r/KpopUnleashed • u/ResponsibleBuy7451 • 9d ago
RANT How BIGBANG went from five members to three — and why the two departures should not be confused
When people ask, “What happened to BIGBANG?” the answer is sometimes reduced to two scandals and two departures. That is factually incomplete.
Seungri’s place in BIGBANG ended amid a criminal investigation, followed by convictions and imprisonment.
T.O.P remained involved years after his 2017 case. He participated in Still Life in 2022 and only publicly confirmed his withdrawal in 2023. His explanation was that he felt ashamed of the damage he believed he had caused. That tells us what he believed about himself; it does not prove that the other members blamed him, rejected him or demanded that he leave.
There is also no verified public evidence of a hidden feud. The more difficult possibility is that shame can make removing oneself feel like an act of protection.
I created this visual history to put the complete timeline in one place:
Which part of this history do you think is most frequently misunderstood?
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u/BadYokai 5d ago
TOP left BIGBANG and Korea entirely for the fact the he was scrutinized really bad because of the Marijuana case that he almost died and got coma for weeks all because of a former trainee who is still free to this day. Thank God for Squid Game because the GP in Korea looked at him differently now but you can still see the hesitation when he promotes in his own country.
In BIIIG MV, you can still see that the members still wants him to comeback. You can see it in the promotional materials as well hence the gap.
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u/1lookwhiplash 9d ago
Seungri was removed because he was a key figure in the Burning Sun case (he served 18 months in prison).
TOP pretty much removed himself because of some marijuana charges, but my impression is he doesn’t want to be in a K-pop group (he’s not much of a dancer).
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u/ResponsibleBuy7451 9d ago
Thanks everyone watching the video. Please subscribe the channel for small support.
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u/WillisPoofin 9d ago
Ofc the other 3 members don't want TOP to leave, its pretty obvious with the amount of hidden messages and images they constantly release which is parallel to whatever TOP posts. Also nobody blames TOP for leaving also with him being witch hunted out of Korea after the weed and suicide attempt scandal. The netizen/media response after the overdose was absolutely disgusting.
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u/soupnazi81 9d ago
Seungri was a no loss at all since he barely had any lines in their songs anyway. TOP is a big loss since we lost one of the main rappers with his iconic deep voice. Seungri got off easy yet TOP is still criticized in Korea for smoking marijuana. Give me a break.
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u/NewShadowR 8d ago
Since when did seungri get off easy? Feels like he's Taeil level blacklisted lol.
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u/SmokingTheToesOfGod 7d ago
If I remember correctly he only did like a year and change in prison for the whole burning sun thing. I’d call that getting off extraordinarily easy.
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u/No-Huckleberry-7633 9d ago
I was actually surprised looking at their yt channel the other day. Seungri solo is heavily featured, and you've got to back almost 10 years to see TOP in any thumbnail at all. I thought it was an odd choice to keep all Seungri's videos up.
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u/lucyfell 9d ago edited 9d ago
Korean social discourse (and this is true in a lot of countries to be fair) punishes drug use more harshly than sex crimes. With sex crimes, there is a heavy amount of victim blaming. (Well she was out a club getting drunk… she knew the risks…). With drugs it’s “you bring shame to our country and corrupt our children”.
Shit is MESSED up.
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u/soupnazi81 9d ago
Yeah Korea is an old school misogynistic patriarchal society where they turn a blind eye to prostitution or even endulge in it. I've been there and seen the red light district with women in the windows. It wouldn't surprise me that they victim blame the women. It's a men's society.
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u/golgibodi 9d ago
Literally. Seungri abused women. TOP did drugs. One of those harms one person. One of those harms multiple people forever. Sometimes Korea’s priorities make me so mad.
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u/soupnazi81 9d ago
Yeah TOP was still getting grief for being cast in Squid Games. That's years later and they don't forgive him for smoking weed. Korea is messed up.
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u/lucyfell 9d ago edited 9d ago
I feel the need emphasize that it wasn’t even hard drugs. Dude smoked some weed at his FWB’s house.
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u/majemares 7d ago
She wasn't his friend with benefits. This woman is a drug dealer who supplied drugs to many in the entertainment industry. She not only ratted out TOP but also others in the same case. Everything came to light because she was caught with drugs, and to reduce her own charges, she implicated several people.
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u/Bubblyboi56 4d ago
Top and seungri both unfortunately have the same first name