

Photo: © Broken Valentine
A part of South Korean
Rock music history
With the following artist, I introduce you Broken Valentine 브로큰 발렌타인. This South Korean band formed in 2002 and defines the Alternative Rock Music scene and media in the country over 20 years now. Please read cloesely the following post!
The band's current lineup consists of bassist and leader Sunghwan, guitarist Jihwan, lead vocalist Kyungjun, lead guitarist Junho and drummer Tae Hee Jo. The band's original lineup included lead vocalist Van, lead guitarist Ansu, and drummer Koopa. The band is notable for their 2011 appearance on the Korean television program Top Band.
2007—2014: Formation and breakthrough on Top Band
Broken Valentine was formed in 2002 under the name "6. August". After Van and Ansu left the band 2004, they renamed themselves "B. August" with member Sunghwan performing lead vocals. In March of 2007, the band officially changed their name to "Broken Valentine", with members Van and Ansu returning as lead vocalist and guitarist respectively.
In December 2008, the reunited band participated in the "Asian Beat" band competition (Korean round) sponsored by YAMAHA, and became the finalist to represent Korea in the following year's Asian Beat Grand Finale held in Hong Kong. In February 2009, Broken Valentine won the Grand Prize and the Best Composer Award (Byun G) with the song "Answer me", which became their most popular track. Broken Valentine thus became the first team in Asian Beat's history to ever win two awards in the same year.
In 2009, Broken Valentine released their first EP album, the self-produced Calling You. To celebrate this release, the performed a showcase concert, and continued to perform at local gigs and in support of other bands throughout South Korea.
However, due to the nature of the South Korean music scene, with limited outlets for independent bands, they found difficulty achieving nationwide recognition, so in 2011, they tried out for the television program Top Band broadcast by the Korean Broadcasting System, a Survivor-like reality show wherein bands compete against each other. Broken Valentine was considered an early favorite, and made it to the round of 16 on the show, but was eliminated at this round by the band "Toxic."
Following their elimination, Broken Valentine held their fourth exclusive concert "Royal Straight Flush" on October 14, 2011 to a crowd of more than 500 people. In December of that year, the band released their new single "Down," which involved all the members writing, composing, and producing.
The following year, they released second full-length album, Aluminum. The album's title track 'Aluminum' was talked about by many music fans after the death of vocal member 'Van.'
2015—present: Van's death and line-up changes
On August 3, 2015, it was reported that Broken Valentine's vocal, Van (Kim Kyung Min), had died from drowning, after he went to play in the waters with his friends. At the time of his death, the band had been working on their third album Sad, which was set to release following the conclusion of Koopa's military service in September of that year. Van's funeral procession was held on August 5, 2015. A tribute performance in memory of Van was held on November 18, 2016, with the remaining band members in attendance.
After a year of no activities, Broken Valentine reunited as a trio to release a new EP titled Project. Nabla, with Noh Dae-geon of Bursters and Heo Gyun of Hash providing vocals for the album. In an interview with Osen following the album's release, the band confirmed that Ansu had chosen to leave the band during discussions regarding their future after Van's death. The band also held a fan meeting and concert the following day to promote the new album. On December 9, 2017, the band held their solo concert "Night Plan" with a number of guests performing lead vocals.


2019 - restart
On February 10, 2019, Broken Valentine added new members Kim Kyung-jun and Park Jun-ho to the band. On September 21, Broken Valentine returned with their solo concert, "Four Ours," which featured newly composed music. One week later, they released their new song "Not Yours."
On December 29, 2022, the band released their third studio album, 3. The band began album promotions at Nodeul Island Live House on January 14, 2023. On February 26, 2023, it was announced that Koopa would be leaving the band after their Seokchon Lake performance on March 25 and was replaced with Tae Hee Jo.
2025 - Please Don’t Fall
On 20th May 2025, Broken Valentine have released their newest record "Please Don’t Fall" - a powerful Rock song, that deals with regret and emotional stagnation. The lyrics are sorrowful, with someone feeling stuck in time as relationships and moments drift away.
The repeated context “Please don’t fall” stands as metaphor for not wanting to lose someone . The speaker is caught between the reality and fragile hope to someone that might resist that fate. Overall, the song stands for emotional survive after an connection breakup, that can not be rebuild.
Stay tuned - BV will release soon on 23rd June 2025 the new Single Release "Body & Soul"!

© Broken Valentine