# TVXQ (동방신기)
**TVXQ** (동방신기; Japanese: 東方神起, Tohoshinki) is a South Korean male vocal duo under [SM Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/sm-entertainment), consisting of U-Know Yunho (정윤호) and Max Changmin (심창민). The group debuted in South Korea in 2003 as a five-member act with the single "Hug" and debuted in Japan in 2005, becoming one of the leading K-pop acts in the Japanese market. After three members left in a 2009 contract dispute, Yunho and Changmin continued as a duo from January 2011.[1](https://kpop.openblog.com/artist/tvxq) • [2](https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/348854/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | From the hanja 東方神起, meaning "gods rising from the East"; also known as DBSK and Tohoshinki[1](https://kpop.openblog.com/artist/tvxq) • [3](https://comum.rcaap.pt/bitstreams/f297494e-d497-4586-a855-2fed4b84dc63/download) |
| Debut | Korean debut in 2003 with the single "Hug" as a five-member group; Japanese debut in 2005 with "Stay With Me Tonight"[1](https://kpop.openblog.com/artist/tvxq) • [2](https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/348854/) |
| Current members | U-Know Yunho (Jung Yunho) and Max Changmin (Shim Changmin), a duo since January 2011[4](https://cdn2.smentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2021%EB%85%84-%EC%82%AC%EC%97%85%EB%B3%B4%EA%B3%A0%EC%84%9C.pdf-2022.03.31-2.pdf) • [2](https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/348854/) |
| Agency | SM Entertainment[1](https://kpop.openblog.com/artist/tvxq) |
| 2009 dispute | Three members filed a contract-termination injunction against SM in July 2009 over a 13-year contract; group activity halted in 2010[5](https://v.daum.net/v/20100404155804726) |
| Japan milestones | First Oricon number-one single with "Purple Line"; hit singles including "Doushite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattandarou?", "BREAK OUT!", and "Share The World / We Are!"[2](https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/348854/) |
| 20th anniversary | Concert "2023 TVXQ! Concert [20&2]" at Inspire Arena on December 30–31, 2023, with a linked exhibition[6](https://www.mt.co.kr/industry/2023/12/26/2023122620195766844) |
## Formation and debut
SM Entertainment introduced TVXQ in 2003 as a five-member male group: Hero Jaejoong, U-Know Yunho, Micky Yoochun, Xiah Junsu, and Max Changmin. The Korean debut single "Hug" opened a run of early hits that also included "Drive" (2004, on an SMTOWN summer album) and "Believe" (믿어요, 2004), the title track of the first full album *Tri-Angle*, all produced with composer Park Chang-hyun, who continued to work with the group into the duo era on "How can I" (2011) and "Lazybones" (2018).[1](https://kpop.openblog.com/artist/tvxq) • [7](https://v.daum.net/v/y5vPB6pa0e)
The group was planned with [Northeast Asia](https://www.edgepedia.org/northeast-asia) as its central target market, an approach that carried its domestic popularity abroad.[8](https://v.daum.net/v/4ZnuWPS4Vo) In 2006 the group toured China, Thailand, and Malaysia; AllMusic records that it became the first Korean band to play in those markets on that tour.[9](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tvxq%21-mn0001424404)
## Success in Japan
TVXQ debuted in Japan in 2005 with the single "Stay With Me Tonight".[2](https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/348854/) The group followed a strategy of full localization in Japan, in the manner of BoA: at first Japanese music fans followed the group without necessarily knowing it was Korean, and TVXQ eventually built a popularity that stood alongside the Japanese boy bands of Johnny's (now Smile-Up), which had dominated the domestic boy-band scene.[8](https://v.daum.net/v/4ZnuWPS4Vo)
The single "Purple Line" gave the group its first Oricon number one, and later singles including "Doushite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattandarou?", "BREAK OUT!", and "Share The World / We Are!" became hits.[2](https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/348854/) Oricon's cumulative sales rankings place "BREAK OUT!", "Why? (Keep Your Head Down)", and "Stand by U" among the group's top-selling CD singles, and *BEST SELECTION 2010*, *TONE*, and *The Secret Code* among its top-selling albums.[2](https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/348854/) Korean tourism-industry analysis likewise lists TVXQ, alongside [Kara](https://www.edgepedia.org/kara-south-korean-group), Girls' Generation, and [Big Bang](https://www.edgepedia.org/big-bang), among the K-pop acts that drove Japanese interest in Korean popular music between 2009 and 2012.[10](https://datalab.visitkorea.or.kr/common/board/Download.do?bcIdx=296695&cbIdx=1129&streFileNm=2c571940-582c-4906-ab52-f5fbf4df543e.pdf)
