A playful rehearsal opens a longer reunion
Fin.K.L's reunion plans extend well beyond a single performance. Gemstone E&M has outlined roughly two years of new music, performances and other activities leading toward the group's 30th anniversary in 2028. All four members, Lee Hyori, Ock Joo-hyun, Lee Jin and Sung Yu-ri, are participating under the project slogan FIN.K.L RE:BLOOM.
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A rehearsal video shared by Lee Hyori on October 12 offered a more informal glimpse of that return. Lee Jin tossed her hair to the group's song Now while Sung Yu-ri lay on the floor beneath her. Hyori filmed the scene, and Ock supplied wind with a fan near Sung's head, helping recreate a moment from the song's music video.
The clip brought a familiar song into the reunion preparations without revealing what the new music will sound like. Lee Jin's exaggerated expressions turned the recreation into a comic scene, with the other members taking part behind and in front of the camera.
The wider announcement is more substantial than the rehearsal joke. Gemstone E&M announced preparations for activities with all four members on September 21, 2026, followed by a broader outline on September 23. Music and performances are the central commitments, alongside documentaries, entertainment programs, exhibitions, merchandise and projects involving fans.
The return is being described as the group's first sustained resumption of activities in 21 years, measured from the 2005 digital single Forever Fin.K.L. That description needs a distinction: the members have reunited since then. The current plan concerns an extended period of group activity, rather than their first appearance together since 2005.
Four members recreate a familiar scene
The rehearsal video gives each member a visible role. Lee Jin performs the dramatic hair movement, Sung Yu-ri lies beneath her, Lee Hyori handles the filming, and Ock Joo-hyun operates the fan. Reports describing the wider shot place Ock close to Sung's head as she creates the wind effect.
One description also credits fans with operating a fan, while the other accounts identify Ock as the person doing so. The consistent detail is the group's recreation of the Now video, with Lee Jin's performance at the center and the other members helping stage it.
Ock Joo-hyun, a member of Fin.K.L, comments on the group's response to its leader while watching the scene. The original account gives her words as:
Oh, this is driving me crazy. If the leader tells us to do it, we do it.
Other English accounts render the same remark slightly differently, but each conveys the same joke about following the leader's directions. In the clip, Hyori's filming and the members' improvised staging make the recreation as much a shared comedy moment as a rehearsal glimpse.
Lee Jin's appearance also prompted references to her school years, when she was known for her looks at Eunkwang Girls' High School alongside Song Hye-kyo and Han Hye-jin. The immediate attraction here, however, is her deliberately theatrical expression. The footage shows the members revisiting an old performance with humor, rather than presenting a finished comeback stage.
What the 21 year gap means
Fin.K.L debuted in 1998. Its 30th anniversary therefore falls in 2028, making a project beginning in 2026 and lasting roughly two years consistent with the anniversary timetable. The separate figure of 21 years comes from the period between Forever Fin.K.L in 2005 and the announced return in 2026.
Those two measures describe different things: the age of the group and the time since the release used as the reference point for renewed activities. Neither means the four members have had no contact or shared projects during the intervening years.
A date in one comeback account requires correction. It places the group's Camping Club reunion in 2009, although the reality program aired in 2019. That television reunion and its associated new song were a limited project. They should not be confused with the sustained activity now proposed.
The distinction matters because the latest announcement is built around continuity. Instead of one television appearance or an anniversary event, Gemstone E&M describes a sequence of releases and activities across roughly two years. Whether that becomes a regular schedule of music and performances will depend on the detailed plans, which have not yet been announced.
The dates behind the anniversary project
The announcements and rehearsal clip form a short sequence, beginning with confirmation that the four members would return together and moving into a broader anniversary program. The principal dates are:
- 1998: Fin.K.L debuts.
- 2005: The group releases the digital single Forever Fin.K.L, the reference point for the stated 21 year gap.
- 2019: The members reunite through Camping Club, a separate television project.
