Forum - View topicK-pop Panel Reveals Market's Worst Tendencies
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mdo7
 Posts: 6496 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
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Uh, I just finished reading the article, and I did find it odd for ANN to post this. I also did find it odd for a K-pop panel at Otakon instead of KCON (unless he was at KCON and they had a panel) which ended it's 3-day festival run back in Los Angeles from July 26-28 which would've been a better area to talk about K-pop market in the US and Japan and Korea. The article really baffle and make me scratch my head after reading it over and over again. I don't see anything wrong or questionable about K-pop currently other then slave contract (which is still an issue since early 2000's), new groups coming out although I'm happy to see 2NE1 (a legendary K-pop girl group that disbanded in 2016 and also pre-dated Blackpink) re-uniting and going to make a comeback this year along with a comeback tour. But yeah, I don't know or what else to make of this person's analysis on K-pop market overall.
Last edited by mdo7 on Wed Aug 07, 2024 9:24 am; edited 1 time in total |
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eryndel
Posts: 7 |
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(One minor correction for the article before I get started: it's 2NE1, not 2N1E.)
I'm Korean American, and I've been following Korean music for a while - both idols and non-idols, so I'll just offer my own perspective on the matter, especially on idols, who Chae mainly speaks of when using the K-pop moniker. He's not wrong to an extent when he says idols have a lack of artistic freedom or control over their image. Most idols have no knowledge of music production, so their discography is handed off to company-hired producers. However, nowadays music production training is offered at some agencies, ie. HYBE. This is because self-produced groups are likelier to attract fans, ie. BTS, SEVENTEEN, (G)-IDLE. That being said, they still may have some assistance from company producers, or collaborate with international ones. Still, it would be inappropriate to say that idol groups have zero agency in their image or music. While in the end the company has the ultimate decision in the matter, some idols do have the option to request for various things from minor things like performance hairstyles to more major factors like variety shows to guest on, or even the concept of their next album - to get that album... (see Joy of Red Velvet discussing Chill Kill). Of course, the opposite could happen - for example, in some behind-the-scenes content, some members of NCT were not happy with songs like Sticker or 2 Baddies as their lead singles at the time.. There are cases where some Korean idols are frustrated with their lack of musical freedom, or career restrictions, and will thus leave their agency, often signing with non-idol agencies. This is maybe my most important point - there are plenty of Korean music artists who have complete control over their music and career. They just aren't in the idol industry. 99% of the world's perception of K-pop consists solely of idols as a result of the Hallyu wave, but Korea also has a flourishing indie scene, non-idol pop singers, traditional ballad and trot artists, as well as a prolific hip-hop subculture. I can name Jay Park, ph-1, Tablo/Epik High, Baek Yerin, AKMU, WOODZ, Younha, FTISLAND, and so many more artists that are not bound by idol constraints, write and produce their own music, and are still incredibly successful in their own right. I hope that we could stop hyper-focusing on "the dark side of K-pop" or "the K-pop machine" when there are so many talented artists we could bring attention to instead. Even when highlighting how broken the Korean idol system is (a fact), it is no different than Japan's idol industry (Johnny's anyone?) or even Hollywood itself - in short, this is not a problem unique to Korea. [Edit because I forgot to mention: I find it funny that Chae thinks BTS might be the only artist with any influence at their label when IU exists and has written and directed practically all of her music since 2011. Just saying.] |
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Twage
Posts: 366 Location: North Bergen, NJ |
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I love having more critical coverage, but more quotes would be nice.
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Joe Mello
 Posts: 2317 Location: Online Terminal |
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I'm going to try to be as mindful of other peoples' feelings as best I can, but it feels like mistakes were made at every level.
It makes sense for Otakon to have a K-Pop industry panel. It's at the level where people would expect high-level industry panels, and kaigai/VTube/pop idol culture is basically the hot sector for growth in conventions. While it sounds like a good idea to get the CEO of a label (at least I think that's what Plum Tree is based on its own description on their website) having one as a speaker, especially one of a relative startup, has proven in 2024 to be a bad idea. CEO's are almost by default disconnected from the general public, and thus have no way to make a connection. Even though Chae was formerly in marketing, he was a manager and then an executive. Having someone who actually does marketing or PR or some other job that deals with communicating would have been a better pick, but since Plum Tree looks like a new company, I don't know if that position even exists yet. Chae sounds like he has a level of paternalism similar to other business executives, but also has the modern business mindset of tearing down others to build himself up. I would not expect a panel like this to be all sunshine and happiness, but I would think a skilled communicator would be able to explain the industry's processes with both their benefits and shortcomings, but ultimately end with a positive spin. It sounded like Chae was not interested in that kind of messaging and comes off as someone who feels like he has to deal with the American market instead of wanting to. However, the things that make sense to me, is banning recording and anonymizing data. A panel like this shouldn't be naming names; it would be rude and potentially damaging to the industry if you did. Preventing recording stops a random anecdote to be taken out of context and blown out of proportion. I'm not sure why the reporter was confused by this, unless it was specifically because of Chae "not naming names" while also naming one very specific name, in which case it's because the latter shouldn't have been happening. |
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mdo7
Posts: 6496 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
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While I understand that, but it still kind of weird for a K-pop industry panel to be popping up in a anime convention (although before you bring up this has been done before, yes, that is true, but...That was before K-pop exploded in North America and before KCON was created/established), so unless Chae did a similar panel at KCON in Los Angeles, I'm not sure why this panel was necessary at Otakon. Was Chae ever interviewed by Billboard or Soompi before the Otakon panel? If he didn't, why did he not talked to 1 of those 2 outlet since they specialize in K-pop journalism if he wants to talk about creativity and idols' self-produced/created music and songs in K-pop? I mean why choose Otakon instead of KCON or talked with Soompi or Billboard. |
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liatris
Posts: 67 |
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I don't know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing, but it is common for Korean cultural eventers and panels to be exhibited at Otaku-based events. Well, there is a history of it being treated that way for a long time as Japan and Korea have a close relationship. In a sense, it is Orientalism, and it is also true that Korea has been exchanging and promoting its own culture from that position, so it may be too late to say anything about it now. In the past, the Japanese right used to have a problem with this and it was rather contentious. To be honest, I do feel a little uncomfortable about it, but not enough to strongly oppose it. |
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