Beginner's Guide to K
📞I was 7 years myself and I considered myself lucky. And that's per group, Mak said, so if you're in a five-member act, you'll personally only see only 2 percent of the cash. The answer lies somewhere within the popularity of super-size groups, the growth of trends in casting, subunits, and survival shows, and the shifting roles within groups over time. Its most popular export, boy group BTS, in 2017, outperforming the likes of Lady Gaga and Drake on the platform. , considered the first modern K-pop group under this new format, debuted in 1996 under then-fledgling company SM Entertainment. K-pop group members have similar specialized roles across leadership, rap, dance, vocals and visuals. They synthesized Korean music, fashion style, and dance with Western influences like hip-hop, new jack swing, and rock to capture the imagination of Korean youth. sprite-icons-arrow-down-black,. and Canada before expanding into China, Japan, Thailand, Australia, Chile, and more. Heechul from Super Junior even closed his Twitter account as a result. A forward may fall back to play defense, but you can usually find them upfield. 0 ,screen and min--moz-device-pixel-ratio:2. "My manager told my mum off, saying she should have taught her daughter better and that her daughter is not living the way a proper human being should," Wong told. 7 years is the least I've heard of. " To make matters worse, these contracts supposedly begin when an artist debuts, not when they are initially picked up by an agency, Mak said. The MeToo movement has begun to take root in South Korea, and more artists are beginning to speak up. In these televised competitions, young hopefuls either compete against others in the same agency or trainees from various other agencies to eventually debut in a new group. Many of the groups that came directly after Seo Taiji and Boys used these same elements to form the core of their artistic identities and, since then, K-pop has consistently employed elements of hip-hop. " Managers from the talent and hard work of their artists is by no means a strictly Korean phenomenon, but it's here that the exploitation of aspiring stars appears to be at its most blatant, according to various accounts from the idols themselves. "K-pop is creating a great sensation in the U. Even though things seem to be working out just fine for them, burning the candle at both ends can be a dangerous game for idols. Rap roles and main and lead vocalist roles are limited—usually there are only two to four in a group—which means that the majority of members take on the role of vocalist, among other duties. "A squat, red-brick apartment building whose only distinguishing mark is the grimy noodle shop tucked into its ground floor. Take a look at the many roles of the members of BTS: You can see that members have multiple roles across disciplines, with varying levels of responsibility. The intense media vacuum that K-pop stars get sucked into may put them at an increased risk for suicide. sprite-icons-arrow-down-white,. A maknae may be doted on by other members, for example, while leaders, who tend to skew older, might playfully act like tired parents. They can also help lead choreography practice and assist other members in learning moves. From that 2 percent, the idol also has to repay the money the agency spent training them at boot camp. It is only in the past five years that super-size groups have become the new normal in K-pop. The situation seemed to be improving in 2017, when agencies were to stop forcing unfair contracts on trainees by the Fair Trade Commission, but they've been warned about bad deals before. "My mother is Korean, and it shouldn't matter, because I have Korean blood in me," she said via. When 's David Bevan visited the headquarters of YG Entertainment one of the agencies that dominate the industry in 2012, the music journalist was impressed with the postmodern complex, plush recording studios, boutique cafeteria, and on-site gym manned by a famous Korean fitness gurus. with-first-button-caption:not. This may be due to a growing interest from fans in intra-group dynamics, which are increasingly available to consume, analyze, and share on social media. "However, instead of feeling better, I became anxious and felt like I was lacking. Often the most popular member or most recognizable. "Not only from what I have experienced but also from what I have seen my friends and loved ones have to go through," she said via. According to , the one-time idol would eat nothing but lettuce and watermelon. "Sponsorship is the dirty, barely kept secret of the Korean entertainment industry," the Hallyu website claims. IU chose to discuss her own troubles on an episode of celebrity talk show Healing Camp, revealing that she had to receive treatment for bulimia. Tricia Christensen Last Modified Date: November 21, 2020 K-pop or Korean pop music refers to not only types of music but to a musical movement that swept South Korea in the early 1990s and continues to dominate. According to Kim Young-ha, author of I Have the Right to Destroy Myself, suicides spiked in South Korea after the 1997 Asian financial crisis and have been rising ever since. ' The person seriously thought that. "If they went over the weight that the company sets them, they are punished," Mak said. " What do the parents of these young performers think of all this? " It's not uncommon for idols to discuss their enhancements during interviews, but what doesn't happen very often is an idol admitting that they were pushed into it. In 2010, singer Choi Jin-young just 18 months after the suicide of his actress sister Choi Jin-shil. P did in 2014 when the boy group openly accused TS Entertainment of imposing. 