The now-famous "kpop curse" started off very simply - in September, various male idols seemed to be getting the short end of the stick due to a series of unfortunate events - police entanglements, swine flu attacks, lawsuits and everything in between. But what started off as a dryly humorous sequence of downfalls turned into an eyebrow-raisingly (and yes, I just adverbified "eyebrow-raising") destitute chain of happenings in October, something more than a short slew of coincidences. Many readers were relieved when November 1 arrived, eager to start off the month with a clean slate. However, optimism quickly turned into despair as the kpop curse struck again. I've never been the overly-superstitious type, but seriously, when will this ever end? [NOV 3] SHIN DONG YUP The series of November downfalls kicked off with Shin Dong Yup, a well-known comedian now infamous for committing contractual fraud with De Chocolate E&TF, his management agency. Although the original exclusive contract gave Shin $1 million, he forged the amount to $2 million. Personally, I'm not exactly sure why Shin expected no one to pick up such a large number discrepancy... [NOV 7] LEE SUK KYU Although recent cases of illness (swine flu, enteritis) in Korea have been followed by reports of speedy recovery and relief, this was not the case for the son of actor Lee Kwang Ki. After battling numerous illnesses including swine flu, the seven-year-old lost a long battle to sepsis, a severe illness in which the bloodstream is overwhelmed by invasive bacteria. Two days later, Korea mourned with Lee Kwang Ki and his family during a heartwrenching broadcast of the funeral processions. [NOV 15] LEE HYUK JAE You'd think that everyone understood the don't-mess-with-the-fans rule after the Jaebeom incident broke out in September, but not everyone seems to have gotten the memo. Fangirls burned with rage this month when Lee Hyuk Jae inadvertently insulted idol group Battle during a radio show guest-starring with BEAST. Although Lee apologized a few days later, his harsh/misconstrued remarks may have tarnished his reputation amongst some fans. [NOV 19] DAUL KIM Earlier this month, the suicide of international model Daul Kim shook the entire fashion world. Further investigations revealed that the reportedly depressed young woman decided to take her life due to the pressures of the highly-demanding fashion industry; others speculate that the suicide was the result of repeated abuses from her boyfriend. Various icons, including Big Bang's G-Dragon, have come out and given condolences for this untimely tragedy and unfortunate loss to the fashion world. [NOV 21] MNET ASIAN MUSIC AWARDS Mnet was placed in a sticky situation the moment MAMA 2009 was revealed to the world. Fans, reluctant to say goodbye to their beloved MKMF, were further disappointed when trot singers, SM Entertainment artists, Pledis Entertainment and even Mnet's very own Lee Hyori bowed out of the event, essentially leaving JYPE and YGE artists to take over the show. However, rumors of Jaebeom's return to 2PM & Korea on MAMA sparked a renewed interest in the upcoming event. When the actual show finally took place last weekend, many fans were outraged by the arguably rigged results and possible favoritism toward YGE artists. Others shrugged off the outraged reaction, arguing that MAMA was the "MTV Awards" equivalent of Asia, and should therefore be taken lightly. Furthermore, the uncomfortable appearance of TVXQ's JaeChunSu trio to accept the Asia Representative Award coupled with SME's incensed reaction created even more buzz. With a large accumulation of headline-topping controversies, many accused Mnet of deliberately stirring up drama instead of being a credible and ethical award show. On the bright side, many fans were delighted with the event itself, which was full of eye candy goodness, from 2NE1's (controversial) ten-minute musical stage to a (controversial) performance with Ivy and 2PM's Nichkhun. Unfortunately, the rumors of Jaebeom's return proved to be false, as the beloved leader (?) was nowhere to be found. [NOV 22] PARK GEUN TAE'S BROTHER Fresh after Daul Kim's suicide, the older brother of widely acclaimed composer Park Geun Tae was found dead on the 22nd. The young man had hanged himself, leading to speculations of an intentional suicide. Like Ms Kim, Mr Park was known to have suffered a long history of depression. [NOV 22] DAVE KIM Like brother, like brother - Epik High member Tablo isn't the only outspoken individual of his family unafraid of speaking his mind. The performer's older sibling Dave Kim publicly reprimanded Infinity Challenge for the cast's unacceptable and embarrassing behavior during a recent trip to New York. Although there is much truth in his opinion, many felt that his incendiary word choice was unnecessary. After the hot reaction from netizens in Korea, Dave elaborated on his perspective to explain where his frustrations lied. As the situation progressed, both Dave Kim and