OOh yes, to take advantage of our new ShenYuePop privilege I’m going to be contributing the first Kpop expose I’ve done, especially for this site. Its for all those of you out there who just don’t get scandals and why theyre done in the first place. Ive used the scandal of the first half of the year “taesu” as a case study.
So if you have a spare moment my friends,
get educated in a way they dont teach you in school.
A short introduction in to the world of Kpop, SM entertainment
with a case study of the Taesu Scandal!
Ok, so a lot of you are not too clear on the idea that the Taesu scandal is a scandal or two stars caught in the act. I fully understand the confusion and so thats why I thought it would be interesting for you to have an insight in to the world of Kpop, the media and more specifically SM entertainment. This article isnt about the Taesu scandal itself but I’m going to use it as a case study to prove my point. I’m going to try and cover all the areas of confusion and try to shed light to my reasoning. I am being completely neutral here and if I were to express my opinion I will state that it is just that. First things first, if you want to understand the logic of Scandals being orchestrated by the management of an artist, you need to understand a few things about basic Business.
Simply put, it’s all a case of Business
The number one goal in terms of any business, is profit. Businesses spend millions on Market research and development each year to gain the most returns on their products. The lifespan of many products released each year are quite short, and thats where the ‘product life cycle’ comes in to play. Everything that you see in shops, television or even in schools and politics can be fundamentally linked back to the formula of the product life cycle. Businesses need to keep their products in the stage called ‘Maturity’, where basically the product has already been established and profitbility is high, while costs are relatively low. Products left in that stage are referred to as ‘cash cows’. Everything reaches the decline stage eventually, but depending on how the business deals with this stage, they can choose to either stop production and let the product go in to decline or try to set it back to the maturity stage. That can be done with Marketing, more specifically advertising. Thats why you can see Pepsi and Coca Cola spending so much money using the biggest stars of the moment in all their ads every year. Yet sometimes adverts just dont get the amount of attention they can gain, and thats where one of the most affective marketing strategies come in to play, Publicity Stunts.
Here is a list of the top 10 Publicity Stunts in Business.
So, what has that got to do with the Kpop Industry?
It has everything to do with the Kpop industry. Kpop of course is show business and everything that applies to business is directly linked to it. Strategies are adjusted to fit the industry itself as of course the Korean Pop Industry is reflected upon the Korean culture and Korean society. Thats why marketing in Korea will be different to say the United States, publicity stunts are also different in the States than Korea. Check this link out if you want to know more about publicity stunts that are more Western centric. South korea of course, is more of a conservative country, making the Western approach to publicity inapplicable. Yet easy to administer to Korean pop culture by using it as a guideline. Basically, its easy to say that sex sells and that works extremely well in the west, but in Korea a watered down version of it cuts the cake a little more smoothly. Hence, the Lee Hyoris, ChaeYeons, Jewelry and of course SNSD. Why SNSD? Mostly because their marketing is just that, a very watered down version of sex. They appeal mostly to males because of their shortness of skirts, cleancut bubble gum pop with a slightly provocative underlying meaning and bright and bubbly demeanor. SNSD is a well marketed tool by SM Entertainment, innocent enough to use the ‘cute’ image, but if you look well enough you can see that they are selling their sexuality. Smart move, ne? Hiding their true purpose underneath a larger cleaner image. And thats what takes me to SM Entertainment.
SM entertainment, Marketing Powerhouse
Its no use denying the fact that SM Entertainment is one of the most influential and powerful entertainment companies in South Korea, also responsible for a large portion of the Music influence of the Hallyu Wave. SM Entertainment has a large portion of the Pop Market Share in South Korea, and what got them there is there ingenious Marketing Strategies. They have studied the industry well and have developed their own strategies to getting their Artists to the highest plateaus in their chosen career. That’s why they have Business students coming to Korea to have lectures in just that, Marketing and the Hallyu Wave.
