2009 was a break out year for K-Pop: SM Entertainment's groups rocked the charts with Girls' Generation's "Gee" and Super Junior's "Sorry Sorry." Wonder Girls broke into the Billboard Hot 100 with the English version of "Nobody." Big Bang jumped to global popularity following the success of "Lies" at the end of 2008, leading to G-Dragon's solo debut.  2NE1, 4MINUTE, MBLAQ, After School, T-ara, f(x), BEAST, Secret, and Rainbow all debuted.

2014, five years later, is turning out to be the year that many of these groups seem to be imploding. Girls' Generation is embroiled in a scandal following Jessica's shocking departure from the group. Big Bang is raising questions as to when, or if, the group will make a comeback and Seungri is in critical condition following a car accident. 2NE1's Park Bom was harshly criticized following a drug scandal, and f(x)'s Sulli is on continued-hiatus from the group. T-ara is under continuous fire because of previous member scandals. Now, rumors are floating about MBLAQ's potential break up, due to an upcoming concert named, "Curtain Call."

The so-called "five year curse" of K-Pop is the idea that groups will become unsuccessful after five years, and end up breaking up. TVXQ, H.O.T, and SS501 all witnessed serious issues in their fifth year. However, many groups these days are surpassing five year lifespans, so the "five year curse" has not been talked about as much as it once was.

But now it seems that the "five year curse" is picking up with a vengeance for several of the popular groups that debuted or made it big in 2009.

2014 is going down as a difficult year for many idols and K-Pop groups, particularly those signed under SM Entertainment.  This may be an indication that there is something amiss in the company and have less to do with a so-called "curse."

However, even while there are several less-than-pleasant things happening to in K-Pop at the moment, 2014 has also seen some great comebacks and debuts, including GOT7, WINNER, Akdong Musician, Red Velvet, and many others.

Hopefully as we enter the last quarter, the rest of 2014 will be less tumultuous than the previous months, and that the groups currently involved in scandals will able to rebound without being too badly hurt.

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The views expressed above are those of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of KpopStarz.