the mind reels

the mind reels is a blog about k-pop written by Melissa Johnson.

[mjohnso]

Quarterly Debut Review: Q2 2026

Quarterly Debut Reviews are a supplementary series to my annual Periodic Rookie Group Reports, which are published quarterly. Each installment covers three rookie groups that debuted over the past three months. For the ninth installment, I covered AWU (April), YUHZ (May), and B.YourSide (June).

As always, a full list of rookie groups that have debuted thus far in 2026 is available here: 2026 Rookie Groups Debuts

April / AWU Debut: April 9, 2026 Debut Song: "Guess Who's Back"

Although KARA’s 2009 single “Mister” owed much of its success to its iconic “hip dance,” neither their nor DSP’s official YouTube channels host an official performance or practice version. This is not because they did not film a performance version, but because like performance versions for other second-generation hits including SNSD’s “Gee”, After School’s “Bang”, and T-ara’s “Roly Poly”, they were, figuratively, paywalled. That is, instead of being uploaded to any of their official accounts, they were included as a “bonus” on the Japanese version of CD+DVD editions of albums, to entice fans to buy a more expensive edition. Hence, today most of these versions can only be found on long-abandoned YouTube Channels, teetering on the brink of becoming lost media.

Here’s an understatement: things have changed in k-pop since the second-generation, including the status of the humble performance video. No longer supplementary, as groups have become increasingly focused on choreography, performance videos have now become part and parcel with music videos, with any good comeback involving the filming and release of both on their official YouTube channel. When it comes to b-sides or special singles, some groups are even forgoing the traditional music video altogether in favor of a performance version as evidenced by Kiss of Life’s “Te Quiero”, Billlie’s “Work” and RIIZE’s “Siren”.

Then there is rookie group AWU’s debut single, “Guess Who's Back”. The song’s performance video does double duty, serving at once as both their performance video as well as their music video.

There is an obvious cost-benefit analysis at work behind this decision as, especially for a group under a small single-act label which only opened its doors in 2024. Since these types of videos focus on the choreography they often work best with an empty space, one devoid of any of the non-sequitur props and artwork of what I had previously termed the "nugu aesthetic". By leaning into this element of choreograph videos, they avoid spending money on building sets, travelling to multiple locations, and outfit changes as they would with a traditional music video.

In the case of AWU’s debut song the performance video feels fitting. The song is about their literal return, with the group’s three members all previous members of the now defunct group PIXY, declaring in their chorus, "Guess who's back/Yeah, guess who's back (Back)/Oh yeah, we're back (Back)". As the three members rotate in and out of the center position, they are occasionally flanked by back-up dancers dressed in black who often fade into the background. This ensures that for the duration of the video the emphasis remains where it should be on the three members themselves, who are, so back.

May / YUHZ Debut: May 7, 2026 Debut Song: "Rush Rush"

Mnet’s Produce 101 franchise may not hold the distinction of being the first survival show or even originating the idea, but it does deserve credit (or blame) for sparking a boom in the format that continues apace to this day. Of course, there are some other players who helped make this reality. Risk-averse television companies who gravitate towards ideas that have already proven to work with audiences certainly helped. Then there was both economic and industry-wide shifts that changed the mechanics of how groups are formed, which made them useful to agencies who can no longer rely on a traditional standby pool of trainees. Indeed, according to the Korea Creative Content Agency's 2025 Pop Culture & Arts Industry Survey, only 4.7%, or 211 registered companies actually have trainees. The remaining agencies, lacking those same deep pockets, must source talent through alternative channels, like the survival show.

Paradoxically, it is the participants who do not win a survival show that likely hold the most interest for agencies. Unlike the winners who will be unavailable due to long-term contracts and promotional activities as members of the final group, other participants are often unaffiliated with agencies. Moreover, the survival show format allows them to showcase their skills and charm, much as they would in a traditional audition.

