You know, actress Go Ara, who's belonged to SM Entertainment for the last 14 years decided to leave the agency and has recently signed an exclusive contract with her new agency, Artist Company. Well, after hearing the news, some of k-pop fans might think there were some problems between the actress and SM. But it's not true, and she had her own reasons for leaving the agency.
Contrary to popular belief, entertainer management is subdivided into various fields. I mean, singer management is totally different from TV actor management, while film actor management is also different from these. It's outrageous that a dentist performs a brain surgery, right? The same applies to entertainer management. Each manager and agency has their own specialty.
Managers of singers simply must have the ability to produce a good music album because singers show themselves through their albums unlike actors who show themselves through their acting. And to produce a good album, managers of singers should have a good relationship with influential people in the k-pop industry like famous songwriters, choreographers, etc.
And managers of TV actors must have the ability to choose a good drama. Before actors appear in a certain drama, their managers read a variety of drama scripts and should make the best choice for the actors. If a manager is not efficient in his work, his actor always appears in a less popular drama and can't become famous. And managers of TV actors always make every effort to maintain good relations with TV drama directors because they have full authority to cast actors.
What managers of film actors do is basically very similar to what mangers pf TV actors do because they must have the ability to choose a good film too. However, a major difference between them is that the film industry has a high barrier to entry. In Korea, there is a perception that film actors are better than TV actors. And it's true some of film actors look down on TV actors. That's one reason why many of famous Korean film actors hardly appear in a TV drama. Managers of film actors usually have long experience in the industry and they have connections with movie people, while it is nearly impossible for rookie actors to have a chance to appear in a film without a competent manager.
So, let's turn to the issue of why Go Ara left SM. She debuted in 2003 and all the people in the Korean entertainment world said she's going to be very successful because she's pretty, talented and good-natured. However, she wasn't as successful as expected. She appeared in various dramas and films but she's experienced failure again and again. Of course, her drama "Reply 1994" was a huge success, but that was all. What do you think was the problem? Like I said, entertainer management is subdivided into various fields, and each manager and agency has their own specialty. You know, what SM is good at is singer management not actor management. And sadly, it's true that popular k-pop idol groups such as TVXQ, EXO and SHINee are more important than Go Ara to the k-pop agency.
In this situation, Go Ara had to do something for the future. Her new agency, Artist Company has famous movie stars like Jung Woosung and Lee Jungjae, while it has competent managers too. It is expected that the agency will give full support to Go Ara, and there will be an opportunity for her to take a leap forward as a TV actress and film actress. Well, after making a contract with the actress, a company official said, "After having a talk with her, I could know how enthusiastic she is about her acting. She's eager to show her outstanding ability, and we want to be helpful. I'm sure she still has many things to show as an actress."