6rem;background: 000000;color:white;cursor:pointer;line-height:1em;padding:1. "You could be working 20 hours, or even a whole day," former group member Prince Mak said via. After starting in the Fanclub, not a very popular or long lasting group, Rain turned to a solo career. "I still feel the after effects of my accident, and it's frightening to put my life on the line and drive away as if I'm running from something. A K-pop stan is a borderline obsessive fan of a Korean pop music band or artist. Larger group sizes not only offer a broader diversity of members to bias, but also can establish a deeper bond to the group overall: the larger the group, the more members there are to love. " If you're not safe on the roads, you're at least safe when you're performing, right? Many idols speak and are often required to perform in , with Japan proving a particularly lucrative market. Some artists claim they've been racially discriminated against. A "" is a fan whose obsession with their chosen idol has reached levels bordering on insanity, and there are no shortage of bizarre accounts about such fans. I can't eat fried chicken everyday, even though I'd love to. They think if you're working in Korea, if you're in the K-pop industry, you have to speak good Korean. However, this tactic seems almost sane compared to the diets that Park Bom of group 2NE1 used to follow. Perhaps people decided that attending a large indoor gathering during a global pandemic would not the best idea. Debut group sizes and current positions were collected from. "Not just from my music sales, but the total. " Sadly, Jonghyun wasn't the first idol to succumb to the pressure. "You would never guess that this is where they live," Bevan wrote. In 2015, Ahn Sojin was after being dropped by her agency. "It might have been impossible for K-pop to have worldwide popularity without YouTube's global platform," said Sun Lee, head of YouTube music partnerships for Korea and Greater China. The most consistent has been rap—the majority of modern K-pop singles contain rap elements, which has led to the growth of more delineated main and lead rapper roles within a group over time. 6rem;line-height:1em;padding:1. And, what do the sizes of K-pop groups tell us about why K-pop is so popular? Oh My Girl debuted in 2015 and was well on its way to success. Its single "Closer" was named to 's top 20 K-pop songs that year. 0 ,screen and -o-min-device-pixel-ratio:100100 ,screen and min-device-pixel-ratio:1. "If you ask why people die, they would probably say it's because they're exhausted," Jonghyun said in his note, which was by friend and fellow idol Nine9. The foundations of K-pop as we know it today were laid in the late '80s, when the South Korean government loosened censorship laws in an effort to modernize, but the Korean music wave or "Hallyu" didn't start making a splash on global shores until the 2010s, thanks in no small part to YouTube. " Mak isn't the only mixed-race idol to experience difficulties. There have been numerous instances of K-pop stars collapsing due to exhaustion, and sometimes it happens on stage. Traditionally, rock bands have as many members as there are instruments: a lead singer, two guitarists, and a drummer. They usually check once a week. "As a foreigner in Korea, it was actually quite hard," Chinese-Australian artist Prince Mak. We then narrowed the list to include only groups with K-pop listed as one of their genres except Seo Taiji and Boys, because they served as the foundation for K-pop. According to former JJCC member Prince Mak, the highest percentage of the profits that an artist will receive is 20 percent, with the remaining 80 percent absorbed by management. Most idols use to interact with their fans around the clock. While Shindong is not someone known for holding his tongue he caused in a radio interview when he said it was okay for men to be overweight but not women, his allegation that his agency straight-up told him to go under the knife was shocking. As you know by now, , nearly one million people requested tickets to his rally in Tulsa this past Saturday. By Sunday, the internet was abuzz with talk of how young people all over the country had requested tickets in the weeks leading up to the event despite having no intention of ever actually going. even compiled a list of all the times idols fainted during live performances. The South Korean entertainment industry has been built on a system of "sponsorship," which is basically another word for prostitution, according to. Individual artists show considerable experimentation in their work. " The former JJCC member claims that he knew of a