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]

More on music industry - K-pop isn't as big a market as Japan, so they have to expand overseas. DBSK markets itself in Japan now, and WonderGirls had a stint in America, and Suju is aimed at the China market. They don't tour Korea in two or three months like JE does, but have overseas concert tours (e.g. Suju's 'Super Show' tour). They record songs in other languages, like English, Japanese, Chinese. They release songs in other countries (Suju's Sorry Sorry album is still charting in Taiwan).

Also, like JE has set music shows like Music Station, Music Fighter, Utaban, Heyx3 and its own variety shows, K-pop groups also appear on set music shows like Inkigayo and Music Bank. The main difference is that those music shows give out weekly awards based on netizen response etc. (which the groups will compete to get). Variety show-wise, K-pop group personalities appear on TONS of shows. Main ones are Star King, Introducing Star Friends, 3-women Tricolor Talkshow, Yeoyoomanman, etc. They won't only appear once either, they can be regular guests, or sometimes-guests, or invited back if they're particularly entertaining. Aside from that, they have their own reality TV and variety shows (e.g. Suju's Full House, EHB, Super Adonis Camp).

It's common for JE groups to have a couple of singles early in the year, then go quiet until say October for the next group activity. Not so in K-pop. They'd die if they did that. They're active throughout the year in variety shows, radio shows, huge music festivals, music shows, concerts, overseas appearances, commercials, etc. If you're a super big idol group like DBSK or Suju, you're pretty much in the spotlight all the time.

Another difference is that SM doesn't do singles. Reason being the promotional activity. When JE releases a single, we all know that it'll be on Music Station twice, Heyx3, Utaban, Music Fighter, and a couple others for about two weeks before it goes quiet. For SM, their promotions can stretch out to half a year. They do release singles from time to time, but more frequently they do albums, with music videos of the main songs (like Sorry Sorry and It's You). The group will then promote the album aggressively for months, on music shows, variety shows, talkshows, radio shows, you name it. They'll have like, twenty or thirty performances of the main songs. And because their promotional period is so much longer, they also have lots of costumes for their performances, they don't just stick to one main outfit. Wardrobe people in SM work overtime XD

[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~