How HYBE’s Original Story, DARK MOON, And ENHYPEN Took Over Comic-Con

DARK MOON Comic-Con Booth (Photo Courtesy of HYBE)

HYBE

EXCLUSIVE – It’s a Wednesday evening on the preview night of Comic-Con International in San Diego; the thousands of expo vendors are setting up their booths to prepare for over 135,000 attendees over four days. It’s one of the biggest pop culture conventions in the world, and gives companies, organizations, artists, shops, and more the opportunity to share their work.

One of the booths stood out for its animated art that sprawled across the large fabric walls, and a giant, bright red moon at the center. The giant sign in front of it read: DARK MOON.

As you look around the booth, brought by HYBE’s Original Story DARK MOON, you learn a little bit about its story, as well as the inspiration behind it – K-pop superstars ENHYPEN.

HYBE, the South Korean conglomerate behind the biggest music acts in the world like BTS, ENHYPEN, SEVENTEEN, and more, knew they wanted to create stories centered around their groups. It would not only reach other types of fans, but also give the group’s fans escapism through the power of webtoons. HYBE's Next Entertainment Business division was created for that: leading story-driven and future growth initiatives by creating new entertainment experiences to connect fans with artists and music. In turn, they created Original Story as a way to expand and intertwine with the “artists’ distinct branding and musical narratives.” They created several fantasy stories centered around their groups: TOMORROW X TOGETHER's The Star Seekers, LE SSERAFIM's Crimson Heart, and BTS's 7Fates: Chakho.

But none had such a large global response as ENHYPEN’s 2022 webtoon series, DARK MOON: Blood Altar.

The multimedia urban fantasy franchise soon gained popularity among both ENGENEs – ENHYPEN’s fandom – and general webtoon and manga readers. It spent 26 consecutive weeks on the Top 10 on its host site, Naver, in North America, with over 1.9 million subscribers and 68.6 million views. Globally, it has amassed over 2000 million cumulative views. The next year, ENHYPEN created a special soundtrack album, MEMORABILIA, to serve as a companion to the webtoon, which then received a sequel, DARK MOON: Two Moons, in 2025. The demand for more from the franchise prompted the animation adaptation, dubbed and subtitled in eight languages, on Crunchyroll.

It’s why Taeho Park, Head of HYBE Next Entertainment Business (NEB), wanted to bring DARK MOON to audiences at Comic-Con. It had been one of the goals that the NEB team set for the year, because he felt it was ready to receive more global attention, especially in the U.S. market.

“DARK MOON started as a webtoon in 2022, and then we launched the animation [this year],” Park says through an interpreter in an exclusive interview during Comic-Con. “DARK MOON’s IP has scaled up continuously. The launch of the animation was one more step forward for global coverage, and we were looking for the next opportunities for the IP. The story has matured enough, so we believed it was only suitable that we introduced it to the U.S. audience.”

Park also said that the story was another reason why DARK MOON was chosen to be highlighted, because of the message behind the story surrounding seven vampires who sought to protect Sooha, a young schoolgirl with superhuman strength who just transferred to their school, the supernatural-hating Decelis Academy.

When she arrives at the school, she meets her classmates – each character inspired by ENHYPEN (including former member EVAN) – who are hiding the fact that they are vampires with unique powers. As they swore to protect her, they began to feel drawn to her and follow her wishes. After a person is murdered – and it looks like a vampire did it – Sooha finds herself in conflict between the vampires and the werewolves, and must figure out how to navigate through this dangerous supernatural journey.

“The message [in the story] aligns very well with the contemporary time in 2026,” Park explains. “Because it talks about existing in between or on the margin, having trouble with one’s own identity, and how they are trying to overcome solidarity by bonding with each other. The message will resonate really well with [now] and the venue – San Diego Comic-Con.”

Though ENHYPEN – members Jungwon, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-Ki – inspired the characters in the story, DARK MOON is separate from the group’s lore – which is also vampire-based – and music concepts. But it will continue to have a connection tied to each other. Park emphasizes that despite the characters being in high school, they’re actually 500 years old because they’re vampires, so as ENHYPEN ages, it won’t really be relevant. The relationship between the story and ENHYPEN may not be the same as when they first began the collaboration, but both will share the same goal of connecting with audiences through their artistry.

