Hallyu_prefinal
- 1. photoshop credit: lauren bermudez Alex Tobias • Celine Park • Erica McAllister • Jessica Maa Choo Yan • Sunhwa Park • Samantha
- 2. CONTRACT ISSUES MONEY DISCREPANCIES EXPECTATIONS, DORM LIFE, & RESTRICTIONS INTRA-GROUP INEQUALITY
- 5. Jay Park’s departure from 2PM left fans stunned and shocked - Originated from a misunderstanding of a comment made by Jay JYP had originally stated that Jay would remain part of 2PM Eventually, JYP Ent termined Jay’s contract due to a moral, personal mistake allegedly committed by Jay Park Jaebom
- 6. Jaejoong,Yoochun, & Junsu filed a lawsuit against SM Ent in 2009 - Contract with SME was too long (13 years) - Schedules often held without confirmation/permission of DBSK - Contract terms are subject to change without notice or consent - Early termination will cost them 2x their potential profit - Not allowed to release music independently At the time of signing, all the members of DBSK were not of legal age and therefore had neither the knowledge nor the resources to negotiate the terms with SM Ent.
- 7. KARA was reported to be splitting from DSP Media due to unethical contract contents. - Forced KARA members to participate in schedules they didn’t like - Added new activities to already full schedules without consent - Rejected requests for explanation or proper documents Had an instance where KARA unknowingly signed a contract for work in Japan under the impression they were filling out a simple registration form DSP Media forced the KARA members to model these inappropriate shirts without any regard to their reputations and the fact that Jiyoung is a minor
- 8. In 2010, U-KISS members Kibum and Alexander (Xander) were forced to leave their group for the sole reason that NH Media wanted a change in the member line-up Kibum decided to terminate his contract with NH - Originally tied to a 10 year contract, but forced to cut it off at 3 Kim Kibum Alexander Lee Eusebio
- 9. Kim Hyun Joong left DSP Media for Keyeast Records, despite repeated assurances that he would not Following that, Park Jung Min also departed from DSP Media Though the remaining 3 members would like to stay together as a group, they are looking for a new agency as well When asked, all five members said they would not renew their contracts with DSP Media if given the chance
- 10. Like other SM Ent artists, SNSD members are tied to 10+ year contracts that often contain restrictive and oppressive elements: - A rigorous training period of 3-7 years - Early termination penalties of 3x invest and 2x loss In 2010, the Federal Trade Commission gave SM Entertainment a warning to adjust the “slave contracts” As a result, the contracts were shortened to 7 years Adjusted to be more lenient and transparent for the artists, which was near impossible before the FTC intervened
- 12. SM Entertainment takes 30-70% of DBSK’s profits - This includes concerts, albums, merchandise, etc. - DBSK splits the remaining 10-30% between 5 members SM Entertainment required that DBSK’s album sales exceed 500k copies in order for them to be paid
- 13. KARA continuously asked for clear figures regarding their income, but DSP Media refused the requests DSP Media’s documentations were complex and difficult to understand for the members of KARA While promoting in Japan, DSP Media left 84% of album sales to distributors. The remaining 16% was then split with Universal Japan, leaving DSP Media with 8% of the total profits earned in Japan. Of this 8%, KARA members only received 1.6-2.4% of their total profits
- 14. U-KISS revealed in an interview on TVN’s Brunch that there was an unequal distribution of income U-KISS received absolutely nothing from album sales, either physical or digital Money made from commercials (CFs) was split twice: - First, between NH Media and U-KISS - Then between the 7 U-KISS members
- 15. There is a reported lack of uneven income between the members Yoona and Taeyeon are said to receive more monetary compensation that other members who are featured less Kim Taeyeon Im Yoona
- 16. EXPECTATIONS, DORM LIFE, & RESTRICTIONS
- 17. 2PM’s old dorm had all seven members living with 2 to 3 guys in a room, which was awkward and uncomfortable Only recently did 2PM move into a newer dorm with 1 room per each of the 6 members (minus Jay) - This was in 2011, yet 2PM debuted in 2008 - 3 years of living in uncomfortable situations Very limited diet consisting of chicken, apples, and sweet potato
- 18. Hectic schedules lead to little sleep and overexertion
- 19. Required to maintain an image both as an artist and within SM Ent - Restricted dating - Diet/Body maintenance - Disallowed certain behaviors on variety shows/in public Little free time and tightly packed schedules - Leads to exhaustion and illness • Sunny fainted during a performance in Japan Leads to sneaking around rules in order to live a normal life - SNSD sneaks out to go to Lotte World
- 20. All 7 members of Infinite share one dorm They are usually not allowed to eat food at night due to face bloating or weight gain As they are a relatively new group, the members have to divide the chores amongst themselves with no one else to do it for them Member Lee Sungyeol expressed a wish for more bathrooms, as all of them currently share one
- 21. When Big Bang first debuted as a group, Mnet was filming Big Bang’s personal life 24/7 for a reality TV show This lead to almost little to no personal time for themselves Big Bang, like many other idol groups, has a tightly packed schedule T.O.P. has been admitted to the hospital on more than one occasion due to fatigue and overexertion Also required to live in a dorm, which can be inconvenient for all members, especially during training days
- 23. Lee Sungjong Lee Sungyeol Nam Woohyun Kim Sunggyu Total seconds of individual singing lines within songs are poorly distributed Nothing’s Over Sunggyu: 11 lines Woohyun: 9 lines Sungjong: 1 line Sungyeol: 0 lines
- 24. SNSD has assigned roles, such as Vocal, visual, dancer, etc. This leads to unequal screen and lyric distribution Hyoyeon has less than 5 minutes of singing time out of all Korean albums/mini-albums/singles released (~170 minutes), which is <3% Kim Hyoyeon
- 25. Kim Hyun Joong is the most popular out of all the members due to his work in dramas (Boys Over Flowers, Playful Kiss) and variety shows (We Got Married) - Puts the other members in his shadow There is also a generally unequal distribution of CFs and roles on various shows within the group Kim Hyun Joong
- 26. While Big Bang is a very successful group, some members get more attention than others This leads to uncomfortable relations between members - Seungri has expressed jealousy over G-Dragon’s popularity with female fans G-Dragon and T.O.P. noticeably get more lines in their songs, as compared to Taeyang, Seungri, and Daesung - This is especially evident in their earlier songs such as Haru, Haru and Lies GD & T.O.P.