Not to mention, many of the survival show participants, in spite of their lack of formal association with agencies, are generally not new to the industry and usually have had some training. For example, of the 30 participants of the SBS show B:MY BOYZ, most of the participants had previous training with 12 of them having previously trained at least one k-pop academy including Joy Dance Music Academy, MUDOCTOR Academy, KPOP Art School. Among the eight members of the winning group YUHZ, half of the members had previously trained at an academy.

Without survival shows to play the middleman, academies still work as sources for potential new talent, given that those enrolled are already training and honing their skills for debut. Much as with the now-defunct Future Idol Asia project, some academies even maintain relationships with agencies, for recruitment purposes in a mutually beneficial setup. Agencies spend less money on finding and training talent, while academies gain a new marketing angle, as they can highlight their successful alumni to attract new students.

If there is a group that loses out in this shift, it is neither the agencies nor the academies but the idol hopefuls themselves. While under the old system, agencies took on the initial financial risk, and therefore were invested in a group succeeding, here the risk is placed completely on the aspirants, who have been conditioned to do anything to succeed. Furthermore, although theoretically this system improves on the break-even system, where an agency's cost of training is tied to an idol as "debt" to be paid back before they earned money, it does not eliminate it. Agencies still incur significant costs during the debut period as they ready a group, from the cost of music videos, styling, music production and living expenses which would likely still be passed onto idols themselves. Yet, because this pales in comparison to the previous scale of the investment agencies had to make, they may be far more likely to shelve or disband an underperforming act in favor of their more successful stars. This may keep their books looking good, but it does so at the expense of those idols' dreams.

June / B.YourSide Debut: June 29, 2026 Debut Song: "B.YourSide"

Survival shows have been an industry mainstay for over a decade, meaning that production companies and agencies have had to continually find new ways to rework a format that paradoxically works best when it sticks to its core formula. Add to that the industry's new emphasis on TikTok, with K-pop songs stretched and molded to fit short-form video, and a survival show that marries the two seems like the next frontier. No wonder then that over the past three years the industry has averaged one TikTok survival show annually: 2024's Time Turner, 2025's Stellar Sugar and Fan Pick 2, which aired earlier this year. Yet despite all three of these shows choosing winning contestants, only Fan Pick 2 has successfully debuted a group—the boy group B.YourSide.

Unlike a traditional survival show which functions as a weeks-long hype-generation machine slash focus group for the winning group, in the case of Fan Pick 2, producing a k-pop group appears to be beside the point. Instead, the purpose of the show seemed to be to funnel new users to the Twinkple app.[1]

Billing itself as a "global artist platform", Twinkple, in theory at least, is intended to be a one stop shop. In addition to advertising audition opportunities from entertainment agencies and production companies (including, at one point, SBS’ Universe Ticket) that can be applied to directly through the app users of the application can—or at least one point could—also engage in the following activities:

•Cover Dance Challenges. Periodically, the application invites users to film themselves dancing to a k-pop song, sometimes based on a theme. The winner is determined by other users who could “pick” their favorites.

•Twinkple Shop. The store sells (or at least sold) both merchandise, as well as dance and vocal lessons from the k-pop academy PinkM Academy and online dance lesson mentoring from former idol Dohee, a former member of the defunct girl group S2.

•Fan-Connect Projects. Similar to MakeStar, entertainment agencies and idols can set-up crowd-funding campaigns to fund both their activities and releases in exchange for perks including exclusive selfies and video calls. The boy group Xenex took this a step further, tying their music video budget to the amount pledged. If they achieved 100% of their goal, it would be a live clip; 200% would bump them up to a Performance Video; and at 500%, they would release a full “Cinematic MV.”

Although Fan Pick 2 streamed on TikTok Live, it lived on Twinkple. Interested participants auditioned for the show via the app’s Audition feature, submitting a video of themselves singing and dancing. Likewise, the voting procedure for the show was designed to favor the app, rather than remaining on TikTok. While technically viewers could literally buy votes via TikTok coins to exchange for gifts during their weekly streams, using the app was a better bang for your buck. Whereas coins cost real money and only yielded one point each, a single, free vote on the Twinkple app was worth a whopping 20,000 points.

