Recent controversies within the K-pop industry have brought attention to the challenges it faces. These include statements made by CEO Ador Min Hee-jin, who accused HYBE’s girl group ILLIT of copying New Jeans, debates surrounding LE SSERAFIM’s live performance abilities, and a handwritten “apology for dating”letter from aespa member Karina. These incidents have sparked discussions about the fundamental issues within the industry.
These concerns also emphasize the importance of K-pop continuously pushing for originality, enhancing their live performance skills, and decreasing reliance on fan communities. These factors are crucial for promoting distinctiveness, artistic excellence, and transparency within the industry.
With the increasing number of idol groups, the similarities between them become more noticeable. This goes against the global success formula of BTS and BlackPink, who strived for cultural and musical diversity.
Popular Songs Collaborations
Numerous comparison videos of ILLIT and NewJeans’ choreography can be found on platforms like YouTube. These two groups are both under HYBE’s subsidiary companies. Fans have noticed similarities in the choreography of ILLIT’s “Magnetic”MV (2024) and NewJeans’ “Ditto”(2022). While “Magnetic”was initially thought to be paying tribute to NewJeans, the CEO of ADOR, NewJeans’ agency, disagreed with this interpretation.
Min Hee-jin asserts that HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk is imitating NewJeans’ success by replicating their choreography and costumes. She argues that when production methods become uniform, they limit the ability to create diverse products and ultimately result in harmful competition within a company.
Despite being embroiled in a conflict over plagiarism allegations, HYBE remains the top music production company in Korea, boasting acclaimed labels such as BigHit Music, Belift Lab, and Source Music. This controversy has shed light on the systemic issues and crises within the industry, leading to a greater awareness among producers.
According to experts, the growing presence of K-pop companies in the stock market will lead to higher profits as they establish their own unique identity.
According to Lee Dong-jun, a K-pop researcher at Seoul National University, YG Entertainment utilizes sub-groups as a means of establishing a hierarchy, while HYBE actively seeks mergers and acquisitions in order to establish a multi-label system.
According to him, HYBE’s focus is primarily on “consumer and product diversity”rather than cultural diversity.
The dispute between HYBE and Ador demonstrates that the K-pop music industry’s emphasis on increasing quantity through traditional formulas of success has become outdated.
Controversial Live Singing Abilities
As the similarity among idol groups grows, fans are becoming more and more yearning for genuine vocal abilities. The recent performance of LE SSERAFIM at the Coachella music festival on April 13 in the US left fans surprised and disappointed due to the girl group’s lacklustre live singing skills.
“According to cultural critic Sung Min0seong, as it becomes more challenging to differentiate personal styles in music, K-pop fan communities must discover methods to reaffirm the identity of idol groups based on their vocal abilities.”
Despite the initial goal of improving skills for their artists, K-pop companies have shifted their focus towards maximizing profits through the utilization of fan communities. One common method is by enhancing business activities on platforms such as Weverse and Bubble, which serve as communication platforms with fees for interactions between fans and artists.
The prevalence of emotionally-driven communication has resulted in fans feeling entitled to intrude on idols’ personal lives, rather than valuing their talent. Recently, aespa member Karina was forced to publicly apologize through a handwritten letter on social media after admitting to her relationship with actor Lee Jae Wook. This incident highlights the immense pressure fans place on idols, as even an adult without marital obligations is expected to apologize for simply being in a romantic relationship.
Origin: K14, The Korea Times
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