INTERVIEW 'People think I can speak 10 languages'
Andreas S.T. Lee, CEO of the Creative Convergence Group, speaks during a recent interview. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
By Dong Sun-hwa
Foreign TV personalities often are multilingual and can speak Korean fluently. But what about those who manage them?
“Many people believe I have a good command of over 10 different languages,” Andreas S.T. Lee said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. “But I do not.” Lee heads a leading firm representing foreign entertainers in Korea.
Instead of studying foreign tongues, he has learnt a simpler, but more effective trick ― only using his “perfect” Korean when interacting with his members.
Lee is the CEO of the Creative Convergence Group of FMG Entertainment. Christian Burgos of Mexico, German Niklas Klabunde, Wang Xinlin from China and Pakistan's Zahid Hussain are among FMG's foreign talent pool of over 70 from some 40 countries.
“Our members are intellectuals, so they could look down on me if I use English,” Lee frankly confessed.
This also helps train the contracted foreign talent to learn Korean. After all, the better their Korean, the higher the chance they will get a role or job, he said.
During the interview, he also revealed how he and the company manage their stars in different ways, depending on schedules.
If a star has more than two or three “fixed schedules,” an individual manager is assigned to take care of his work and private life. Burgos, who regularly appears on four Korean TV programs, is one example. He shot to fame after featuring as a panelist on the JTBC talk show “Non-Summit,” which invites non-Koreans living here to share their perspectives on Korean culture.
“For those who do not fall into the same category as Burgos, tight management is usually not an option,” Lee said. “Since tight management leads to cost increases for the company and the member, no one has so far asked for it at the expense of less profits.”
Lee said most members are frugal and do not put on airs and graces. They prioritize “internal stability” over “show,” he says. Therefore, the company also tries to cut down on expenses to share as much profit as possible with the member.
FMG Entertainment signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Tourism Association in 2017. Third from right is Andreas S.T. Lee. Photo provided by FMG Entertainment
FMG Entertainment, established in 2015, aims to cultivate foreign “cultural ambassadors” who can exercise influence in Korea and their motherlands. The members, who joined the company after passing a series of challenging tests, have been sharing Korean content with their home countries while letting people here know about their motherlands.
“Because our members are qualified, a swarm of people, including the crew of TV programs involving foreigners, contact us first to cast our members and create global content,” Lee said.
In fact, the members have already had dozens of notable achievements here. In 2018, 34 of them were appointed ambassadors of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Pyeongchang. Some were involved in the Seoul International Wheelchair Marathon and the Peace Relay Campaign for the Inter-Korean Summit.
“Training foreigners using Korean is challenging sometimes, but the future of our company is still bright because the demand for cultural ambassadors has been increasing,” Lee said.
The foreign stars have even expanded their footprints to the home shopping business and are learning skills to promote goods using Korean. Later, these techniques will be used to sell their home products in Korea and to advertise Korean goods in their motherlands.
“I hope our members can receive a presidential citation in the future,” Lee said. “I also wish to establish an international organization composed of cultural ambassadors.”