I’m sure some of you have heard about Harvard Business Schools students coming to attend the lectures and more recently MIT Sloan School of Management students. Admittedly they are more well known for their Musicians and there’s no doubt in saying that they have got their image and marketing down pat. Just take a look at BoA and TVXQ!, undoubtedly at the top of their game and can only get bigger, they are the ‘cash cows’ of SM Entertainment, and they are not afraid of milking them dry. Hence why, you will see them being used for marketing for their Juniors quite often. Just look back to TVXQ!’s debut, where they appeared in a Britney Spears and BoA showcase, and TVXQ! were used for Super Juniors debut, the ‘Show Me Your Love’ collab is proof of that.
TVXQ & Super Junior - Show Me Your Love [MV]
Ok, so what about the Scandals?
Marketing strategies differ from one artist to another in the South Korean industry, whether the entertainer is simply a Radio DJ, Comedian or Singer, you’ll find that their marketed in different ways. Thats why some entertainers are more inclined to get away with more than others, and why if some celebrities are caught with their pants down, fans and the public are more forgiving. What you need to keep in mind about SM entertainment is that they are in the ‘Idol Making Business’, so if they were to have their stars dating others in the company or out of it, its bound to cause more of a stir than and average entertainer.
The ‘Idol making Business’?
Yes, SM Entertainment specialises in making ‘Teen idols‘. That’s why if the particular idol is female, she is most likely to have more male fans than female, and vice versa in regards to male idols. Now, if you consider the two idol groups at question, SNSD and TVXQ! its easy to see their appeal to the opposite sex and its no doubt that their fan base is largely populated by the oposite sex. These idols make a heck of a lot of money by just being physically attractive, and by their availability in the dating sense. SM knows that and uses that to their advantage, fans of ‘idol groups’ tend to be very dedicated and ready to spend a lot of money on their favourite stars. SO they concoct plenty of schemes to gain more fans and to get more money out of their stars, and what better way to do that than keep them in the public eye, and constantly in the news. How do they do that, besides of course making them active in music industry as well as opening doors for them to branch in to acting, letting them do charity work or even better yet, involving them in juicy scandals with the opposite sex.
You mean like the TaeSu scandal?
Yes. Its a part of human nature to gossip and to be curious, thats what makes celebrities such a large topic of interest. They’re public figures who allow us to watch them over the metaphoric garden fence. And if you found out your neighbour was having an affair with the milkman, wouldnt you be interested to find out the sordid details and find out more about her and the milkman? Ok, thats more of a housewife analogy but look at it like this, say you don’t know anything about the two involved in the scandal, but youre interested to know more about them and their history, as you look through site upon site, you start to take more interest and perhaps in the long run, become a fan yourself.
So are all scandals false and just used for publicity?
Not necessarily. Scandals can be true, two entertainers dating can be discovered by the public or the media and the information can be released. When it comes to that, its mostly those in the media that chose when to disclose that information. After all the media industry needs to make money from this information too. How do they make money? Lets look at the Korean Media world, people who read the news in Korea do it mostly through the internet. And every click that goes in to the big news sites gives money to the site itself, how? Through ads on the pages you read. Its a small amount but say a news agency gives a scoop with suitable evidence to back it up, the news would spread like wildfire and people will clamour to read all the details. The amount of clicks could possibly lead to millions, and at 25Won a click, it could lead to a heck of a lot of money. For example, did you know that the Korean Media had evidence and previous knowledge of Kim Jongmin and HyunYoungs relationship a year before it was released? They kept it quiet as to gain the most amount of attention right before he left for the military.
Now, for the juicy stuff the TaeSu scandal, is it true or another fabrication of SM? Personally I believe its a bunch of fodder, like I previously stated. But here I’m going to attack your questions or possible questions about the legitamacy of my claims.
Firstly, doesnt SM have rules about dating?
Yes, SM has rules about dating, but not the kind most people seem to have in mind. The entertainers are allowed to date, but are told to keep their extra curricular activities as undercover as possible. Like going to places that don’t have that many fans, keeping a low profile, wearing disguises and similar things. They are highly encouraged not to though, as of course the consequences can be severe if anything got out, and thats in regards to the entertainer themselves. The company can play some damage control until things blow over. I’m pretty sure loads of you have read about wildboy Kangin and his many relationships, but that just adds to his ‘badboy’ image, if you can call it that. Kim Kibum also admitted to dating after debuting, better yet a noona, which coincidentally is the role hes playing *a younger guy dating an older woman* So I guess we can conclude that their not banned from dating, but discouraged.
