Kpop Behind | All the Stories Behind Kpop Stars

Do you remember TV audition show "Mix Nine"? The show was broadcast in early 2018, and in the show, Yang Hyun Suk, the CEO of YG Entertainment, visits all the small k-pop agencies and meets their trainees. The initial plan of the show was to choose competitive trainees and help them debut as a team. YG is one of the biggest and the most influential k-pop agencies, while it's really really hard for small k-pop agencies to achieve success in the k-pop industry. At first, Yang Hyun Suk said he wanted to help them, and the k-pop agencies decided to take part in the show because they thought it would be a great opportunity. However, yeah, as you know, the plan went to pieces. The trainees couldn't debut, and Happyface Entertainment, one of the k-pop agencies Yang Hyun Suk visited, lodged a compensation claim against YG. Happyface Entertainment is insisting that the trainees were in a state of total neglect after the show went off the air. What do you think...

1. Bang Si Hyuk 2. Lee Soo Man 3. Park Jin Young 4. Yang Hyun Suk 5. Teddy

Comments by SM employees "All flash and no substance. The company is only for its artists" "You can win recognition there. But you don't have enough time to learn there. You have to prove your ability right away" "Big company, but insufficient system" "Working for the biggest kpop company certainly is something to be proud of" "SM's company culture is more conservative than expected" Comments by YG employees "It's worth working for YG. I'm stimulated by lots of things there" "People work so much but they get too little pay" "Self-regulating and active. But Freedom carries responsibility" "There are no advantages except for its cafeteria" "It's like dictatorship. Without the CEO, all the projects could be stopped" Comments by JYP employees "JYP respects its artists. But I'm not sure it respects its employees too...

According to the list that was released by Chaebul.com on January 14, SM Entertainment's Lee Soo Man and JYP Entertainment Park Jin Young enjoyed significant rises in their company stock value over the past year. Lee Soo Man took first place on the list, with his stake in SM currently valued at 155.8 billion won (about 147 million USD). His stock value rose 40.2 percent over the past year. Park Jin Young, who was third on the list saw 172.4 percent increase in the value of his company shares, which are currently worth 73 billion won (about 69 million USD). The reason why Lee Soo Man and Park Jin Young could enjoy significant rises in their company stock value over the past year was basically because the tension between Korea and China has eased off. In 2017, the value in stock assets held by Korea’s entertainment industry leaders has plummeted in the wake of the Chinese government’s response to the US anti-missile system deployment. In the early 2017, Lee Soo Man sa...

You know, SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment are the top 2 k-pop agencies. They're very influential in the k-pop world, and they have many popular k-pop idol stars. Then, what do you think is the difference between the two k-pop agencies? Yeah, the most notable difference between them is that SM has many dancing idol groups and YG has many hip hop idols. Basically, yeah, it is because Lee Soo Man and Yang Hyun Suk have different tastes of music. However, actually, there's a story behind it. Who do you think was the first ever singer of SM Entertainment? H.O.T? BoA? No, the answer is Hyun Jin Young. He was the singer with whom Lee Soo Man made a contract for the first time. He was a hip hop singer, and he debuted in 1990. Well, he was on the fast track. He became one of the most popular k-pop singers, and it seemed nothing could stop him. However, he went downhill after being charged with smoking marijuana. He faced much public criticism, and people no longer liked hi...

Mnet is currently preparing for the broadcast of the second season of its popular audition program "Produce 101." You know, "Produce 101" was one of the most popular Korean TV show in 2016, while I.O.I, k-pop girl group consists of 11 trainees who took part in the audition program has gained great popularity too. The second season will feature the story of 101 male trainees who dream of becoming k-pop stars, unlike the first one in which 101 female trainees appeared. By the way, many k-pop agencies are now reluctant to make their trainees appear in the second season of "Produce 101." Do you know why? First, big k-pop agencies such as SM and YG don't need to take part in the program because they have their own systematic training system and effective tools to promote their trainees. And they don't like to open their trainees before their official debut because they think it could lower the value of the future stars. You know, JYP made its ...

