RESCENE's Minami Broke Radio Star's 2026 Record, Then Fell Asleep at the After-Party

Photos from a Busan galbi restaurant spread across Korean online communities on the 21st, and the image doing the most damage is simple: RESCENE's Minami, eyes closed, slumped against a wall with soju written all over it, while labelmate Liv sits directly beside her looking perfectly alert and composed. The contrast was immediate fan bait.

The dinner appeared to be a group outing with agency staff. Adult members shared a table with company representatives; the underage members sat separately at their own table. Nobody at the adult table, apparently, kept count for Minami.

Fan reactions landed exactly where you'd expect: "Minami is so cute," "so she's human after all," "Liv staying perfectly fine is the whole point," and at least one person floating the idea that a liquor brand deal is now inevitable. Whether the culprit was soju or a grueling schedule was left officially unresolved, but the photographic evidence has a lean.

The variety show side of the story

The timing made the dinner photo drop even more absurd. On the 22nd, data firm GoodData Corporation's FUNdex rankings for the third week of September named Minami the most buzzed-about non-drama TV and OTT personality in the country, the first time any RESCENE member has topped that particular chart.

The reason was her solo debut on MBC's Radio Star, where she covered a lot of ground: retiring the "Geoje Yaho" meme that first made her famous, recounting getting dismissed by Japanese friends back when she was still dreaming of becoming a K-pop idol, and detailing just how fast the group's fortunes changed after a streaming comeback pushed their older songs back up the charts. One hundred advertising inquiries came in after that momentum shift, she said. In May alone, the group performed at 18 university festivals.

Radio Star itself ranked third overall among non-drama programs that week, behind MBC's I Live Alone and tvN's You Quiz on the Block. More specifically, the Minami episode set the show's highest buzz score of the entire year.

What's next

RESCENE won two awards at the 2026 The Fact Music Awards held at Busan Asiad Main Stadium on the 19th, taking home Artist of the Year and Today's Choice. In their acceptance remarks, the group thanked their fandom "REMAIN" and promised "better music and scent" ahead.

The group debuted in 2024 with the single Re:Scene and built their identity around an unusual "scent concept," releasing tracks including UhUh, YoYo, Glow, and LOVE ATTACK. The next chapter arrives November 3, when RESCENE drops their fourth mini-album, Pulse. Between the viral dinner photo, the buzz chart win, and two fresh trophies, they are not exactly arriving quietly.