female idol group whose members would be disciplined by their agency for not sticking to their prescribed weight. I was taken aback," she recalled via. Though the music of k-pop often still derives from American forms, some of the more experimental artists are now adding to those forms and blending them in different ways to create wholly new music, which offers listeners all over the world a chance to hear something new and exciting. It's depressingly bland in the U. "Now, whenever I hear news that a young person has passed away, suicide is the first possibility that comes to mind. I was shooting a variety TV show and that went on for 20 hours, no joke. Boy and girl bands, sometimes called bubblegum pop are very well received, but so are the contributions of older artists. SNSD's Taeyeon found this out the hard way when a strange man got onstage during a live performance and tried to her in front of everyone. So, how did groups get that large? "You don't usually get to eat what you want," Prince Mak. One internationally recognized member of this movement is Rain, or Jeong Ji-Hoon. Is the wildly popular K-pop music wave as bright and brilliant as it looks and sounds? Some artists have been bold enough to take their agencies to court, as B. Still, it's good to see that music is evolving in some parts of the world. After graduating boot camp, the hours don't get any less grueling. The FTC introduced something called the "" in 2011 to try to counteract manipulative practices, though this appears to have been ignored at large by the talent agencies. "Typical contracts are about 7 to 15 years. In a social media post, Los Angeles-born idol Amber of girl group F X said that sexual abuse "happens everywhere" in her industry. "I suffered and agonized about it [but] I never learned how to turn this pain into happiness," the note said, adding that the young star felt he was "not meant to lead a life in the public eye. Could 2018 be the year that changes? "Our diet is always controlled. The truth will shock you, but first, let's take a quick look at the history of this rapidly-growing genre. Wanna One, the 5th highest-selling K-pop group of the past decade, was formed in 2017 on the second season of survival show Produce 101. "Slave contracts are a long time," he said on his radio show The Prince Mak Hour via. You could argue that all of this sacrifice is worth it when the reward is fame and fortune, but in truth, K-pop stars rarely get the latter. But this fame comes at a cost. However, this was all in stark contrast to the building in which the company's 30-or-so boot campers were actually living at the time. Surgery is reportedly , and artists will often allude to its prevalence in their music, whether that be to subtly poke fun at it like Psy's "" or brazenly embrace it like Six Bomb's "Becoming Prettier. K-pop is now on the cusp of its 4th generation, which is likely to bring more experimentation with size. "I dreamed of becoming a singer for a long time, so I really wanted to do well, but I had physical and psychological difficulties," she said in a letter to fans via. To make it in K-pop, idol groups have to be the total package. Following American trends, a host of teen idols became popular by the mid 1990s, and k-pop has continued to grow. Artists JinE of girl group Oh My Girl and solo singer IU have both opened up about suffering from anorexia and bulimia, respectively, though neither girl has directly attributed their disorder to the their jobs. And yet the average size of the top 10 selling K-pop groups of the last decade like girl group TWICE, pictured above is 9 members. Well, as far as naming various foreign pop music is concerned. They won't forgive you for not speaking good Korean. " Cramped living conditions and strict schedules aren't the only hardships that some K-pop trainees are subjected to. In 2007, solo artist U;Nee in her home just before the release of her third album. Solo artist Hwang Chi Yeul has also admitted to getting work done at the request of his management. One of the most common places for these viral fancam tweets to show up is in. Rappers When Seo Taiji and Boys debuted in 1992, their love of hip-hop style, breakdancing, and rapping laid a foundation for modern K-pop. Idols are used to being tailed by crazed fans when they're on the road. "But they kept calling me a foreigner. Some artists even get as little as 10 percent, the ex-idol on his radio show. The same thing happened in 2017, when someone claiming to be an underage female idol posted a of her group's experience with "sponsorship" online, but she didn't share any names. This means that foreigners entering the industry need to brush up on their language skills fast, especially when it comes to Korean. 