Kpop idol groups run crowdfunding campaign mainly because of their lack of funds. It costs much to produce idol groups' albums, and some of small kpop agencies and their idols, who do not have enough money run crowdfunding campaign to raise funds.(That's why popular idol groups and big agencies do not run crowdfunding campaign) So, to the poor kpop agencies and their idols, crowdfunding is a matter of survival.(Many of kpop idols are disbanded 4-5 years after their debut, while one of the main reasons for it is their lack of funds) In an increasingly competitive kpop market, idol groups have to seek for new ways to promote themselves, while the idols and their agencies recently began to take an interest in crowdfunding as a new promotional tool. Through crowdfunding, kpop idols can not only draw attention from people but also have deep ties with their fans. It is expected a crowdfunding campaign will become more common in the kpop world in the near future because it ...

You might have heard about the news that Cube Entertainment is in trouble. Due to the internal problem, Hyuna's album release and Pentagon's debut concert have been postponed. Well, as I mentioned before, the problem began with Cube Entertainment's president Hong Seung Sung's ill-health. After he was diagnosed with  Lou Gehrig's disease, Park Choong min, the representative director of Cube Entertainment has led the management of the company. In this process, the company was divided by internal conflicts. People who are loyal to Hong Seung Sung thought he was still the leader of the company, but others felt differently. They thought their leader was Park Choong Min, and in the decision-making process, they tried to excluded people who support Hong Seung Sung. By the way, a very symbolic incident has recently occurred. Park Choong Min fired some people from Cube Entertainment. Yeah, they are those who have been supporting Hong Seung Sung. Hong Seung Sung, who...

You know, kpop star Lee Seung Gi joined the army last February and many fans must be missing him. If some of you are  wondering if he is doing well in the army, don't worry about it. He's doing great. He's a good-natured but strong-willed person, so I'm sure everyone in the army likes him. By the way, a photo of Lee Seung Gi was recently embroiled in controversy. In the photo, the young soldier is being baptized. But netizens noticed that he  has a broad forehead and they said t he problem of his hair loss is serious. The photo has been really hot on the web. Lee Seung Gi's agency was enraged by this and asked portal sites for deleting all the posts about Lee Seung Gi's hair loss. I understand Lee Seung Gi's agency because the hair loss thing can harm the young star's image. However, don't you  think that's a little extreme? People have right to talk freely about Lee Seung Gi's photo and nobody can control the public opinion by deletin...

What Kpop agencies do is promote their artists. And to promote the artists, the agencies sometimes give them nicknames. Some may think it's so funny, but it is quite effective promotion strategy to imprint kpop idols' image on the public's mind by nicknaming the idols. So, here are some kpop stars' nicknames given by their agencies. I receive email from kpop agencies everyday, and they use these nicknames to highlight their artists. Girls’ Generation No.1 Girl Group Girls’ Generation TTS SM No.1 Unit EXO Global Ruling Group SHINee K-pop Leader SHINee Taemin SM Ace SHINee Jonghyun The Representative SM Singer Song Writer f(x) The Unique Girl Group AOA Jimin Chart Eater AOA Cream The Most Lovely Mamamoo Chart Queen, Girl Crush Queen 4minute The Legend of Fan Service, Stong-Minded Unnies G-Dragon Global Star CL Global Star iKON Monster Rookie BTS Global Ruling Idol, Next Generation Hallyu Star Seventeen Super Rookie GFriend The Ruling ...

Super Junior Kpop idol stars' flashy dance moves and strong stage presences are now enthralling global music fans. However, many more people are involved behind the scenes in Kpop productions, and it is about money. To produce competitive singers, Kpop agencies have to invest no small sum of money. Yeah, Kpop industry is kind of money game too. Let's talk about costs related to idol stars' activities. SHINee's accommodation. Cost of Maintenance Kpop agencies usually provide accommodations for its girl group or boy group members. Living with team mates enables them to develop the spirit of team work. In most cases, the accommodations are located at Gangnam, where is one of Seoul's most expensive neighborhoods, and the agencies have to pay about 1,500,000 won(1,400 dollars) for monthly rent. Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day, and even experienced professionals require constant practice. The idol group members take regular vocal, dan...