The logic behind this design seemed to be that while voting could get people to download the app, their features would keep them there. Whether this worked initially is unclear, but by the time I downloaded the app last month, it was empty. Ghosts of past users still haunt the app, with the remains of their comments and dance challenge videos from 2022 still present. Despite its premise being partially predicated on offering the opportunity to connect fans and idols, with the former shaping the music and aesthetic of the latter, there is no mention of the winning group, B.YourSide, not even an offer to contribute financially in exchange for having input into their concept or title song. That just goes to prove my point though: that the show was never really about them.

Footnotes

Fan Pick 2 is not the first survival show to utilize the Twinkple app. In 2024, the now-defunct California-based k-pop academy K-Pop Center partnered with the Twinkple app for the survival show, Stage Starlight, that was to stream on OnDemand Korea. The goal of the project was to form a global group from 10 trainees (participants had to be based in or be able to stay in the United States for at least eight months). Much like Fan Pick 2, those who wanted to audition had to initially apply through the Twinkple app, with votes from the app accounting for 50% of their overall score. Although an Instagram for the project indicates that the group was to debut in Spring 2025, they never debuted.

[mjohnso]

From the Desk of:

Somehow, despite this blog being over a decade old I have never done a “housekeeping” post. However, change is afoot here at the mind reels (and with some of our satellite projects), and I thought this would be the most expeditious way to cover it all.

To that end, below is a rundown of updates and plans for my current projects

1. Periodic Rookie Group Reports: The chief change, and the one that prompted this post in the first place, concerns my long-running biannual series, Periodic Rookie Group Reports. For over a decade, I published new installments in the series twice a year. Going forward I will only be publishing one big installment in January that covers the whole year. In addition, due to my own shifting time constraints and a desire to focus on other projects, research areas and writing, this new post will only focus on new rookie group totals, not rookie group comebacks. Note: Quarterly Debut Reviews will continue on their regular schedule. I anticipate that the post for Q2 will go up in the next few days.

2. By the Numbers: If you are interested in the “soft” mid-year Rookie Group numbers I had previously covered in my July Rookie Reports, I did calculate those and added them to By the Numbers. As always, these numbers are subject to change and may be revised in the course of my compiling my January Report, which as I mentioned above will cover the full year. Aside: I did also spruce up the By the Numbers website a bit, and hopefully made it easier to navigate)

3. Doll People: Of all of my projects, this is the one that is less settled than the others. I don't have any real updates now, but I do plan on doing some reorganizing and updates to the project in the near future. Ideally, I would like to have it completed by the end of summer, but realistically it might be more like the end of the year.

4. This last project does not have an official name but internally we here at the mind reels have been calling it the Summer Fridays Project. In short, every Friday in summer (roughly June 26 to September 18)—I am picking an album from my collection to listen to during my commute and posting an image to go with it on my BlueSky. You can follow the project over on my Bluesky account but I will also do a roundup post over here at the end of the season.

[mjohnso]

What's the deal with GPP?

The girl group GPP is a new entry in a burgeoning segment of the k-pop industry: the taxonomically ambiguous group. That is, they straddle multiple labels—k-pop, j-pop, global—while fitting none perfectly. Although their lineup consists of all Japanese members, pre-debut, they all trained in Korea for a year and a half under SM Entertainment. SM Performance director Jae Shim along with TRAX member Jay Kim worked on their debut single, "Bring It Back". And while they have never released a song in Korea, they served as the opening act for SMTOWN LIVE 2025-26 at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka earlier this year.

Media outlets like The Korea Herald have sidestepped the question regarding the group's classification opting for the overly fastidious 'SM Entertainment Japan's all Japanese girl group', but this label oversimplifies. It undersells the parent company that is far from the up-and-coming startup it was when the subsidiary was established, and reduces SM Entertainment Japan to merely the Japanese branch of SM Entertainment.

