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| Kim Young-sun, CEO of Great M Entertainment / Courtesy of Great M Entertainment |
Great M Entertainment CEO looks back on her 20-year career
By Dong Sun-hwa
Kim Young-sun, founder and CEO of K-pop record label Great M Entertainment, is the "mother" of numerous K-pop acts.
Kim, the former director of FNC Entertainment and one of the creative minds behind popular acts like FTISLAND, CNBLUE and AOA, has mostly been known as a hard taskmaster after appearing on tvN's reality drama "Cheongdamdong 111" in 2013. In the program that featured the behind-the-scenes stories of some FNC stars and company officials, Kim was depicted as a merciless woman, who scolded AOA's Seolhyun for gaining weight and other members for having snacks while practicing their dance routines.
However, in reality, the moniker of mother better describes who she really is. Indeed, she sometimes acts like an iron-hearted boss to make her singers look flawless, but other times, she gives them unwavering love and support like their mothers. In the past, she cooked meals for them at their houses and even had meetings with their school teachers on behalf of their parents when needed.
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| Singer ChoA / Courtesy of Great M Entertainment |
Kim left FNC a few years ago due to health issues, but the fact that she still keeps in touch with many stars is a testament to her friendliness and warm-heartedness. ChoA, the former AOA member who quit the act in 2017, even became the first singer to join Great M.
"Even after departing from AOA, ChoA frequently visited my home and spent time with my son," Kim said. "One day, I casually asked her if she was willing to resume her career as a singer and she said she was. So I asked her to join my new company, although I could not guarantee that I would make her successful again. But she still signed a contract with me and lately, she even bought me a luxury bag as a gift. At first, I told her to return it as I know how hard it is to make money as a K-pop singer, but I accepted it in the end as I was so moved by her sincerity."
Kim, a charismatic yet amiable CEO, is one of the few female leaders in the K-pop scene. Just like many other fields in Korea, the K-pop world has long been dominated by males, who were believed to be better at surviving in the tough industry where insiders should be armed with physical and mental strength.
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| Boy band FTISLAND / Courtesy of FNC Entertainment |
Kim, however, demonstrated that a woman can do it, too. She was initially a stylist for then-singer Han Seong-ho, the current chairman of FNC. But she soon landed a new job at an advertising agency and stumbled upon the five members of FTISLAND, the models who seemed to have potential of becoming popular stars. So she introduced them to Han, who was planning to set up an entertainment company and joined forces with him to give birth to FTISLAND. The band rose to meteoric stardom soon after its debut in 2007, dropping a string of hits such as "Love Sick" (2007) and "I Hope" (2009).
This was only the beginning of Kim's success story. While she was part of FNC, she singled out the members for other prominent groups like CNBLUE and AOA and debuted them. And all of them created a splash by topping music charts and sweeping awards. Kim had to work around the clock to take care of all these A-list stars, but she enjoyed everything in the process.
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| Boy band CNBLUE / Courtesy of FNC Entertainment |
"The entire process of debuting a group was so entertaining that I did not know I was tired," she recalled after a moment of thinking. "I loved my job so much and felt so rewarded whenever a group pulled off a musical feat."
As she continued her winning streak, however, she reached the point where she could not work as enthusiastically as she did in the past due to health problems. So Kim, who had been working at FNC for nearly two decades, had no choice but to leave the company. But being a workaholic, she began looking for another job as soon as she recovered.
"Since most people thought I was too strict and strong-minded after watching 'Cheongdamdong 111,' I could not easily get a job that I wanted to do," she said. "I did not want to become a CEO because it was clear that many duties and responsibilities would follow, but in the end, I had to found my own company."
According to Kim, the letter "M" in Great M originally referred to the word mother.
"But I later changed it to 'music,' 'manager' and 'Manners maketh man,' so as not to highlight that I am a female CEO," she said. "In the music industry, there is a deeply ingrained perception that a company run by a woman cannot sail smoothly. But honestly, I think the number of such companies is too small to draw such a conclusion."
The small number is largely attributable to the harsh working environment, Kim explained, adding that working in the K-pop industry was like fighting an uphill battle until recently.
"I think the overall working condition was tough and a lot of things happening in and out of broadcasting stations were hard for most women to endure," she revealed.
"Drinking and smoking with industry insiders was a crucial part of marketing and promotion and women had to be strong enough to take care of all members in a group and handle their fans, who sometimes turned wild when they saw the stars. A lot of women found this too demanding, so they quit their jobs. A few of them managed to survive, but they were negatively viewed as wild and weird."
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| Kim Young-sun, CEO of Great M Entertainment / Courtesy of Great M Entertainment |
"Thanks to the rise of global platforms like YouTube and TikTok, we now do not solely have to resort to broadcasting stations to promote our singers," Kim pointed out. "Appearing on music shows or variety programs is not the only option we have. These days, we can create our own creative content and release it on various channels to connect with international fans, so I believe women will have more chances to shine and earn recognition. I also want to emphasize that being strong is not about being wild and weird. It is all about being cool."
These days, the CEO is having a hectic time gearing up for the debut of a new boy group, which will not follow in the footsteps of most other K-pop groups.
"We already opened a TikTok channel for our boys and uploaded some videos featuring their self-written tracks," she said in an excited tone. "I love the fact that they talk about some fresh topics in their songs using creative language. We will help them build a solid international fan base through these platforms before debuting them next year, instead of trying to feature them on TV."
Even though Kim has many things on her plate, there is one thing that she places a top priority on ― the favorable working conditions for her singers and employees.
"In most entertainment companies, only the singers and the CEOs rake in the profits, whereas the employees are often underpaid," she pointed out. The annual salary of a new worker in the K-pop industry is reportedly about 30 million won ($27,000) which is not high compared to that of other sectors such as finance.
"Although it may take some time for Great M to take a leap forward, I will strive to make sure that our employees can receive what they deserve. I also want to create an environment where everyone can enjoy their job. In order to do so, I will continue to listen to as many young voices as possible, without forcing them to follow my directions."
