K-pop has always had a soft spot for the underdog — the little-known act that somehow cuts through the notoriously competitive industry to leave a lasting impression. Some of the genre’s most successful groups, including BTS, began with their own climbs from relative obscurity.
Now, girl group Rescene is taking up that narrative.
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Industry insiders say its breakout feels rarer than such success stories once were, as the path from a small agency to mainstream recognition has grown increasingly narrow despite the seemingly ever-expanding global reach of K-pop.
Rescene’s 2024 dance-pop track “Love Attack” first entered Melon’s Top 100 chart at No. 100 in March 2025 amid moderate interest among K-pop listeners. After falling off the chart, it returned at No. 98 on May 28 this year before reaching No. 1 at 10 p.m. on July 8.
The surge may have appeared to have come out of nowhere, but it had been months, or even years, in the making.
Rescene, the first girl group launched by the newly established The Muze Entertainment, debuted in March 2024 with five members: Woni, Liv, Minami, May and Zena.
Like many K-pop acts from smaller agencies, Rescene had limited access to television music shows and large-scale promotional opportunities. The group instead built its own stage online, placing greater emphasis on social media and direct communication with fans.
Over the past two years, the members have produced more than 1,500 livestreams, videos and other pieces of online content, steadily establishing a close relationship with their fandom, Remine. The approach echoed the grassroots communication strategies used by BTS in its early years and, more recently, by virtual boy band Plave, known for its frequent livestreams.
Woni launched her own YouTube channel in February, filling it with comic and relatable glimpses of everyday life.
But the decisive breakthrough came from an unlikely catchphrase.
In a video uploaded on March 20, Woni’s Japanese bandmate Minami appeared on the channel to introduce Japanese gyaru culture. During the episode, she exclaimed, “Geoje yaho!” — a playful cheer that roughly translates to “Yay, Geoje!” and refers to Woni’s hometown of Geoje, South Gyeongsang.
The phrase quickly escaped the group’s existing audience. Clips of Minami’s delivery and distinctive gestures spread across short-form video platforms and online communities, turning “Geoje yaho!” into a meme.
A succession of videos from Woni’s channel followed it into the viral spotlight, drawing new viewers toward Rescene and, eventually, its music, sending “Love Attack” back onto the charts nearly two years after its release and ultimately carrying it to the top of Melon’s Top 100.
When the song reached No. 1 on July 8, the five members appeared together in a surprise livestream. They cried as they thanked Remine for helping a group that had spent much of its career outside the mainstream finally reach the summit.
The group’s television appearance on MBC’s “Reveal My Star’s Life: The Manager” (2018-), which aired on Saturday, further resonated with viewers as the members reflected on the hardships that had preceded their breakthrough. The company’s CEO and executive had personally driven the members to their events and worked tirelessly to promote Rescene, preparing hundreds of profile packets, handwritten letters and even cakes in hopes of securing appearances on television music shows.
Rescene’s rise feels particularly striking as an increasingly rare example of what the industry calls a “small-agency miracle” — a little-known act breaking through without the promotional reach or reoups Beast and Infinite in the early 2010s, girl groups EXID and Brave Girls in the late 2010s and early 2020s, and, more recently, Fifty Fifty
“Looking back 10 or 20 years, it was fairly common for acts from smaller agencies to find success one by one — so common that there was little need for a phrase like ‘small-agency miracle,’” said an entertainment company executive who requested anonymity. The executive, who began working in the industry as an artist manager more than a decade ago, added, “Those cases gradually became fewer as some agencies grew into major corporations and the industry itself changed. Now, they have become genuinely rare.”
The executive estimated that the cost of producing and marketing a K-pop act has risen nearly fivefold on average over the past decade, making it increasingly difficult for smaller companies to compete with industry giants such as HYBE.
The widening disparity is felt across the industry.
On July 8 — the same day Rescene reached No. 1 on Melon’s Top 100 — Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young chaired a meeting with representatives from small and midsize music agencies in central Seoul, where soaring production costs emerged as a central issue.
“The number of rookie artists who entered the Circle Chart last year fell 40 percent from 2023,” Choi said. “Polarization within the industry has also become so severe that production budgets can differ by as much as thirtyfold from one agency to another.”
While acknowledging the benefits brought by K-pop’s rapid growth, Choi warned that the imbalance could ultimately undermine the industry’s momentum.
“We may have reached a point where we need to question how long K-pop’s success can continue at this pace,” he said. “Only when creative work flourishes across a wide range of genres can the ecosystem evolve in a way that preserves both its health and diversity.”