In fact, the original version of SM Entertainment Japan literally no longer not exists. It was phased out through a wave of corporate restructuring in the early 2020s. Then, it was transformed into the holding company SMEJ Holdings and its active businesses divided between two newly created separate subsidiaries, SMEJ and SMEJ Plus. It is from SMEJ that the current SM Entertainment Japan would ultimately be born, after it was merged into Stream Media Corporation, the Japanese branch of SM subsidiary KeyEast. The resulting company was subsequently dubbed SM Entertainment Japan.

Like its namesake, the current SM Entertainment Japan still manages the Japanese activities for SM's artists, from organizing concerts to their merchandising, but it comes with a catch. Because SM Entertainment and SM Entertainment Japan are distinct entities, the artists signed under the parent company are technically not also considered part of its Japan subsidiary's roster. Consequently, in order to promote their artists and organize concerts, the latter is required to pay a royalty to the former, calculated as a percentage of the revenue from its entertainment business. However, there is a GPP-sized-loophole here. SM Entertainment Japan only has to pay if they are using talent under SM; if they source and develop their own talent, they are free and clear. They are solely responsible for the upfront costs of finding, developing, and training their own talent. At the same time they can utilize their parent company's resources. According to their 2026 Business Plan and Growth Plan, they can take advantage of SM's "proven training infrastructure and programs", honed through decades of work with trainees.

Ostensibly this whole project arose out of necessity. SM Entertainment Japan wanted to decrease their ongoing expenses and increase their profits. Fortunately, their very solution also dovetails with a central pillar of SM’s longstanding Cultural Technology strategy. As articulated in 2009 by a music business director of SM Entertainment to Michael Fuhr for his 2016 book, Globalization and Popular Music in South Korea: Sounding Out K-Pop:

“In the beginning, our basic cultural strategy was to make Korean stars actively involved in the foreign entertainment business as foreign singers. […] Our second type of strategy was to make Korean singers localized, so that they speak the foreign local language…. Third, as our company’s knowledge of producing and making music and dances developed, we thought of accumulating such knowledge as an higher value-added business, so that at the end, we could bring someone from the local country to Korea, handle him with our knowledge and then make that person differentiated in the local country.”

Under this model, the group GPP represents step 3.5, or even step 4. They are a group produced through and under the SM training system but are not technically of it, at least directly as they exist under a separate, distinct label. At the same time, while SM Entertainment may not financially benefit from GPP on an ongoing basis through royalty fees, there is still benefit to them. When GPP is successful, it would be easy for SM to credit their time under their training system as a contributing factor to their success. That would make for some compelling marketing copy, especially if step four or five in their long-term strategy involves a twist on their GPP strategy, producing groups for labels outside their corporate umbrella.

[mjohnso]

Quarterly Debut Review: Q1 2026

Quarterly Debut Reviews are a supplementary series to my biannual Periodic Rookie Group Reports, which are published quarterly. Each installment covers three rookie groups that debuted over the past three months. For the ninth installment, I covered dodree (January), NAVILLERA (February), and SUCTION (March).

As always, a full list of rookie groups that have debuted thus far in 2026 is available here: 2026 Rookie Groups Debuts

January / dodree Debut: January 21, 2026 Debut Song: "Just Like a Dream"

Dodree's debut garnered a lot of attention for a rookie group/generated a lot of buzz, and not just because of their adjacency to JYP Entertainment via their label INNIT Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of the latter, or because of their status as a duo, when groups are increasingly the norm. Rather, it was thanks to their debut single, "Just Like A Dream", and its successful blending of k-pop with gugak, or traditional Korean music.

Contrary to the Korea JoongAng Daily headline that describes the duo as a "rare 'crossover' duo", their fusion of the two is not altogether rare nor a novelty. By their own admission, one half of the duo, Lee Song-hyun, was fusing traditional and contemporary elements into her performances on the survival show, and this trend is well documented. This does not discount their work but highlights the need to view it not in isolation but as part of a longer lineage within their own work and within the industry at large.

