By Dong Sun-hwa
K-pop titan BTS secured a nomination from the Grammys ― one of the world's most prestigious music awards ― and is poised to perform at the event on March 14 (U.S. time). Last year, the Big Hit Entertainment group became the first K-pop act to reign atop the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with its smash-hit, "Dynamite." On top of that, BLACKPINK became the country's first girl band to sell more than 1 million copies of its 2020 release, "THE ALBUM," which debuted at No.2 on the Billboard 200 chart and conquered the iTunes album chart in 57 regions around the world.
K-pop is riding high in the global music scene and its legions of singers are writing a new history with their unprecedented musical successes. Nonetheless, K-pop is often underestimated. Since the onset of K-pop's first generation in the late 1990s and the emergence of groups like H.O.T. that were systematically trained and incubated by their management companies, myriad people in Korea and abroad have raised eyebrows at the genre, insisting it "lacks artistry and quality." Some even call the stars "factory churned-out commodities."
But Lee Jang-woo, a professor of business administration at Kyungpook National University, disagrees. Lee has been studying the ecosystem of K-pop labels for more than 20 years, and is the author of "K-pop Innovation" (2020), which delves into assorted topics ranging from the recipe of K-pop's success to its future.
"It is not appropriate to dub K-pop stars as mass-produced commodities merely because they have been created by their companies in unconventional ways over the years," Lee said in an interview with The Korea Times, Monday. "Innovative producers like SM Entertainment's Lee Soo-man and Big Hit Entertainment's Bang Si-hyuk mustered their creative power to showcase diverse bands with different images, characters and music. It also takes about five years for these producers to launch a new act, which means they cannot mass-produce several bands at once. Given this reality, how can we liken a K-pop label to a factory?"
He elaborated, "Some people claim that the companies' excessive intervention can deal a blow to the growth of Korean music industry and the artists, but K-pop is now winning the hearts of numerous people under the current system. Fans love K-pop for a reason. So for Korea, what is important now is to consider ways to enhance the current system, instead of underplaying it."
In fact, thanks to the roaring K-pop boom, Korea's music album and video exports hit an all-time high in 2020, with the export amounts jumping by 94.9 percent year-on-year to 203 billion won ($170 million) during the January-to-November period, according to the Korea Customs Service.
In his book, "K-pop Innovation," Lee also underlines that the K-pop labels like SM are among the first movers that have led Korea's "second-generation innovation." According to the professor, the first generation's innovation kicked off in the mid-1980s, with companies centering on the creative imitation of the knowledge and skills of more developed countries. Then, Korea ushered in a new era in the 1990s when companies like Samsung Electronics began producing their own things and gaining global competitiveness.
"In the case of K-pop, private enterprises and innovators ― not the government ― played a pivotal role in promoting it," Lee said in his book.
Idolization, monetization and glocalization (globalization plus localization) were major keys to K-pop's success, according to Lee.
"The focus of the K-pop companies is not on one album, but on the idol group itself. So they developed an organized system to train aspiring singers, helping them hone their singing and dancing skills. Then, once they debut a band, they encourage the stars to forge acting careers or expand their presence in other related fields, so as to make them more bankable and durable. They also use social media platforms wisely to reach a global audience and come up with diverse content like online concerts and marketing strategies ― such as localization ― to target international markets."
Forecasting the notion that K-pop will continue to bask in popularity for at least the next few years, the professor brought another spotlight to the technologies involved in the industry.
"As of now, K-pop producers are actively working for innovation and are launching new types of K-pop groups, like WayV ― a Chinese boy group that does not include any Korean members ― to find a niche in the world's music markets," he said. "If they develop a new business model by blending state-of-the-art technologies and K-pop content, they might be able to seize more opportunities to lead the global entertainment industry."
SM's rookie girl group, aespa, is the epitome of such an approach, Lee says. Debuted in 2020, aespa members have their own virtual avatars, which purport to be their alter egos.
"The combination of virtuality and reality will be one of the most distinguishable aspects of our future, and aespa is a good example of this," Lee said. "Although it looks experimental for now, in the coming days, there will be more acts like aespa."
The professor also touched on the challenges to tackle. He said that it is crucial to overcome cultural differences, citing the case of Tzuyu, the Taiwanese member of the multinational K-pop act TWICE, who came under fire in China in 2016 after waving the Taiwanese flag during a Korean online broadcast. Many Chinese took offense with her, claiming she did not respect Beijing's "One China" policy ― under which there is only one China, represented by the government in Beijing, and the Taiwanese and Hong Kong governments are parts of it. In the wake of the controversy, Tzuyu and Park Jin-young, founder of TWICE's agency JYP Entertainment, issued apologies.
"As can be seen from the case of Tzuyu, K-pop can put different countries at odds as it goes more global," he noted. "In addition, many K-pop stars have also stirred debate among international fans due to their lack of cultural awareness. Thus, it is important for the singers and companies to be more conscious about these issues and have a more global mindset."
