What Is ZEROBASEONE EMP? Meet the Duo Behind OFF script
ZEROBASEONE EMP is the first official unit of the K-pop group ZEROBASEONE (ZB1), made up of members Seok Matthew and Park Gunwook. The name comes from electromagnetic pulse and also reads as Extra MTT PGW, for the two members. The hip-hop duo writes and produces its own music, and its first digital single, OFF script, comes out on November 10, 2026, at 6 p.m. KST, led by "RUN (with Dynamicduo)."
What Is ZEROBASEONE EMP, and What Does the Name Mean?
ZEROBASEONE EMP, usually shortened to EMP, is the first official unit of ZEROBASEONE (ZB1), the boy group that debuted in July 2023 after the Mnet survival show Boys Planet. WAKEONE, the group's agency, revealed the unit's logo on the group's official social media channels on September 18, 2026. It has two members, Seok Matthew and Park Gunwook, and it is a hip-hop unit: the pair write, compose and produce the songs themselves.
The name works on two levels. EMP stands for electromagnetic pulse, the burst that knocks out every signal around it, and the idea is a space where only their music exists. Read as an acronym, it also spells Extra MTT PGW: MTT for Matthew, PGW for Park Gunwook, and Extra for going beyond the ordinary. That word returns in the title of their first release, EMP Mixtape Vol.1: We the Extra.
The mixtape came out on September 21, 2026, with four tracks the two members wrote, composed and produced: the double title songs "EMP" and "Pina C," plus "Woofer" and "In your rain." "EMP" mixes hip-hop and pop around a tight, hard-hitting rhythm and a drive to prove themselves. "Pina C" rides a relaxed moombahton beat and says that, with the right person, even an ordinary city day can feel like a resort.
Who Is in EMP, and Why Did ZB1 Form a Unit?
EMP is Seok Matthew and Park Gunwook, two of the five members who carry ZEROBASEONE forward. The group began as a nine-member project group, and in February 2026 WAKEONE announced it would continue as five: Sung Hanbin, Kim Jiwoong, Seok Matthew, Kim Taerae and Park Gunwook. Their first release as five, the sixth mini album Ascend-, came out on May 18, 2026, led by "TOP 5."
The unit grew out of songwriting both members were already doing. Park Gunwook wrote and produced "Customize" on Ascend-, and Matthew had been developing his own writing alongside the group's releases. When the unit was announced, the agency described the pair as having built a strong musical foundation and called EMP a new challenge for their partnership. A unit gives them room to fill a whole record with their own taste, and to push a darker, heavier hip-hop sound than ZEROBASEONE's usual bright pop.
You can hear the split between them on the tracks. Matthew brings a distinctive tone and a groovy, rhythmic delivery, while Gunwook, the group's all-rounder, moves between rap, vocals and performance. EMP is a unit inside ZEROBASEONE, not a separate group, so the two keep working with the other three members.
When Does OFF script Come Out, and What Is on It?
OFF script is EMP's first digital single. It comes out on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at 6 p.m. KST on music streaming platforms, after the title track was released early on November 4. Here is the release time in a few cities:
| City | OFF script release time |
|---|---|
| Seoul (KST) | Tue, Nov 10, 6 p.m. |
| Tokyo | Tue, Nov 10, 6 p.m. |
| Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore | Tue, Nov 10, 5 p.m. |
| London | Tue, Nov 10, 9 a.m. |
| New York | Tue, Nov 10, 4 a.m. |
| Los Angeles | Tue, Nov 10, 1 a.m. |
The single has three songs. "RUN (with Dynamicduo)" is the title track, "AFTERTASTE (with JUNNY)" brings in the R&B singer-songwriter JUNNY, and "MADE YOU LOOK" closes it out. As on the mixtape, Matthew and Gunwook took part in writing, composing and producing the songs, including the title track.
The concept is in the name: stepping away from a set script and showing their creative energy directly. The concept photos, released on October 29 and 30 through ZEROBASEONE's official channels, moved from a vintage street look with relaxed styling and rough backdrops to a hideout set with black leather jackets and heavy accessories. An album sampler on November 3 previewed all three songs.
RUN with Dynamicduo: The Song Already Out, and Where to Watch
The title track has been out since November 4 at 6 p.m. KST, with its music video. "RUN (with Dynamicduo)" puts EMP next to Dynamicduo, the hip-hop duo of Gaeko and Choiza, over a production built on hip-hop and drum and bass. The two acts wrote and composed it together, and the lyrics link senior artists who climbed up from the bottom with younger artists taking on something new. It is listed with the rest of the month's releases in our K-pop comebacks this month guide.
The video turns a run-down game field into a battle zone, with the members dodging between tire stacks and containers before the action moves to a hideout set with Dynamicduo. The four performed the song together on November 5 on Dingo Music's live series. Two days earlier, on November 3, EMP held a listening event called SOUND SEMINAR at CJ Azit Gwangheungchang in Mapo-gu, Seoul, performing the new songs and the mixtape live, and ZEROBASEONE members Sung Hanbin and Kim Taerae stopped by to cheer them on.
The official videos are on the ZEROBASEONE YouTube channel: the RUN music video, its fanchant guide, the Pina C sketch film and the OFF script album sampler. For the year-end stages where K-pop acts gather, see our K-pop award shows schedule.
Sori's Note
What I like about EMP is that the name works as a mission statement. An electromagnetic pulse switches everything else off, and that is what a unit lets two members do: set aside, for a few weeks, what people expect from a bright five-member pop group and find out what their own sound is.
The Dynamicduo pairing makes the point louder. Bringing in a duo that has been rapping in Korea for more than two decades, and writing the song with them rather than borrowing a verse, tells you EMP wants to be heard as hip-hop, not as a side project. Tomorrow evening we hear whether the other two songs hold that line.