0 ,screen and min--moz-device-pixel-ratio:1. "Please do not follow me to my house or to my ward office," he said. K-pop soon began to take shape as a formal industry that combined the idol training system of Japan with the music, dance, and style elements introduced by Seo Taiji and Boys. Or maybe it was just that a bunch of TikTok teens and K-pop stans decided to orchestrate a viral internet prank. At the 2017 Korean Music Awards, singer Lee Lang pictured above caused a stir when she got up on stage to accept an award and immediately to a man in the audience. That information quickly spread to TikTok, where it gained even more traction. , much in the way music was stale and tired in the 1970s before the punks showed up and turned everything upside down. If you're lucky enough to make it through the difficult and earn a contract, the next step is boot camp. One of the first bands thought to have influenced the wave of k-pop was Seo Tai-ji and Boys. Maybe the recent flurry of activity is the first in a series of steps toward righting those past wrongs, and K-pop stans will further develop into an exclusively positive force in the world. As we noted earlier, rock bands typically consist of a lead singer, a drummer, a bassist, and a guitarist. Members of and have been involved in multi-car pile ups as a result of being chased by fans. For some, a spot in the final group was too valuable to leave up to chance—the show is currently under investigation for vote-rigging by internal staff and external agencies. Much as America experienced the British invasion of rock stars in the 1960s, k-pop is certainly making its own inroads into other cultures, and many of its stars are internationally known. They can be featured more prominently in music videos or other promotional material and often transition into acting, modeling, or endorsements. This hectic schedule was witnessed firsthand by 's Chris Martins, who spent time with international sensation BTS when the group arrived in the States to do the late show circuit in 2017. Idol Survival Shows The upward trend of super-size groups cannot be separated from the growing popularity of idol survival shows. Markerrag January 28, 2014 K-pop, J-pop, Brit-pop -- over the past few decades we've seen a trend develop, haven't we? main-menu-item--logout:before,. and were initially performance videos zoomed-in on one particular K-pop band member. However, that same year, it was revealed that JinE had anorexia, and after a hiatus, she left the group in 2017, choosing to return to an "ordinary life" away from the K-pop vacuum. 0 ,screen and min-resolution:1. 8rem;overflow-y:auto;overflow-x:hidden;line-height:1. "I didn't really have thoughts of plastic surgery, but before debut my management company said that we should do it, so I agreed. But in recent years, the fancam has been adopted by stans of different celebrities, and now the term is used to describe any short, edited video of a celebrity. "Suicide is everywhere," he said in a 2014 piece for. BTS members have to working as many as 15 hours in a single day. Usually receives most challenging solo lines, like high notes or complicated runs. Compared to those numbers, K-pop groups with 7 or 9, or even 23 members yes, a group that big exists might seem alien, or downright excessive. These roles take on dance solos, perform in the center positions during dance breaks, and may also help lead choreography practice. Seoul is the plastic surgery capital of the world, a place where as many as one in three women have undergone a procedure, according to. 0 ,screen and min-resolution:2. "Every entertainment industry has some form of the casting couch, yes, but there are few that come close to the systematic way that it is present in South Korea. claims that the notorious slave contract is not only real, it's widespread. Do you think Chinese people don't take showers? Traditionally, idols don't go public about abuse, preferring to share their stories anonymously in order to protect their careers. Perhaps support for Trump is declining. Well, many moms and dads may be at the mercy of the agencies, too. Ready to experience the power of super-size group performances? But when all was said and done, actually showed up. "And because it's so common, I hate to say it. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. If all this information feels overwhelming, it might help to think of a K-pop group as a soccer team. "Could be dance, could be running, could be no eating. 4rem;font-weight:700;line-height:1. Design and illustrations by Joceline Kuswanto and Griselda Gabriele. 6rem;color: 000000;cursor:pointer;border:2px solid 000000;border-color: 000000;border-radius:2px;line-height:1em;padding:1. Global auditions were held primarily in the U. The group's lead rapper, RM, was exhausted when he met with Martins. The multi-talented Rain dances, sings and acts, and he has become popular not only in South Korea but in surrounding Asian countries. Neo Culture Technology NCT is currently the largest group in K-pop with 23 members spread across multiple fixed and rotational subunits, including: NCT U, NCT 127, NCT DREAM and Chinese pop group WayV. the feelings become so numb and we all felt that we just had to 'deal with it. addEventListener 'message', self. Even if you're lucky enough to be part of a group that makes it big, you'll still only ever see a tiny fraction of the money that you and your bandmates generate because the overwhelming majority of the profits allegedly goes straight into agency coffers. In 2014, a number of male ex-trainees came forward to blow the lid on their