“We are all aware that as artists mature, we have to think more about what kind of collaboration model we will continue to pursue between the two,” says Park. “What is so distinct about this is that the artists actually share the same starting point. When ENHYPEN debuted [in 2020], DARK MOON started [to form]. It actually coincided. As ENHYPEN continues to grow, they have their own distinct growth trajectories. Sometimes they would have their own message that they want to deliver to their fans. As an IP, we are exploring the space where we can create our own voices or messages.”

Since the conception of DARK MOON to the animated series three years later, a lot has changed within ENHYPEN’s team. With EVAN departing from the group this past year, his character, Heli, remains a major character in the franchise. For the team, that’s not going to change anytime soon.

“There are many different characters like vampires, werewolves, and a very attractive female lead too,” Park reveals. “So using these complex characters, we are going to show how the story evolves by intertwining their different stories through different characters.”

It also doesn’t mean EVAN is going to join ENHYPEN as a collaborator in the DARK MOON series – similar to what HYBE’s J-pop group, &TEAM, has done before with their DARK MOON: The Grey City series. Park says he can’t speak for EVAN or the other HYBE artists who currently do not have a story in NEB’s Original Story yet, but never say never. They do plan on expanding the DARK MOON universe, so anything is possible.

“We will be able to balance out our artistry structure and artistic collaboration,” Park states. “We are not looking at the DARK MOON franchise as a single IP or a single piece of content. Our ultimate goal would be to expand its storyline and universe even further.”

He uses &TEAM’s DARK MOON: Grey City series as an example. The characters, inspired by the members of &TEAM, are all werewolves, with the main character named Khan, who unites with his werewolf brothers. The sequel webtoon series, THE WITCH OF YERASAH, mentions another main character named Nazar and his connection with the werewolf group. Park explains, “We will be able to expand the storyline by using all these different characters and the intertwined storylines between them.”

With the growing roster of musical acts within HYBE, there are probably a lot of stories planned to be told – whether it be part of DARK MOON or not. Park smiles, clarifying that it’s not up to him to determine which group or label gets to have their own Original Story. He says that’s all up to the artists’ label. He points out, “When the label comes up with a new artist, they have their own career planning. If the label thinks this type of Original Story development or creative vision would help out their career, they will reach out to our team, and we would coordinate together.”

Park’s team would provide the initial baseline story, and then the artists and label will review it. He smiles, “If both of us believe the artist brand and the storyline would create some synergy together, we would probably collaborate. That’s how it goes.”

With DARK MOON dominance in HYBE’s Original Story titles, Park hopes to use what was learned from its success, which was a lot. He could talk about DARK MOON and the many titles “all day long.” He stuck with two to explain, saying that the message from the story should be relatable to people “in contemporary society.”

“It’s not just the development or creation of the content itself that is enough,” Park adds. “While we are operating and managing the content that is already developed, precise maneuvering [of the rollout plans] is needed. So when we are doing artist collaboration, we have to have a sophisticated or elaborate [plan] so it can become as successful as it evolves.”

There are so many good quality and popular IPs that Original Story has, including BTS’s 7Fates: Chakho – which hit 15 million views within the first two days of its Webtoon launch – and others that have a message that people can resonate with. Park and his team are reviewing existing IPs that could follow the success of DARK MOON. He shares, “We are exploring our external collaboration opportunities. We have our standards and the lessons learned. So based on these, we will keep our minds open and then find out who can share this type of vision with us.”

Until then, DARK MOON remains a focus for the team, who have a three-year plan to help with their financial and strategic goals. This year – their first year – included the launch of their animation on Crunchyroll and participating in Comic-Con. The plans for the next year will focus on the content, especially regarding the werewolves in the DARK MOON universe. When asked if there was a “live-action” film or series in the plans, Park shrugs, suggesting that nothing has been set in stone yet, but they wouldn’t say no.

“HYBE is a large company,” Park admits. “As an IP, the ultimate goal is to have it be established as a very refined story world that can last its life on its own, [and expand it] based on the existing settings, tropes, and characters.”