So, the two could actually be dating?
Now, this here is me talking from my very own opinion, do you guys honestly believe that those two would be dating just from those photographs alone?? Use your better judgement and think of it rationally.
Do these two faces look like two people dating for a while
and spending some well needed quality time together?
Perhaps, if the pictures were more incriminating I would understand all the hubbub, but for someone who knows a little something about dating and has 21 years of life experience under her belt, I can say that these barely even tell me that they are glad to be in eachothers company as friends.
But these guys on the other hand look delighted to be together.
^ if someone photoshops junsu and taeyeons heads on these guys
i would love them for life!!!
Lol, yeah im only kidding, but the simple fact that the pictures and fan accounts leave room for doubt, is a hint of a staged scandal. IF they wee seen canoodling or better yet kissing and just simply some proper couple behaviour than cant be mistaken for friendship, it would be a little more convincing. Not for me, but perhaps for the public, I have no doubt in my mind this is staged, mostly due to the stuff on the actual stage too. For people that have suffered in the past for scandals, and by that I mean DBSK, do you think they would try to jump around with someone their dating on stage for all the world to see? Its common sense not to, and even if Junsu didnt know better, I think his hyungs would, who have been caught dating after debut.
But, what if they actually are dating?
Something I truly doubt is true. But if you push and push and want to know to the answer to that. I must say that if these two are in fact dating, then they are being exploited for the sake of benefiting the company.
How could them two be rumoured to be dating be benefiting the company?
Now, this is the juicy bit for me. It benefits the company immensely, as I mentioned before TVXQ! are a ‘cash cow’ for the company. Theyre fully established, make a lot more money than most, have a record-breaking fan club and are considered entertainers with substance. (By entertainers with substance I mean entertainers who can elongate their careers as they are individually seen as entertaining as well as talented, so basically theyre loved for their personalities as well as talent) In fact, its not considered much of a threat to fans of TVXQ! but extremely beneficial for SNSD. SNSD are quite plainly a group in need of support and attention, they are relatively new in this industry, so a scandal like this that isnt really inflammatory can do wonders for their careers. Just look at the fact that the news of the scandal has already reached the Chinese media, its quite simply a tactic of ‘fame by association’.
What this does is that if they choose to promote SNSD abroad, they will have articles written about them in the media, like this fake one I just wrote…
SNSD a new girl band making appearances all over China have caused quite a stir with their cute and lively ways. SNSD is a popular Korean girl group, whose leader Taeyeon has been rumoured to be girlfriend of popular band TVXQ!s Xiah Junsu.
etc etc etc
And whats the best weapon when your trying to gain popularity, attention. People who read that will check to see who this Taeyeon is and as i mentioned before, curious readers are potential fans. Just look at the Park Taehwan and Wonder girls leaders news as an example. They release rumours that theyre dating everytime they need publicity.
Haven’t there been rumours before that they’ve been going out?
Theres no proof that that is in fact true. If there were rumours before with substantial evidence, then you would have gotten news of it a long time ago. What I can say about these rumours popping up after this scandal broke out is this. On the internet people would do anything and say anything they feel like doing, so if news like this comes out then some people, just for the sake of drama, start throwing around accusations and so called ‘eye witness accounts’. Thats why you cant believe everything you read on the internet. I’ve read plenty of so-called ‘fan accounts’ on this whole thing that are so obviously fake and the work of anti-fans. The anonymity of the internet makes it possible. SO please dont believe every account youve read, it could just be there to fool you.
Won’t rumours like this make either person get anti-fans?
It may be surprising but entertainment companies actually prefer having anti-fans for their artists rather than having none. What happens is the anti-fans contribute to the attention factor. Anti-fans feel passionately about the artist too, they just are not in favour of them. So, what do antis do, they go online, search for stuff about the artist, post stuff about them and try to drag their popularity down. But instead what it does for the company itself is, increase hits on the search list for their artists. What that does is on the surface create the impression that the artists popularity is on the rise, and it makes other people who are neither a fan or anti-fan curious as to why they are so popular. And what have we said before? Anybody is a potential fan, even antis. A case of antis switching to fans is when say the anti-fan senses that people are going too far, and starts to sympathise with the artist, and in the long run they can start to support them just for that. Going back to the Search list, some of you may be aware just how important having your name in the Search list is for an artist. It mean that people want to know more about you, that people like you or better yet they are fans. That equals money, how? People are most likely to click on the official sites in order to find out about a star, those sites have a counter on them, calculating the amount of clicks a day. The more people that search, the more interested Advertising agencies and other companies would want to use their artists as spokespersons. And the more clicks, the more money SM can ask for. Yes, the key is to think of artists as commodities and not people, after all this is all a world of business.