agency's alleged history of sexual exploitation, but they refused to be identified. Many agencies now enable hopefuls to audition online and, while there are not always limits on nationality, the majority of idols that debut are from East Asian countries or have East Asian heritage. This kind of segmentation allows for a clever division of labor and screen time, song parts, and placement in photoshoots and choreography are often allocated according to these roles. With training centers popping up everywhere, from to , the ever-ambitious K-pop industry has flung its doors open to foreign talent. When they leave the safety of private property, however, those interactions can quickly become dangerous. RM reportedly rehearsed "with a bloody tissue in his nose — the wages of jet lag and constant hustle add up," but he simply got on with the job at hand, as he'd been trained to do. Being a K-pop idol is a full-time job and then some, with groups reportedly expected to be on the clock all day, every day. Visuals Aesthetics have always been an important part of K-pop but in the mid-2000s, more members began to move into roles based on looks and appearance. jk BLUSHINGKOOK How does this apply to the here and now, amid all the social and political unrest? Some fans simply freak out upon meeting their idols like this 2PM , but there's a certain type of superfan that every idol fears. Rain was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Time Magazine in 2006. This means starting from a very young age and putting yourself at the mercy of a system that many say helps the rich get richer, while leaving the performers to struggle. "One day, the president of our agency suggested I should have double eyelid surgery because I have an unpleasant look in my eyes, so I decided to follow his suggestion," said Shindong from boy group Super Junior via. Other bands soon followed and hip-hop groups like Deux quickly gained huge audiences. "Korea is actually very foreign friendly, but in the industry, it's not very foreign friendly. "When I first came to Korea, someone asked me if I only take a shower once a week. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel. Hallyu is best described as the spreading out of South Korean popular culture, and it becoming embraced by many, especially in surrounding Asian countries. Dancers As groups grew in size, so did the prevalence of main and lead dancers. Subunits As groups became larger and international casting became more popular, subunits became more prevalent. These are smaller groups-within-a-group that may target a different market or audience by exploring different musical influences or promoting in non-Korean languages. Chinese native Fei, of girl group Miss A, had a similar experience with haters. If you're familiar with K-pop, chances are you've heard the term "slave contract. is the main country of origin for international idols in the 1st and 2nd generations, while mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong lead the pack for international 3rd generation idols. Seo Tai-ji is actually considered an icon of pop music, along the same lines as Americans might view Michael Jackson or Madonna, particularly at the height of their careers in the 1980s. 0 ,screen and -o-min-device-pixel-ratio:200100 ,screen and min-device-pixel-ratio:2. Tricia Christensen Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent wiseGEEK contributor for many years. K-pop and its fanbase have also had a , which many music fans have called attention to in recent weeks. Over the years, as BTS has developed into industry leaders and amassed an international following, the Golden Maknae has grown in popularity, too. They wrote negative comments about me. South Korea is known for its K-pop music. Leader and Maknae Leader 1 Leads the group in greetings, serves as a spokes person and a liason between the group and the media, helps to resolve internal disputes and main harmony between members. Everyday we average about three to four hours sleep, apart from that it's all training or work. Even when players are the size of ants on TV, soccer fans watching at home can tell them apart not only by their mannerisms, but by their position on the field. I don't think this is a temporary phenomenon. "My heart felt empty, and I tried to fill the void with food," she said via. Rain might best be described as the Korean Justin Timberlake, multi-talented and extremely popular. There are plenty of possible explanations for the dismal turnout. A compilation titled currently has more than 15 million views on YouTube. "I actually had a nose that curved down," the ballad singer and TV host said via. What about large groups is so appealing? NCT debuted as 6-member NCT U, then began to add members and units like NCT DREAM, which was originally created to target a younger audience, and WayV, which promotes primarily in China. Idols like Seo Tai-ji have created highly danceable albums and ones that dip into heavy metal and alternative rock and contain virtually no dance tunes. Even if the US is often most concerned with music from its own country or the UK, Rain and the k-pop movement have created significant notice.。
11
