Have you ever wandered into the " what ifs" realm in the K-Pop universe? Speculating how certain events, or their absence, could have drastically reshaped the landscape of the industry we know and love today can be a mind-bending exercise. In an alternate reality, perhaps these events did occur, but in our world, they remain mere conjectures. Now, let's embark on a thought-provoking journey through six pivotal 'What Ifs' that could have potentially rewritten the course of K-Pop history.

What If... the Produce Series was never manipulated?

We would have different lineups for those that debuted, of course, but also, this means that we could have X1 for five years, as promised, and it would have easily become one of K-Pop's best. Even with the very limited time they were able to promote as a group, they were breaking records left and right and won several awards for their year-end award ceremonies. Imagine the power they would hold if they were still in the industry.

What if... the Produce groups weren't temporary?

Are Produce groups (I.O.I, Wannaone, IZ*ONE, X1, etc.) famous because of the short time given to them? Because of this, fans want to give their all during the period they can be together. Would it have the same effect if they were a permanent group? Of course, we are not discrediting the fact that they are very talented, but maybe we're just hinting at the companies to make them permanent, finally. 

What if... BIGBANG G-Dragon stayed at SM Entertainment?

Before YG Entertainment, G-Dragon was originally a trainee at SM Entertainment. But after he found an interest in rapping, he decided to leave SM Entertainment and was persuaded by YG Entertainment's founder, Yang Hyun Suk, to join YG Entertainment instead. Yang Hyun Suk has repeatedly admitted that BIGBANG is why YG Entertainment exists. If G-Dragon did not make the move to YG Entertainment, who knows how BIGBANG and YG Entertainment would have turned out now?

What if... Park Jin Young had gotten accepted into SM Entertainment?

Before founding one of K-Pop's top companies, Park Jin Young was an aspiring artist himself who tried his luck and auditioned for SM Entertainment. However, he ended up getting rejected, which was good news for us, because that led him to create JYP Entertainment. Imagine if he had gotten accepted into SM Entertainment. Would we still have gotten JYP Entertainment and all their great artists?

What... if Bang Si Hyuk stayed at JYP Entertainment?

Before establishing Big Hit Entertainment, Bang Si Hyuk was part of JYP Entertainment but left in 2010 to start his own company, Big Hit Entertainment, now known as HYBE. If Bang Si Hyuk stayed at JYP Entertainment, we most likely would not have gotten BTS and all the great artists that are produced under them.

What if... JYP Entertainment accepted these now-famous artists?

Artists like BTS’s J-Hope, IU, and EXO‘s Xiumin -- are such big names in the industry for their impressive talents, but little did you know that they were also rejected at auditions. JYP Entertainment has rejected some of the most prominent artists in K-Pop. If the company did accept them, imagine how different K-Pop would have become. 

What if... there was no Hallyu Ban in China? 

The Hallyu Ban started all the way back in 2016 when China started to limit K-Pop idols and music from entering their country after considering the Korean policy THAAD to be a risk to national security. This ban not only caused organizations to lose millions of dollars but also caused groups to be divided since some groups have Chinese members. Since July 2017, Lay has not been actively promoting with EXO, and Super Junior-M hasn't done any activities since 2015.

Rather than contemplating too long on these "what ifs," we should just enjoy and make the most of our present!