radio show ‘Noon Song of Hope’ where they spoke about Kwangya. Host Kim Shin-young joked that TVXQ’s Changmin had, in fact, asked Super Junior’s Kyuhyun what Kwangya was as he did not know what it was. Kyuhyun too didn’t know as he joked, “Well, it must be a good place.” Leader Leeteuk was diplomatic as he flexed, "I know what Kwangya is. I love our SM universe. Our teacher [CEO] Lee Soo-man, who created it, is amazing.”

However, Eunhyuk was blunt as he confessed, “It is an amazing and well-made universe, but doesn't it feel like they tried to squeeze in too many SM artists who didn't even have any storyline before? If that is our universe from now on, I will go along, but it's too confusing. There are many K-Pop fans who are young students. They need to study for school, not study about this universe. Or maybe they can explain it to us in more simpler terms.”

It should be noted that SM groups before SHINee did not have fixed supernatural or fantastical concepts which is why Kwangya is something completely new for Super Junior, Girls' Generation, and TVXQ. But Shindong tried to do damage control as he responded to Eunhyuk, “There is a misunderstanding that Kwangya is something that fans need to study about to understand. But actually, we will all come to know what it is naturally.”

Super Junior's contract renewal

Fans found it hilarious that while Shindong and Leeteuk were being polite, Kyuhyun and Eunhyuk were too honest. Super Junior’s leader also shared that their contracts were expiring soon and they would be discussing the renewal. Eunhyuk shared, “We should all read through everything carefully before making a decision,” while Leeteuk was positive that everything would go well with all of them renewing their contracts.

'We stan a wise man'

In fact, just before the radio show, Knetizens and Red Velvet fans clashed as some shared Red Velvet didn’t fit Kwangya’s concept. To it, Reveluvs retorted, “Red Velvet is on their own way, they don't need futuristic concepts because they have their own concepts and their own world, even their own theory, they walk by themselves and they don't need Kwangya to have the best k-pop concepts.”

EXO-Ls have also been vocal about how Kwangya is a rip-off of EXOPlanet, “Both EXO and Red Velvet have their own universe and they don't fit that kwangya,” and “Minseok taking a detour exit straight out of kwangya.” Another brought back the time TVXQ’s Changmin, who is a candidate to become SM’s director, could care less about Kwangya, “It doesn’t matter because the SM artists don’t even understand the KWANGYA concept.” One fan found Eunhyuk’s response hilarious, “We stan a wise man.”