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| Lee Jang-woo, a professor of business administration at Kyungpook National University, poses with his book, "K-pop Innovation" (2020). Courtesy of Lee Jang-woo |
K-pop is riding high in the global music scene and its legions of singers are writing a new history with their unprecedented musical successes. Nonetheless, K-pop is often underestimated. Since the onset of K-pop's first generation in the late 1990s and the emergence of groups like H.O.T. that were systematically trained and incubated by their management companies, myriad people in Korea and abroad have raised eyebrows at the genre, insisting it "lacks artistry and quality." Some even call the stars "factory churned-out commodities."
But Lee Jang-woo, a professor of business administration at Kyungpook National University, disagrees. Lee has been studying the ecosystem of K-pop labels for more than 20 years, and is the author of "K-pop Innovation" (2020), which delves into assorted topics ranging from the recipe of K-pop's success to its future.
"It is not appropriate to dub K-pop stars as mass-produced commodities merely because they have been created by their companies in unconventional ways over the years," Lee said in an interview with The Korea Times, Monday. "Innovative producers like SM Entertainment's Lee Soo-man and Big Hit Entertainment's Bang Si-hyuk mustered their creative power to showcase diverse bands with different images, characters and music. It also takes about five years for these producers to launch a new act, which means they cannot mass-produce several bands at once. Given this reality, how can we liken a K-pop label to a factory?"
He elaborated, "Some people claim that the companies' excessive intervention can deal a blow to the growth of Korean music industry and the artists, but K-pop is now winning the hearts of numerous people under the current system. Fans love K-pop for a reason. So for Korea, what is important now is to consider ways to enhance the current system, instead of underplaying it."
In fact, thanks to the roaring K-pop boom, Korea's music album and video exports hit an all-time high in 2020, with the export amounts jumping by 94.9 percent year-on-year to 203 billion won ($170 million) during the January-to-November period, according to the Korea Customs Service.
 |
| K-pop boy band BTS / Courtesy of Big Hit Entertainment |
In his book, "K-pop Innovation," Lee also underlines that the K-pop labels like SM are among the first movers that have led Korea's "second-generation innovation." According to the professor, the first generation's innovation kicked off in the mid-1980s, with companies centering on the creative imitation of the knowledge and skills of more developed countries. Then, Korea ushered in a new era in the 1990s when companies like Samsung Electronics began producing their own things and gaining global competitiveness.
"In the case of K-pop, private enterprises and innovators ― not the government ― played a pivotal role in promoting it," Lee said in his book.
Idolization, monetization and glocalization (globalization plus localization) were major keys to K-pop's success, according to Lee.
"The focus of the K-pop companies is not on one album, but on the idol group itself. So they developed an organized system to train aspiring singers, helping them hone their singing and dancing skills. Then, once they debut a band, they encourage the stars to forge acting careers or expand their presence in other related fields, so as to make them more bankable and durable. They also use social media platforms wisely to reach a global audience and come up with diverse content like online concerts and marketing strategies ― such as localization ― to target international markets."
Forecasting the notion that K-pop will continue to bask in popularity for at least the next few years, the professor brought another spotlight to the technologies involved in the industry.
"As of now, K-pop producers are actively working for innovation and are launching new types of K-pop groups, like WayV ― a Chinese boy group that does not include any Korean members ― to find a niche in the world's music markets," he said. "If they develop a new business model by blending state-of-the-art technologies and K-pop content, they might be able to seize more opportunities to lead the global entertainment industry."
 |
| K-pop girl group aespa / Courtesy of SM Entertainment |
SM's rookie girl group, aespa, is the epitome of such an approach, Lee says. Debuted in 2020, aespa members have their own virtual avatars, which purport to be their alter egos.
"The combination of virtuality and reality will be one of the most distinguishable aspects of our future, and aespa is a good example of this," Lee said. "Although it looks experimental for now, in the coming days, there will be more acts like aespa."
The professor also touched on the challenges to tackle. He said that it is crucial to overcome cultural differences, citing the case of Tzuyu, the Taiwanese member of the multinational K-pop act TWICE, who came under fire in China in 2016 after waving the Taiwanese flag during a Korean online broadcast. Many Chinese took offense with her, claiming she did not respect Beijing's "One China" policy ― under which there is only one China, represented by the government in Beijing, and the Taiwanese and Hong Kong governments are parts of it. In the wake of the controversy, Tzuyu and Park Jin-young, founder of TWICE's agency JYP Entertainment, issued apologies.
"As can be seen from the case of Tzuyu, K-pop can put different countries at odds as it goes more global," he noted. "In addition, many K-pop stars have also stirred debate among international fans due to their lack of cultural awareness. Thus, it is important for the singers and companies to be more conscious about these issues and have a more global mindset."
