BAE173

Active

포켓돌스튜디오

Since 202013 membersElse

BAE173 debuted on November 19, 2020, under PocketDol Studio as an eleven-member South Korean boy group — one of the larger rosters to enter the K-pop landscape that year. The group, whose fandom carries the name Else, has spent much of its existence navigating an unusually turbulent relationship with its agency, a circumstance that has shaped its promotional history as much as any release.

Debut and Formation

PocketDol Studio launched BAE173 with a thirteen-member lineup that drew from multiple nationalities, reflecting a broader industry trend toward multinational boy group rosters. The membership includes Bit, Doha, Hangyul, Hikari, Hong Sung Min, Junseo, Kang Min Seo, Lee Han Bin, Ling Qi, Muzin, Yoojun, Youngseo, and toni rei. The group's name encodes the size of its original formation — a figure that signals ambition, though the practical realities of sustaining a roster that large have proven complicated.

A Career Shaped by Instability

The group's promotional path has rarely matched its numerical strength on paper. By the time of recent coverage, BAE173 was functioning as a five-member active unit, with member J-Min occupied with the project group CLOSE YOUR EYES and Doha sidelined by an ongoing dispute with the agency. Those absences were not simply scheduling matters — they reflected deeper contractual tensions that would eventually reach the courts.

In May 2026, members of both BAE173 and labelmate group FANTASY BOYS won a legal injunction to suspend their exclusive contracts with PocketDol Studio. The court found that PocketDol had violated its contractual obligations by failing to properly fulfill settlement terms; an agency objection was dismissed. PocketDol announced it would appeal to the Supreme Court, leaving the group's formal status unresolved at that point. Separately, member Hangyul had already brought his time at PocketDol to a close in February 2026, terminating his exclusive contract and, as an official announcement framed it, ending a chapter tied specifically to CEO Kim Kwang-soo.