the Infinity Challenge cast apologized publicly, somewhat resolving the issue. [NOV 22] DONGHO of U-KISS Shying away from the ever-popular swine flu trend, Dongho of U-Kiss was rushed to the ER for enteritis (inflammation of the small intestine) during filming for KBS 2TV Invincible Baseball. After receiving an IV injection and resting for a week, the singer's health condition had greatly improved by the end of the week. I'm sure fans were given quite a scare regardless though; we're glad to know he has recovered. [NOV 29] TAECYEON of 2PM Not really a scandal, but this deserves its own little space. Self-explanatory. [NOV 30] TAEYEON of SNSD Nothing has been confirmed, but rumors have been flying around that the beloved kid leader of SNSD revoked her title of leader during the filming of an upcoming episode of Strong Heart. However, the context of this statement and the meaning behind her words are unclear, so many fans have decided to reserve judgement/reaction until further information is revealed. [NOV 30] YG ENTERTAINMENT Just as we thought YG Entertainment was getting out of the spotlight with plagiarism and MAMA accusations, several ex-managers of YGE were caught stealing $2 million out of performers' pockets and concert profits. The police have confirmed this fraud and the investigation is currently underway. Because this story is still so fresh, the court has not taken any moves yet. SWINE FLU Forget TVXQ � SME's other idol groups, SHINee and f(x) gave a whole new meaning to 5-3=0. Jonghyun and Onew were separately diagnosed with swine flu earlier this month, and, although the special stages with Super Junior's Yesung and Leeteuk as replacements were entertaining at first, many fans grew restless when third member Taemin was taken out as well. Soon after, it was announced that f(x) trio Amber, Krystal and Sulli had also been diagnosed, temporarily stopping promotions for Chu~?. Aside from the SME fam bam, various idols and celebrities also joined the swine flu hit list, including Kim Joon, 2AM's Jinwoon (possibly contracted from fellow group member Jo Kwon), Lee Seung Gi, Kim Nam Gil, Alexander of U-Kiss, Lee Seung Hyo, Wheesung, Lee Joon and Thunder of MBLAQ. A quick search on allkpop yields over seventy-five results for "swine flu"... a bit ridiculous, don't you think? JAEBEOM of 2PM Despite the incredible actions that aptly named "JayPM" Hottests have taken in support of their beloved 2PM, JYPE returned the leaderless 2PM to the kpop scene with comeback album 1:59PM. Although many fans were overjoyed to see the six remaining members healthy and back on stage, the hole left by Jaebeom's absence has been glaringly obvious and acknowledged the 2PM boys themselves on various occasions. It seems like the remaining members have completely dismissed the idea of replacing or permanently moving on from Jaebeom; however, now that 2PM is back on track with its own set of promotions and schedule, when and how will Jaebeom make a return? TVXQ & SM ENTERTAINMENT (...and Mnet, CreBeau etc) Cassiopeians had it extremely rough this month - after the lawsuit controversy erupted this July, things took a turn for the worse as summer progressed into fall. Initially, the public face of the case was quite simplified - TVXQ pressed charges against SM Entertainment for their outrageous slave contracts. However, many were shocked when Yunho and Changmin, the two other members of TVXQ independent of the lawsuit, openly reprimanded Junsu, Jaejoong and Yoochun for their arguably reckless actions. Furthermore, Mnet became entangled witht he controversy as speculations arose that Mnet had been supporting JaeChunSu under the table due to a bitter relationship with SME. SME is not the only side under attack - the JaeChunSu trio has also been accused by various parties as well. SME claimed that the three members had breached their contract by belatedly cancelling their Shenzhen concert after agreeing to it in 2008; however, a legal representative responded by revealing documents and claiming that the contracts with TVXQ's signatures were forged. The trio was also accused of fraud by the distributor of CreBeau products in China. With countless sides involved in this situation now (JaeChunSu, SME, Mnet, HoMin, CreBeau, the distributors, the China concert contractors, the media etc), it's impossible to fully understand the controversy in its entirety anymore. Although many observers had staunchly declared loyalty to either JaeChunSu or SME at the beginning, opinions have begun to falter due to the sketchiness of all parties involved. Hopefully when the dust clears, we will have a resolution fair to all sides. As I publish this article, November is shifting into December, and again, kpop fans are ready to turn over a new leaf. At the end of September and October, we were left in the same position, only to be disappointed as things continued taking a turn for the worse. However, they say third time's the charm... what do you think December will bring?