## The 2009 lawsuit and the split
In July 2009, three members, Xiah Junsu, Hero Jaejoong, and Micky Yoochun, filed an injunction with a Korean court to suspend the effect of their exclusive contracts with SM Entertainment, and TVXQ's Korean activities were suspended from that point.[5](https://v.daum.net/v/20100404155804726) The dispute concerned what a Warwick University thesis describes as unfair salaries and labor practices under an excessively long thirteen-year contract.[11](https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/153963/1/WRAP_Theses_Lee_2021.pdf) • [12](https://georgia-international-journal.scholasticahq.com/api/v1/articles/138162-k-popopoly-navigating-antitrust-terrain-in-south-korea-s-music-markets.pdf)
The Japanese side of the group's career also came to a stop. TVXQ's last official activities as a quintet were the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen held on December 31, 2009, and the release of the group's 30th Japanese single, "Toki wo Tomete", in March 2010.[13](https://dark.namu.moe/w/%EB%8F%99%EB%B0%A9%EC%8B%A0%EA%B8%B0/%ED%99%9C%EB%8F%99%20%EC%97%B0%ED%98%81) In February 2010 Avex, the record company that had led TVXQ's Japanese activities, sold its entire holding of SM Entertainment shares to a domestic Korean company, and Japanese media reported that the group's Japanese activities were in jeopardy.[14](https://v.daum.net/v/20100226072304745) In April 2010 the Japanese agency formally announced the suspension of activities as TVXQ, while stating that it would continue to support the five members individually.[5](https://v.daum.net/v/20100404155804726)
The lawsuit had consequences beyond the group itself. A 2025 law-review article notes that the 2008 suit by three TVXQ members over the thirteen-year contract eventually led the Korea Fair Trade Commission to set a cap on the maximum number of years for entertainment contracts, and the Warwick thesis records that management agreements were thereafter limited to a seven-year period under the standard-form contract rules.[12](https://georgia-international-journal.scholasticahq.com/api/v1/articles/138162-k-popopoly-navigating-antitrust-terrain-in-south-korea-s-music-markets.pdf) • [11](https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/153963/1/WRAP_Theses_Lee_2021.pdf) The three departing members later performed as JYJ, and SM and JYJ reached a settlement agreement in November 2012.[12](https://georgia-international-journal.scholasticahq.com/api/v1/articles/138162-k-popopoly-navigating-antitrust-terrain-in-south-korea-s-music-markets.pdf)
## The duo era
SM judged that five-member TVXQ activity was no longer possible after the separation and decided to continue the group around U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin, the two members who remained.[13](https://dark.namu.moe/w/%EB%8F%99%EB%B0%A9%EC%8B%A0%EA%B8%B0/%ED%99%9C%EB%8F%99%20%EC%97%B0%ED%98%81) The duo resumed activity in January 2011.[2](https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/348854/) The Korean comeback album *Why (Keep Your Head Down)* (2011) carried "How can I" (믿기 싫은 이야기), and later Korean releases included *New Chapter #1: The Chance of Love* (2018) with the track "Lazybones".[7](https://v.daum.net/v/y5vPB6pa0e)
In Japan the duo's commercial standing remained strong. Oricon's cumulative album rankings for the group are headed by duo-era releases, with *XV* (2019) and *ZONE* at the top of combined album sales.[2](https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/348854/) The group remains on SM Entertainment's official artist roster, listed as TVXQ! alongside U-Know and Max Changmin as solo entries.[15](https://www.smentertainment.com/artist/)