Can’t they just pay off the big newsites and not bother with staging it?
The kpop industry is one driven by the internet. So you can say that netizens and technology are what create news and drive the market. Netizens are also very opinionated and have no problem to voice their concerns and at some points shame the media. So the media is very wary of them, and must be as convincing as possible when publishing news, in regards to entertainment and artists. A lot of the time, netizens are the ones that make the news and are not easily fooled. So, if your smart, which we’ve established SM is, you need to make them think that theyre the ones that discovered the news. That is also a much cheaper method, all they have to do is feed on the technology obsessed fan culture and tell their artists to overact, be seen together in obvious places in suspicious circumstances and sit back and watch the fruits of their efforts, for free. And it doesnt even have to be very convincing. All the while, making the fans think that they have made a large discovery, and didnt it just, how many fan accounts, pictures and fancams have you seen claiming their proof of TaeSu?
What about Cassiopeia, shouldn’t they be riled up about it too?
Let me tell you a little something about Cassiopeia. Cassioepeia is quite a fanclub, one known to be acknowledged even by SM as a force to be reckoned with. The fanclub is not in fact run by SM, it has ties with it as an official fanclub, they liaison, but of course they are run by the fans themselves. So there of course would be a fanclub president and a heirarchy of people who are in charge of certain things within the fanclub. So thinking that the fanclub itself would go berserk about the whole scandal is wrong. People a part of the fanclub, yes maybe, but not as an official movement. You have to consider that they are now a part of the Guinness book of records and have to live up to a certain standard. The Fanclub is made for the benefit of the artist and not the company, they think of the boys first. They wouldnt act officially, like they did a while back when they ordered a boycotting of SM goods, unless it directly threatened the boys future. I wouldnt be surprised if the fanclub held SM entertainment in contempt. I guess you can say that the relationship between SM and Cassiopeia is that of a daughter in law and a mother in law. You may hate the mother in law but without her you wouldnt have your precious husband. So unless they thought that something needed to be done, they would just leave things be for the sake of the boys. So do Cassiopeia know this is a publicity stunt? Most likely, but they cant do a thing about it, afterall the boys benefit from the publicity as well.
So what would happen if they did get riled up?
That’s no longer in the ‘IF’ category!
SNSD arrival at the DREAM CONCERT 2008
^ Look for Tiffany! with the shortest skirt, highest heels
and with the over the top pose!?
it seems that after months and months of poking at the wounded ribs of Cassiopeia by SM Entertainment and years of torment for the Super Junior pro-Only 13 ELF fans, they joined an alliance in this years DREAM CONCERT with other fanclubs, namely the Triple S supporters of SS501 to stage a silenceing throughout the SNSD performance, and turning off all light sticks.
Fans Boycotted SNSD at DREAM CONCERT 2008 [FANCAM]
What pushed them so far, its of course the ongoing scandals and games SM entertainment have been playing on fans and the public, namely the Haptic scandal commercials which ended up introducing said scandals, and the TaeSu scandal may have perhaps been the final straw for Cassiopeias. Furthermore, it seems fans are angry of the attention the SNSD girls get, namely Tiffany who claims she had a crush pre-debut with every male idol under the sun. The attention goes to them and pushes negativity to their own stars, also one needs to consider that these girls are rookies and have not worked as hard as the established stars to achieve their dream, so all this attention and publicity is sure to make fans of Seniors in the business angry, and do I even need to mention the SNSD-SHinwha business?
Now, what have they gained from this silenceing business?
