![\"Korean](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4485aec2-4d26-4f6e-8016-47d4cc66f256.jpg\")
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Korean indie rock band The Rose plays at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2024, in a scene from the documentary \u201cThe Rose: Come Back to Me\u201d \/ Courtesy of Rock and Rose Films<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Rose: Come Back to Me\u201d opens with a familiar image in K-pop storytelling \u2014 young musicians chasing a dream \u2014 but quickly turns into something less typical: a story about a Korean indie rock band determined to retain creative control, even when it costs them years in court.<\/p>\n
Released in theaters on Feb. 14, the documentary follows The Rose, a four-member band that has built a global following largely outside the traditional K-pop idol system. Rather than focusing on trainee camps, survival shows or major agencies, the film tracks how the group formed organically, wrote its own songs and tried to protect its creative voice in an industry built around tightly managed idols.<\/p>\n
That perspective sets it apart from recent Korean pop-centered documentaries. Streaming platforms have spotlighted major idol acts in polished behind-the-scenes features such as \u201cBLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky\u201d and \u201cBTS Monuments: Beyond the Star,\u201d as well as audition docuseries like \u201cPop Star Academy: KATSEYE.\u201d While \u201cThe Rose: Come Back to Me\u201d exists in the same genre of global K-pop documentary, it tells its story from the periphery rather than the center of the industry. <\/p>\n
The Rose, which debuted in 2017, consists of three Koreans \u2014 Dojoon, Hajoon and Taegyeom \u2014 and one Korean American member, Woosung. Their debut song, \u201cSorry,\u201d became an instant hit in Europe, and their first European tour months after their debut, which included stops in Brussels, Moscow, Istanbul, London and Budapest, sold out. <\/p>\n
Unlike many other K-pop documentaries, the film doesn\u2019t show the group undergoing grueling trainee boot camps. Instead, it focuses on the band\u2019s natural formation, practices and struggle to build recognition. It also documents the band\u2019s conflicts with their management company as they seek to maintain their artistic direction, from decisions on group composition to the number of main vocalists on stage.<\/p>\n
The 96-minute long documentary spends much of its run time on conflicts with the management company, which allegedly attempted to drive wedges between members, causing emotional strain. The Rose\u2019s dispute with the company culminated in a lawsuit in 2020. After two years of legal proceedings, the band ultimately won the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at The Rose\u2019s journey, it was us who made choices from the forming of the band all the way to now,\u201d Dojoon said.<\/p>\n
The film also shows the band\u2019s unsuccessful efforts to gain recognition in their home country. <\/p>\n
An early breakthrough came with Woosung\u2019s collaboration with BTS\u2019 Suga. The group also appeared on a K-pop music talk show on KBS. However, their initial momentum quickly faded after news emerged that Woosung had previously been apprehended for marijuana possession.<\/p>\n
Undeterred, the group continued pursuing opportunities abroad.<\/p>\n
In November 2023, The Rose reached a milestone by holding a sold-out 15,000-seat concert in Los Angeles. The achievement led to an invitation to perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough The Rose\u2019s story, I hope people\u2019s view of K-pop can open up and expand \u2014 that Korean rock music can also resonate with the world,\u201d director Eugene Yi is quoted as saying. <\/p>\n
The documentary is currently playing at CGV cinemas in Korea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Korean indie rock band The Rose plays at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2024, in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,409,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-291030","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movies","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}