BABYMONSTER "DESERVE" Oct 23 & YG's 2:34 AM Letter Explained: TREASURE "SHOCK," Two New Groups, and Why Korea Is Laughing
Oct 23 · 1 PM KST
Yang Hyun Suk posted a letter at 2:34 in the morning Korean time. Not a teaser. Not a press release. A full “FROM YG” letter, signed by the man himself, dropped while most of Seoul was asleep.
Inside: BABYMONSTER's new digital single “DESERVE” lands October 23, TREASURE returns with “SHOCK” on November 2, and YG is building two brand-new groups. I read the Korean original twice (once at 3 a.m. Seoul time, like a fool) — here's what it actually says, and why Korean fans reacted with more side-eye than screaming.
What Yang Hyun Suk Actually Wrote
He opens by saying it's been about five months since his last written greeting — YG has mostly been using its “YG ANNOUNCEMENT” videos lately — and that he wanted to share “a few pieces of news fans have been curious about.” Then he goes artist by artist. Three blocks, very YG.
1. BABYMONSTER “DESERVE” — A Slow Song With Teeth
The new digital single drops October 23 at 1 PM KST. It's their first new song in roughly four months, after June's “SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA”.
Here's the line that got me. In Korean, Yang describes it as a 슬로우 곡 — a slow song — but says it carries more 강렬한 에너지 (intense energy) than anything they've released before. He calls it a track that pairs the members' delicate vocals with their explosive belting to capture “the peak of emotion” — the Korean word he uses is 절정, which literally means climax or the highest point. That's a very specific promise. A BABYMONSTER ballad that builds to a vocal explosion? Honestly, nobody prepared us for this.
Remember: YG originally pitched this group as a vocal-heavy girl group before the hip-hop concept took over. “DESERVE” sounds like Yang finally letting that side lead.
One more detail that matters: he says BABYMONSTER's next album is now expected early next year. So DESERVE is a single, not the start of a full album era.
BABYMONSTER's last MV, “MOON” (official BABYMONSTER channel) — the moody side DESERVE seems to be building on.
2. TREASURE “SHOCK” — November 2
Yang frames June's mini album “NEW WAV” as the start of TREASURE's “2막” — their “second act.” That's a theater phrase Koreans use for a career reboot, and he leans into it: the group is going through “the biggest change in musical direction” of their career. “SHOCK” is a new digital single with a hard hip-hop sound, out November 2, and he asks fans to stay with them as the second act carries into 2027.
3. Two New YG Groups — Boys First? Nobody Knows
The last block is the one fans are screenshotting. YG is preparing a five-member boy group and a four-member girl group. Yang calls them “very important artists” who will lead YG's future alongside TREASURE and BABYMONSTER.
The catch: both groups will spend the rest of this year recording demos, and debut dates only get set once title tracks are chosen. Translation from YG-speak: no date, not soon.
🇰🇷 THE KOREAN SIDE: “Why Is He Up at 2:34 AM?”
The letter shot to the top of TheQoo's HOT board within minutes, and the comment section was… not exactly crying happy tears. The timing was the whole story.
Here's the context English coverage skips: just two days earlier, on October 12, Lee Soo Man — SM's founder and Yang's old rival from the 90s idol wars — returned with a double debut of a boy group and a girl group under his new company, A2O Entertainment. Korean fans connected the dots instantly. Some of the top comments (translated loosely):
“Why at this hour lol — was he watching Lee Soo Man's new group videos and just started typing?”
“With YG I don't believe anything until it's actually out. Give me a teaser, I still won't believe it.”
Others asked whether YG can realistically manage two rookie groups debuting in the same window, and a few simply wrote that they'll “listen to the song first and then decide.” Which, honestly, is the most Korean-netizen sentence ever written.
🌍 THE GLOBAL SIDE
International MONSTIEZ mostly zeroed in on one thing: a slow song. On X, the excitement was about finally getting a vocal showcase — and about the date. October 23 at 1 PM KST is the exact same day and hour Lisa's EP PRESS PLAY drops on her own label, LLOUD. The ex-YG superstar versus YG's current “BLACKPINK successor,” same release slot. Fans on X were quick to point out that this is going to be one chaotic Friday.
📊 THE GAP
Global fans read the letter as a release schedule. Korean fans read it as a mood — a late-night reaction to a rival's comeback, from a label with a history of slipping dates. And the skepticism isn't random: Yang said in August 2025 he hoped to drop a new BABYMONSTER album by that November, and fans ended up waiting roughly six more months. Koreans have learned to treat “FROM YG” as a hope, not a contract.
The difference this time? DESERVE already has a date, a time, and a poster. The new groups are the part to take with a grain of salt.
Why It Matters
BABYMONSTER has been on a release sprint in 2026 — CHOOM in May, SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA in June, MV drops for “I LIKE IT” and “MOON” over the summer — while the CHOOM world tour keeps rolling. A slow, vocal-first single is a real pivot, and pushing the album to early 2027 tells you YG wants this one to land on its own. For TREASURE, “SHOCK” is the proof point for the whole “second act” reboot. And for YG, two new groups means the company is betting its next decade on rookies again — just as Lee Soo Man re-enters the ring.
FAQ
When does BABYMONSTER's “DESERVE” come out?
October 23, 2026 at 1 PM KST (that's midnight ET on the 23rd, 9 PM PT on the 22nd). It's a digital single.
Is “DESERVE” a ballad?
Yang Hyun Suk calls it a slow song, but says it has more intense energy than anything BABYMONSTER has released, built around their vocals and belting.
When is TREASURE's comeback?
TREASURE releases the digital single “SHOCK” on November 2, 2026, with a hard hip-hop sound.
When will YG's new boy group and girl group debut?
No date yet. Both groups are recording demos through the end of 2026, and debut dates will be set once their title tracks are chosen.
- Source: Yang Hyun Suk's “FROM YG” letter, Oct 14, 2026, 2:34 AM KST
- BABYMONSTER “DESERVE” — digital single, Oct 23, 1 PM KST (slow song)
- BABYMONSTER next album — expected early 2027
- TREASURE “SHOCK” — digital single, Nov 2 (hip-hop)
- New YG groups — 5-member boy group, 4-member girl group; demo recording through year-end, no debut dates
- Same-day clash: Lisa's EP PRESS PLAY also drops Oct 23, 1 PM KST
💬 Jamie's Take
Look — I laughed at the 2:34 AM timestamp too. But I'm not mad about a BABYMONSTER slow song. These girls can sing, and half the hip-hop concepts never gave Ahyeon and Rora room to breathe. If DESERVE really builds to that 절정 Yang promised, it could be the song that wins over the people who still call them “BLACKPINK juniors.” The new groups? I'll believe it when the first teaser drops. Like every Korean fan in that comment section, I've been burned before. But October 23 is circled. Twice.
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