On this note, instead of parroting what others have already written, below I have composed a short list which describes the trend as well as documents other examples of similar blending of the traditional and the contemporary:

“Old and New: Old and New K-pop Begins Embracing Korean Traditional Music” - K-Pop Beats

“Gugak meets K-pop: Tracks that fuse tradition with global pop sounds” - The Korea Times

"K-pop’s growing dialogue with gugak: Is Korea’s pop juggernaut seeking its roots?" - The Korea Herald

"‘K-pop’s next evolution lies in gugak,’ says traditional musician Won Il" - The Korea Herald

"Gugak and K-Pop: Sharing the Spotlight" - Korea Webzine

February / NAVILLERA Debut: February 3, 2026 Debut Song: "NO LIMIT"

There is no lingering doubt about the state of the Future Idol Asia project; it is dead. Their domain name registration has lapsed, and their website now displays a 404 page. Although their social media accounts survive, preserving an archive of the project for now, none have been updated since 2024. Even their wiki page, another faithful account of the project, has accepted that the project is over. Charitably, it lists the project as concluding in 2025, even though there were signs much earlier that it was over.

If the status of the Future Idol Asia project were less clear, you might mistake the girl group NAVILLERA as part of it. The group boasts an SEO-nightmare single-word name, common to groups under the project, that it also shares with a hit k-drama and a GFriend song. Likewise, their music video features the signature style of the Future Idol Asia project. Filmed in a rental studio with minimal set dressing, the shots mix choreography and close-ups of the members, shot from the worst angles, giving the video an amateur look. Some are shot from above or too wide, accidentally exposing too much space or even lighting equipment. In an early wide shot of the choreography, a hand and the camera appear at the right edge of the frame.

Behold: the style of the nugu group. Obscure and newly debuted under an agency that is itself new or mostly unknown, these groups have a signature visual style. This has grown due to limited budgets—hence the more economical sets used by Future Idol Asia groups—and also, as I mentioned in another post, the rising cost of music videos. Fortunately for most nugu groups, who have developed their own cult following among k-pop fans, their style or lack thereof is forgiven, if not expected, adding to their charm.

March / SUCTION Debut: March 5, 2026 Debut Song: "Still Hurts"

At the risk of ruining the joke, I am going to try to explain the fictional 15-year veteran co-ed group SUCTION, which once vowed to “suck up the k-pop industry.”

Created for a web series on HYRU Entertainment’s YouTube channel, the twelve-episode series, also entitled SUCTION, focuses not so much on the group’s formation as on their comeback following their untimely disbandment due to scandal. Fifteen years ago, during a live television performance, the body of member Hyuk E, played by comedian Kwon Hyuk-soo, inexplicably became electrified. Then, whether due to the electric current or choreography, when he placed his hand on the shoulder of his fellow member Jin E, played by Brown Eyed Girls Narsha, her silicone bra inserts shot from her bra into the air—the beginning of one of this series’ multiple long-running gags. All the while, Yeong E, played by actress and comedian Na Hyun-Young, continues to dance and smile at the camera, unaware that one of her members has collapsed and is still “live,” so to speak, behind her, while the other scrambles for her inserts.

When the series catches up with them in October 2025, the three members are living separate lives. Hyuk E works a variety of odd jobs, including as a dog walker, which is played for laughs as he is shown walking two real dogs and multiple foil mylar balloon dogs. Meanwhile, Jin E is now a live streamer, having made her infamous wardrobe malfunction part of her brand, while Yeong E has become a successful soloist at risk of a dating scandal, under the fictional Hyru Entertainment.

It is Hyru Entertainment's CEO who has the idea to reunite the group for a comeback and to add the fourth member, MJ, played by ASTRO’s MJ. This, too, becomes the impetus for a recurring joke format about the real identities of the members, such as when an ASTRO song plays during dance practice or when the choreographer has them perform the “Abracadabra” choreography.

Make no mistake, though—the members are committed to the bit. For instance, in their interview with the KBS Music Bank hosts before their "debut" stage as a reorganized group, they remain fully in character. When asked how they had come together, rather than explaining that the group had been formed as part of a web show, Hyuk E responds in character, explaining the group had reunited after fifteen years for the money.

