Each year, Forbes magazine honors 30 young leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs in Asia across ten categories, including Entertainment & Sports.
This year, the magazine highlighted i-dle, CORTIS, NMIXX, and choreographer Leejung Lee.
Forbes described i-dle as a K-pop girl group formed by Cube Entertainment in 2018 under the name (G)I-DLE. The group, featuring members Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, Shuhua, and Soojin, debuted with the song 'LATATA' and has since released several chart-topping albums, amassing approximately seven million monthly listeners on Spotify. Soojin departed from the group in 2021. In 2025, the group rebranded itself as i-dle and launched its eighth EP, 'We are,' which sold over one million copies in its first week. That same year, they also received the Grand Prize at the 34th Seoul Music Awards.
Regarding CORTIS, Forbes stated that the name is derived from "color outside the lines" and is a five-member K-pop boy group formed in 2025 by BIGHIT MUSIC, a label under HYBE. It is the first boy group launched by the HYBE subsidiary in six years, following BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER. CORTIS is labeled a "young creator crew" rather than a traditional idol group, with members Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, and Keonho credited for choreography and production roles on their debut EP, ‘COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES,’ which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 15 and led in first-week sales among 2025 rookie group. The group has received various rookie awards, including recognition at the 2025 Mnet Asian Music Awards and the 40th Golden Disc Awards.
For NMIXX, Forbes noted that the group is a South Korean girl group established by JYP Entertainment in 2022 with the single album ‘AD MARE.’ The six members—Lily, Haewon, Sullyoon, Bae, Jiwoo, and Kyujin—are recognized for their innovative sound termed ‘Mixx Pop,’ which fuses elements from pop, rock, hip-hop, and electronic music. In October, the group's first studio album, 'Blue Valentine,' nearly topped Korea's Circle Album Chart and earned ten music awards. NMIXX boasts six million followers on Instagram and approximately 3.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Lastly, Forbes highlighted Leejung Lee's contributions, noting her role as a choreographer and dancer who created the dance for 'Soda Pop' in Netflix's 2025 animated success 'KPop Demon Hunters.' She began her career as the first female member of the dance group Just Jerk Crew and has choreographed performances for K-pop groups such as BLACKPINK and TWICE. Lee frequently shares dance videos on Instagram, where she has an audience of 2.6 million followers.
Congratulations to i-dle, CORTIS, NMIXX, and Leejung Lee!
