kpop1-3, Exercise 3: H.O.T. and the origin of K-pop

Model answer:

Formation: Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment, formed H.O.T. in 1996 using information from polling high school students about what their idol group should be like. Members were found at an amusement park (Kangta), through friends (Moon Hee-joon, Lee Jae-won), a dance contest (Jang Woo-hyuk) and an audition in Los Angeles (Tony Ahn).
Breakup: in 2001, after a contract disagreement with SM Entertainment, which prompted hundreds of fans to protest against the company.

Both statements can be true because they are about different things: the K-pop article traces the musical style (rap dance) to Seo Taiji and Boys, while H.O.T. is called the first K-pop idol group, that is, the first product of the idol system. The K-pop article itself says Lee Soo-man's H.O.T. and S.E.S. were the "first generation".

Sources: Wikipedia, H.O.T.; SM Entertainment; K-pop; Seo Taiji and Boys.