During Comic-Con, DARK MOON participated in all branches of the Comic-Con experience. Alongside their expo booth, which ran the entire convention – with exclusive merchandise and vampiric freebies related to the story, the company held a Ballroom 20 panel, a meet-and-greet autograph signing, and an evening festivity for select fans to attend. Fresh off their concert in San Diego that same week, ENHYPEN attended the Comic-Con events, including participating in the DARK MOON-based panel, “Bite Me: Calling All Vampires,” which included Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke and stars Peter Facinelli and Ashley Greene.

DARK MOON has often been compared to the iconic Twilight franchise, which featured vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural folks living among mortals – even falling in love. The members expressed during the panel that they had seen the films, despite it first premiering when they were in grade school. Twilight has been part of the pop culture zeitgeist during that time, so they knew the story.

The day after their panel, ENHYPEN appeared at the DARK MOON booth for a select number of fans to participate in their “Say Bye” meet-and-greet and receive a signed DARK MOON poster. Over 9,600 registered badges applied for the ENHYPEN meet-and-greet, which ranked in the Top 10 most applied entries for a Comic-Con event this year, with only 150 selected to be up close to the members, throwing heart hands and interacting with their idols. On the day it happened, a large crowd formed around the booth, as many began cheering for the group.

The members reflected on the event and collectively shared, “We were honestly amazed to see so many fans at the DARK MOON booth. It was incredibly meaningful to experience firsthand how much love and excitement there is for both DARK MOON and ENHYPEN's story. We truly believe the story becomes complete only through fans' engagement, and their passion and creativity have constantly inspired us. We hope DARK MOON continues to open new doors for audiences to discover our world, just like Comic-Con gave us the chance to meet so many people this year."

Later that evening, ENHYPEN performed at their ‘DARK MOON: Blood Night’ event at the House of Blues in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. With over 650 people in attendance, hundreds of fans were dressed in vampire-inspired attire to represent the world of DARK MOON. Hosted by JoJo Wright, ENHYPEN spoke about their experience at Comic-Con and performed several songs, including “Bite Me,” "Brought The Heat Back,” and “Moonstruck.”

Park hopes that Comic-Con fans, whether they’re ENHYPEN fans or not, will enjoy DARK MOON, focusing on the U.S. and Japanese market at this time. He relays, “When we are pursuing our transmedia strategy, our priority is to secure the level of quality that can satisfy the fans and audiences. DARK MOON will be the focus of our expansion strategy. We are actually looking for various partners that can share our vision and message for this IP.

But don’t expect HYBE to sell the IP out to other countries to tell this story. Unlike several South Korean dramas that sell their IP to be remade in other countries, DARK MOON will remain within HYBE and ENHYPEN. Park explains, “If you look into HYBE as a company and the Next Entertainment Business as a business unit, our goal is to find an independent or sovereign place or space for our own IPs, where we can make decisions based on our goals and vision. We’re not focused on the short-term revenue or bottom lines. I don’t think we would consider that option.”

Also, don’t expect Original Story to stem outside of the fantasy genre. Park is open to a superhero kind of story, but doesn’t envision any stories rooted in reality. In the past, there has been a HYBE collaboration with Chorokbaem Media to create a K-drama, Begins ≠ Youth, centered on BTS’s “Save Me” webtoon and music videos, which was rooted in real modern-day situations. Park says the team still prefers fantasy.

“I’m not too sure about tapping into real [life] stories, because the essence of story business for me is creating or generating some kind of fantasy to the audience and maximizing that effect,” he shares. I believe that, in that regard, DARK MOON has the strongest suit. That’s also why we have been prioritizing DARK MOON.”

As Comic-Con comes to a close for Park, who has several more meetings to attend following the convention, he is very proud to see his hard work and efforts displayed at the expo. He states, “Watching fans fully immerse themselves in the DARK MOON universe at the heart of San Diego Comic-Con was an unforgettable moment. It reaffirmed that the true strength of our Original Story IP lies in its interaction with fans. The true value of an IP is realized when audiences go beyond simply consuming the story and become part of building its universe into global popular culture.”​