Spreading the affliction: Enhypen meets ‘Twilight’ as vampire lore goes global

Vampires may not age, but pop-culture vampires do evolve.

Nearly two decades after the pale, sparkle-skinned Cullens of the “Twilight” film saga (2008-12) redefined the gothic creatures for a generation, vampirism has found new life in K-pop.

Boy band Enhypen, whose entire six-year discography is built on the vampiric lore of eerie romance and dangerous desire, took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con International on Thursday alongside Catherine Hardwicke, director of “Twilight” (2008), and actors Peter Facinelli and Ashley Greene, who played vampires Carlisle and Alice Cullen in the franchise — an encounter that brought together two generations of vampire pop culture.

It marked the first time a K-pop group had attended San Diego Comic-Con, one of the largest pop culture conventions in the United States.

At first glance, the pairing may have looked like a fun piece of promotion for the vampire-themed group’s upcoming album. But Enhypen’s Comic-Con appearance represented something larger for its agency, HYBE — a milestone in its yearslong experiment to see whether lore built around a K-pop act can move beyond albums and fandom spaces to become an internationally recognizable content franchise.

Lore takes on a life of its own

Fantasy lore is hardly new to K-pop.

Many of the industry’s best-known acts have been given elaborate fictional worlds, with one prominent example being SM Entertainment’s boy band EXO, whose members were each assigned a supernatural ability within the group’s universe.

What sets Enhypen and its label, Belift Lab, apart is how far their commitment to that storytelling has extended beyond music video symbolism and fandom spaces.

During the four-day San Diego Comic-Con, held at the San Diego Convention Center through Sunday, HYBE operated a booth dedicated to its “Dark Moon” (2022–) franchise, playing highlights from the series and displaying related merchandise.

First launched as a web novel and webtoon in 2022 with “Dark Moon: The Blood Altar,” the franchise centers on a teenage romance involving one girl and vampire boys, with its characters and story inspired by the members of Enhypen. The webtoon was adapted into an animated series in January this year.

Launched by HYBE subsidiary Belift Lab, Enhypen debuted in November 2020. A couple of days after performing at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium as part of its “Blood Saga” tour, the group’s first concert in the city, the six members — Jungwon, Sunghoon, Jay, Jake, Sunoo and Ni-ki — appeared at Thursday’s panel, “Bite Me: Calling All Vampires.”

Joined by Hardwicke, Facinelli and Greene, the members discussed the enduring appeal of vampires and how the mythology has evolved across modern adaptations.

One of the panel’s central themes was, perhaps surprisingly, the humanity embedded in modern vampire stories.

For the Cullen coven, that humanity is expressed through compassionate restraint — their refusal to feed on humans allows the supernatural beings to form a found family. In Enhypen’s “Dark Moon” universe, it takes the form of brotherhood across time and space, echoing the members’ real-life bond.

The Enhypen members described the “Dark Moon” characters as the knights who had protected a princess before being turned into vampires. Their memories were later wiped before they were sent into the present day.

“They come together as they form this brotherhood and go on this huge adventure,” Jake said during the panel. “They don’t know what they’re going to face, but they have each other.”

Facinelli, who played Carlisle Cullen, the central figure of the “vegetarian” Cullen family, noted that modern adaptations had transformed vampires from purely inhuman and frightening creatures into more fully developed characters — immortal beings who find one another, build communities and rediscover their humanity.

Jake credited the “Twilight” saga with having “opened everyone’s eyes to vampires.”

“We’re able to portray them through music because you guys were able to do all this,” he said, expressing his gratitude to the “Twilight” filmmaker and cast members.

On Friday, Enhypen held a separate off-site, vampire-themed event titled “Dark Moon Blood Night,” where the members performed and interacted with fans.

From lore to IP

Enhypen’s Comic-Con appearance marked a milestone in HYBE’s efforts to expand its intellectual property (IP) business beyond music and into story-driven content promoted in collaboration with its artists.

HYBE has tested the model with various projects including BTS’s “7Fates: Chakho” (2022-23) and Le Sserafim’s “Crimson Heart” (2022-23). But “Dark Moon” stands out as one of its most successful examples, expanding into a prequel and sequel as well as a multi-episode animated adaptation.

Although closely tied to Enhypen and its members, “Dark Moon” also functions as stand-alone content with a readership of its own, with the “Dark Moon: The Blood Altar” webtoon surpassing 200 million global views as of July 2025.

“Through vampires caught between humans and monsters, ‘Dark Moon’ explores the loneliness and confusion over identity felt by people today while conveying a message about the healthy bonds that can help them overcome those struggles,” said Park Tae-ho, head of HYBE's Next Entertainment Business division who oversees the project. “As we have demonstrated that the franchise is a distinctive transmedia IP combining story, music and offline experiences through Comic-Con, we will continue expanding the franchise in ways that global fans can enjoy together.”

Enhypen is now set to release its eighth EP, “The Sin: Bliss,” on Aug. 21, about seven months after the release of its seventh EP, “The Sin: Vanish.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]