## Twentieth anniversary
TVXQ marked twenty years since its debut with the concert "2023 TVXQ! Concert [20&2]", held at [Inspire Arena](https://www.edgepedia.org/inspire-arena) at the Inspire Entertainment Resort in Yeongjong, Incheon, on December 30 and 31, 2023. A linked exhibition, "TVXQ! EXHIBITION [20&2]", ran at the Inspire Mall from December 23, 2023 to January 6, 2024, showing previously unreleased video and photographs and a special section based on the concept of the new album released for the anniversary.[6](https://www.mt.co.kr/industry/2023/12/26/2023122620195766844) Korean press coverage of the anniversary described the set list as spanning the group's twenty-year history, with fans waving the red balloons that have long symbolized the group.[16](https://www.xportsnews.com/article/1857907) The anniversary album cycle was followed by the 2024 TVXQ! Asia Tour [20&2], with stops listed including Hong Kong, Bangkok, Taipei, and Macau.[17](https://www.samsungpop.com/common.do?cmd=down&contentType=application%2Fpdf&fileName=2010%2F2024020513095453K_02_02.pdf&inlineYn=Y&saveKey=research.pdf)
## Legacy
Commentary on the group's place in K-pop history emphasizes two points. First, TVXQ was the dominant idol group in the Korean music market of the early-to-mid 2000s and succeeded in transplanting that popularity overseas, centered on Northeast Asia.[8](https://v.daum.net/v/4ZnuWPS4Vo) Second, the 2009 contract dispute became a widely known case of an agency interfering with artists' activities, and it contributed to the contractual reforms that capped entertainment agreements in Korea.[8](https://v.daum.net/v/4ZnuWPS4Vo) • [12](https://georgia-international-journal.scholasticahq.com/api/v1/articles/138162-k-popopoly-navigating-antitrust-terrain-in-south-korea-s-music-markets.pdf) Press discussion in the 2020s continues to treat the group as a reference point for the second generation of K-pop, with netizen debates in 2025 asking whether a debut-era TVXQ could succeed in the changed industry of today.[18](https://www.allkpop.com/article/2025/08/they-were-more-talented-than-most-current-k-pop-groups-netizens-debate-whether-a-group-like-tvxq-could-be-successful-if-they-debuted-now)
## References
1. [동방신기 (TVXQ) · K-POP 아카이브](https://kpop.openblog.com/artist/tvxq)
2. [東方神起のメンバー、プロフィール | オリコンニュース（ORICON NEWS）](https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/348854/)
3. [Total 1074 95 (K-pop fan survey thesis)](https://comum.rcaap.pt/bitstreams/f297494e-d497-4586-a855-2fed4b84dc63/download)
4. [SM Entertainment 2021 사업보고서 (artist roster)](https://cdn2.smentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2021%EB%85%84-%EC%82%AC%EC%97%85%EB%B3%B4%EA%B3%A0%EC%84%9C.pdf-2022.03.31-2.pdf)
5. [동방신기 日소속사 "동방신기 활동 중단" 공식 발표, 뉴시스 via Daum](https://v.daum.net/v/20100404155804726)
6. [영종 인스파이어리조트에서 동방신기 데뷔 20주년 기념 전시회 열려, 머니투데이](https://www.mt.co.kr/industry/2023/12/26/2023122620195766844)
7. [동방신기 20주년② "좋은 인성·꾸준한 노력"…함께 만든 '레전드 역사', Daum](https://v.daum.net/v/y5vPB6pa0e)
8. ['20주년' 동방신기, 'K팝의 DNA'를 이루는 그룹, Daum](https://v.daum.net/v/4ZnuWPS4Vo)
9. [TVXQ! — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews | AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tvxq%21-mn0001424404)
10. [동북아편, 문화체육관광부 방한외래관광객 조사 자료](https://datalab.visitkorea.or.kr/common/board/Download.do?bcIdx=296695&cbIdx=1129&streFileNm=2c571940-582c-4906-ab52-f5fbf4df543e.pdf)
11. [Lee (2021), University of Warwick thesis on the K-pop idol system](https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/153963/1/WRAP_Theses_Lee_2021.pdf)
12. [K-POPOPOLY: Navigating Antitrust Terrain in South Korea's Music Markets (2025)](https://georgia-international-journal.scholasticahq.com/api/v1/articles/138162-k-popopoly-navigating-antitrust-terrain-in-south-korea-s-music-markets.pdf)
13. [동방신기/활동 연혁](https://dark.namu.moe/w/%EB%8F%99%EB%B0%A9%EC%8B%A0%EA%B8%B0/%ED%99%9C%EB%8F%99%20%EC%97%B0%ED%98%81)
14. [동방신기, 일본서도 5인조 활동 '중단' 예고, 뉴스엔 via Daum](https://v.daum.net/v/20100226072304745)
15. [ARTIST — SM Entertainment](https://www.smentertainment.com/artist/)
16. [콘서트로 쓰는 새 역사…건재하다, 동방신기·하이라이트·샤이니, 엑스포츠뉴스](https://www.xportsnews.com/article/1857907)
17. [Samsung Securities COMPANY UPDATE (SM Entertainment tour listings)](https://www.samsungpop.com/common.do?cmd=down&contentType=application%2Fpdf&fileName=2010%2F2024020513095453K_02_02.pdf&inlineYn=Y&saveKey=research.pdf)
18. [Netizens debate whether a group like TVXQ could be successful if they debuted now, allkpop](https://www.allkpop.com/article/2025/08/they-were-more-talented-than-most-current-k-pop-groups-netizens-debate-whether-a-group-like-tvxq-could-be-successful-if-they-debuted-now)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › East and Southeast Asian pop scenes › K-pop and the Korean popular music scene › Artists, groups, and people: K-pop and the Korean popular music scene › First- and second-generation idol groups and 1990s dance acts › Surnames T to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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