- September 21, 2026: Gemstone E&M announces preparations for activities involving all four members.
- September 23, 2026: The agency outlines roughly two years of music, performances and related projects.
- October 12: Lee Hyori shares the rehearsal video recreating a scene from Now.
- 2028: Fin.K.L reaches the 30th anniversary of its debut.
The September announcements establish the intended duration and range of the project, but not a release calendar. The October clip provides a glimpse of preparations without identifying a concert date, a recording schedule or a new song.
New music and performances take priority
Gemstone E&M places new music and performances at the center of FIN.K.L RE:BLOOM. Its stated aim is to present the four members as they are now, rather than limit the reunion to revisiting past hits.
The group's catalog supplies recognizable points of connection. Blue Rain, To My Boyfriend, Eternal Love and Now are among the songs cited in the comeback announcements. Their different styles also explain why Now works as an immediate reference in the rehearsal video: it belongs to a familiar part of the group's performance history.
Since their earlier group activities, the members have worked across solo music, broadcasting, musical theater and acting. The reunion brings those separate careers back into a shared project. The announcements do not specify how those experiences will shape the songs, arrangements or stage production, so the musical direction remains undisclosed.
There is also no announced album title, track list, lead single, concert venue or ticket sale date. The commitment to new music is concrete as a stated plan, but the scale and format of the releases are still open. A rehearsal video using Now does not establish that the song will appear on a future set list.
Documentaries, exhibitions and fan projects
The September 23 outline extends the reunion into several formats beyond recordings and live appearances. Gemstone E&M lists documentaries, entertainment programs, exhibitions, official merchandise, brand collaborations, advertising and fan projects, to be introduced in stages.
These are different ways of presenting the group's history and current activity. A documentary can tell a story through recorded material and interviews, while an exhibition can present that history in a physical setting. The agency has announced those formats, but it has not disclosed their contents, locations, distribution arrangements or opening dates.
Official MD, a term used in the Korean announcement, means official merchandise. No product range or purchasing information has been released. Brand collaborations and advertising are also part of the plan, although no participating companies or campaigns are named.
The breadth of the program separates it from a reunion built around one concert. It also leaves several practical details unresolved. Fans know the categories of activity being considered, but they cannot yet determine which events they could attend, which releases they could purchase or how they might take part in the fan projects.
What RE:BLOOM promises, and what is still undecided
The slogan FIN.K.L RE:BLOOM expresses the agency's intention to build something new from the group's existing identity. Its explanation centers on the members making music, performances and stories in their present lives, rather than simply turning back to an earlier era.
Jason Lee, the executive overseeing Gemstone E&M's group management, described the project as a shared undertaking between the members and their audience. In an English translation of his Korean statement, he said:
FIN.K.L RE:BLOOM is a journey in which the four members and fans create the next chapter together, rather than stopping at commemorating Fin.K.L's past.
Lee also said the agency wanted to create special moments for people who had waited for Fin.K.L and give a new generation an opportunity to encounter the group. That sets out two audiences for the project without establishing separate programs for either.
Gemstone E&M says specific activities and schedules will be announced after discussions with the artists and the companies involved. No next announcement date or booking deadline has been given. For now, the central development is the planned duration: four members preparing to work together across roughly two years, with new music and performances intended to anchor a broader anniversary program.
At a Glance
- All four Fin.K.L members are participating in the planned return.
- Gemstone E&M announced preparations on September 21, 2026, and a broader program on September 23.
- FIN.K.L RE:BLOOM is intended to run for roughly two years toward the group's 30th anniversary in 2028.
- Lee Hyori's October 12 rehearsal video shows the members recreating a scene from Now.
- Plans include new music, performances, documentaries, exhibitions, merchandise and fan projects.
- The stated 21 year gap is measured from Forever Fin.K.L in 2005, not from the members' most recent reunion.
- Release dates, venues, ticket details and the next announcement date have not been disclosed.
