the kpop edition

[acchikocchi]

1. So give me the lowdown on SM Entertainment as a corporation. How do they recruit/train/market/etc., especially in comparison to JE? Info on shady business practices and lawsuits and things of that sort also welcome. XD ...How does the Korean music industry and market compare to the Japanese in general, actually? There is no such thing as tldr in comments here.

2. Favorite Korean artists/songs/albums/music videos? I am woefully ignorant. Pop, not pop, what have you - hit me. (Assume I know basically no one except Park Ji-yoon, since that's... true. Oh, and BoA.)

Comments

[catskilt.livejournal.com]

(this is really long, sorry. But it's so fascinating XD)

Talent & personality - SM trains its artistes quite vigorously, I think. Even if they can't dance initially, they're put through enough training to make them adequate dancers (and when I say 'adequate', I mean they can dance any JE routine with competence). Those who show talent in a certain area will be trained harder in that area...if you're interested in singing and are good at it, you'll be trained to be primarily a singer. Same with dancing. But even if you're primarily a singer, you'll still be competent at dancing, because it's all part of the performance.

But that doesn't mean that SM artistes are all about performance and nothing about personality. They definitely go in very much for personality, and they have to be dorky and silly and ridiculous too, boys and girls alike. Personality is a huge thing in S.Korea. If you're popular on shows and show talent for MC/DJ/entertainment, you'll be invited on lots of shows as a regular or occasional guest. If you're not, then you'll most likely be way more obscure than your members.

The relationship dynamics in SM - Like JE, there's a senpai/kouhai thing. It's called hyung/dongsaeng. The older ones will take care of the younger ones (and in this sense, the older one can just be a year older or eight months older or even 10 days older, as in the case of Eeteuk and Heechul XD). And, similar to JE, there is a lot of cross-group interaction. DBSK and Suju, like mentioned before, are super bff and SNSD gets along well with them too. They're also good with the younger groups like SHINee.

And the BIGGEST difference is that in SM, the groups live together even after debut, reason being that most of them come from other parts of Korea, not just Seoul. In the case of Suju, 10/13 of the members live together in two dorms in the same apartment complex (the other three live by themselves or with parents). They've lived together for six to seven years, so they're extraordinarily close (it also creates a lot more dirt for them to dish out during talkshows XDD). But they actually treat each other like family, or at the very least close friends (not like they really have a choice). They don't have much time to visit their families or even meet their own friends, so their members become family/friends/members all in one to them. They cook for each other, keep each other company, room together, etc.

[catskilt.livejournal.com]

(last one, I swear, and I just saw a really long comment posted under mine XD)

More on relationship dynamics - leaders in K-pop are actually leaders. They take responsibility for the group, and they have to work hard in variety shows to give the group more exposure and get their members invited on shows too. Eeteuk of Suju has been voted the best leader of a K-pop group by netizens, probably because he handles 12 members and works himself to the bone taking care of them and promoting Suju.

Fans & SM - Fans. There's a lot of info on the antis and stuff, so I won't touch on that, but rather on the actual fans :D Fans have a lot to do with the group. They have enough power to change the company's decisions re: group. They're also given a lot more opportunity to interact with the group than JE fans. They can throw gifts on the stage during concerts. They can go to radio stations and drop off presents there. They have occasional fan meetings / signings where they can pass off gifts, too. They even know where the group lives, so they can go there and give them presents and stuff. In return, SM groups have actual interaction with their fans; they have this thing called UFO where they reply to fans' messages in real time. Like, a fan will post something like "I'm sleepy~ I want oppa to say good night to me!" and the guys will reply "good night" or "just go to sleep already!!" It's very cute XD

Basically, K-pop is a very dynamic and competitive industry compared to JE. They don't really have a comfort zone, so they have to push themselves all the time to be better / as good as the rest. For that reason, their dancing is insane, they're vocally competent (and some of them are really, REALLY good, like Kyuhyun and Yesung of Suju, and the DBSK boys), and they're very entertaining on a whole. And (because I'm biased), Suju is among the best (bias? They're acknowledged one of the Top Idol Groups! XD). Because they have 13 members, they have the singers, the dancers, and the entertainers. They do more than one genre of music. They choreograph some of their own dances and write their own rap lyrics and host their own radio show.

In short: LOVE SUJU AND YOU'LL NEVER REGRET IT :D

Also, huge recommendation: EPIK HIGH. They're not a boyband, more like an indie band. You can youtube their songs...I particularly love their lovescream and Remapping the Human Soul albums. Their lyrics are fantastic and their music is really hardcore music. PLUS, their lead singer/writer, Tablo, is great friends with Eunhyuk while another member, Mithra, is bff with Heechul :D

!!!

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

omg, this is exactly what I wanted. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Truly, there is no such thing as tldr, this is FABULOUS. I will digest and see if I have any further questions, but wow, you're fantastic!! ♥

Re: !!!

[catskilt.livejournal.com]

:DDD i know there are things that i'm missing, but i figure you'll find it fun to find out on your own~