The main objective was to show SM entertainment that they can try and play with their artists and their reputations as much as they want, but in the end, the fans have the control to make or break people in the business not them. It was meant as a united stand against the SNSD publicity stunts and their outrageous outbursts. You can say, other idol fans have had enough of girls flashing panties, excited male hormone-driven fans getting all the attention for doing just that, flashing their panties. But, this didn’t go entirely as planned. Rumour has it SNSD fans got wind of the plan and tore down a Super Junior fanmade banner, breaking hearts of Super Junior fans. Fan wars can get ugly, other rumours state that fans of larger groups involved in the boycott of SNSD were attacked by SNSD fans after the concert, some say even by knives.
^ an SNSD fan holding a knife!
These pictures were posted in Daum by a Cassiopeian.
She was saying this 2 guys were waving the knife in front of them and threatening them.
Telling them something like “You should try going home and….”
And then someone in ELF got stabbed. (translation: capri-shiqi)
Some other account report of a Triple S fans who also got stabbed by SNSD’s fan with pocket knife! a 14 year old Cassiopeia is reported that was beaten up to death! All the victims were sent to hospital.
We can all agree that boycotting a performer may seem harsh but it is in no means physically harming to the artists or their fans, intending physical harm is something gangsters do and cannot be taken lightly. Remember fandom is meant for your entertainment and it is not something to risk your life or health for or the health or lives of others.
As an afterthought I would like to mention a little something. I myslef was qutie disgusted when I first found out just how money-driven and corrupt the ShowBiz industry is. I didnt like the idea of being seen as currency and neither did I like that the artists where seen as a means for gaining currency either. In fact I was downright outraged, as a fan I wanted to just stop bothering with the industry, why support something so corrupt? And then the outrage died down and I realised a little something. Everything in the world that deals with money is corrupted, so does that mean I had to cut out of my life everything that had to do with that? Politics, Business, the Food and Beverage industry. So if I was going to boycott all things corrupt I might as well be living in a hut in the middle of nowhere, raising cattle and growing crops. the real world is a cruel and tainted place, why complicate things by reading way too much in to everything. Enjoy the industry for the sake of enjoyment, take it lightly, have fun with rumours, take part in the discussions but dont let it rule your life. As long as the entertainment industry is sticking to the fundamentals of entertianment and as long as I’m entertained what should I care. I like a lot of people in the industry, I love TVXQ!, they are a bunch of boys who are talented and hardworking, who have great personalities and do just that, entertain me. So I will buy their albums, I will watch shows they’re on, Buy their DVDS, I have no qualms about spending my hard earned money that way, because afterall their doing their jobs, I’m being entertained, why should they suffer for it? Ok, so Im buying in to the deceit but isnt life too short to take things so seriously.
There are people out there, celebrities who are seeking fame for the sake of fame, dont care who they have to step on and what they do and I dont like them. Who dont work as hard and reap more rewards than people who are extremely dedicated. If I choose to mock them in my little ways and take part in not so positive discussions, thats my choice. They put themselves in positions to be criticised, as public figures we have a right to pick them a part, its a part of democracy and free speech. they know what their getting in to beforehand. Perhaps I;m being hypocritical, for equally adding positivity and negativity and accepting them, but I’ll say it again, just enjoy it, if you take it too seriously you’ll only end up hurting yourselves. This stuff has more of an affect on our lives than we know, when we grow older we’ll think back at these times where we loved boybands and remember them fondly, perhaps even laughing at ourselves and how ridiculous we may have been. I remember Backstreet Boys and Nsync and love those times while I get embarassed by how much it took up of my time, yet I am grateful to the people that worked so hard to give me alittle something to amuse myself with. The drama it caused in school life and how we saved up as 12 year olds *i didnt do the math i dont remember how old i was then* to buy magazines, tape cassettes and CDS when they became popular. I came back to that world when I got in to the drama of Kpop. The media circus of Kpop is a drama in itself and its almost as entertaining as the Mini-series’s and movies they come out with and thats why I follow it. It has created a world in which I can forget the stress of my education, job and personal life and thats what the Entertainment industry essentially was. An escape from the harshness of the real world. SO appreciatte it, have fun with it, enjoy it, but please dont let it add to the stresses of life. take care of your mental health. :3
ALL THE CREDITS TO: noonoo_shoo from SYP FORUM
THE WRITER MAY CONTACTED FOR ANY QUESTIONS