In the show’s final episode, the members joked that their fans would not have to wait another 15 or even 10 years for their return, a joke that reflects the gap between the real and the fictional worlds. While many groups returning after hiatuses promise eventual comebacks, given SUCTION’s fictional nature and the show’s modest success, their fate is a foregone conclusion. Unless HYRU Entertainment's YouTube channel decides to do a second season, SUCTION’s joke about their return is their final punchline.

[mjohnso]

20. Lee Hyein (2eehyein)

After a hiatus of several years, this series is more time capsule than a “who’s who” of creatives behind your favorite music videos. Many of the directors I previously covered are no longer working, and those who are less productive than they were at their peak are an unfortunate but not unsurprising development. As I noted in my April Shower Film post (#19), the industry's competitive nature and the physical toll of the work tend to burn through talent. Couple this with the shifting economics of making music videos, and it can become unfeasible for many. Case in point, in an interview for the AYO Comment Defender Series in 2022, ZanyBros’ Kim Jun-hong (#18) noted that, due to increasing production budgets, which in turn drive up the staff budget, ZanyBros’ Hong Won Gi sometimes earns less money than a part-time staff member. No wonder then that their studio has been branching out into adjacent fields.

 Yet while the economics of making music videos may have changed, the industry's needs have not; agencies still need music video directors. Enter a new generation of directors like Lee Hyein, who, in addition to working as a photographer and creative director, got her start as a video director in 2019 with DressxSogumm's “Dreamer, Doer”.

The first music video she ever directed for an idol was Taeyeon's "What Do I Call You", and it is partly why I chose to cover her, as this was not happenstance but indicative of a larger trend. Ever since they tapped the relatively unknown August Frogs (#2) to direct the video for Taeyeon's "Rain" in 2014, SM Entertainment's creative strategy has been to eschew bigger or better-known directors in favor of the little guys. That is, they often work with newer or lesser-known directors who have never worked with idols, and vary the directors they use for different artists. For example, while Lee has worked on videos for multiple SM Entertainment artists such as aespa and Red Velvet, she has never worked consistently for the same artist.

This is not limited to SM Entertainment either. Here again, Lee's own portfolio is illustrative. She has worked with other labels and their artists, although she is not tightly tied to any one in the same way that JYP and Studio Naive were once synonymous, or in the way that Orange Caramel and Digipedi were. Now, groups work with multiple directors and studios across the industry, an end to a longstanding trend, although to Lee, the shift may be imperceptible. She has never known anything different.

Website: https://www.instagram.com/2eehyein.film / https://vimeo.com/2eehyein

The photoset is made up of stills from the following music videos

THE BOYZ - “Nectar” (2024)

aespa- “'Armageddon' Launch Code” (2024)

Taeyeon - “What Do I Call You” (2020)

Red Velvet - “Cosmic” (2024)

NCT Dream - “ISTJ” (2023)

DressxSogumm - “Dreamer, Doer” (2019)

IVE - “Empathy! trailer” (2024)*

KAI - “Rover” (2023)

IVE - “Off the Record” (2023)

ENHYPEN - “Brought the Heat Back” (2024)

*Creative direction in addition to directing the video

(Twentieth in a series on directors in the k-pop industry)

[mjohnso]

the mind reels at large

I contributed a blurb on Davichi’s 2015 mini-album Davichi Hug, an album I both love and have a lot to say about, to the annual k-pop issue of friend of the blog and writer Ryo Miyauchi’s newsletter, This Side of Japan.

As I wrote in my blurb, the album sits at the bifurcation of two different eras in Davichi's career, which instituted significant changes to the group musically, lyrically, aesthetically, and, although I did not have room in my blurb to get into this, sartorially. All of this dovetails with the curious tension in the early years of Davichi's career, between wanting to depict them (especially Kang Minkyung) as beautiful and sexy, and also serious, talented vocalists, which, again, is really a whole other post, but you get the idea. In the scheme of Davichi's career, this is one of their most significant albums.

You can find my blurb here: Monthly Listening: K-pop Edition 2026

And you can find past issues and also subscribe to This Side of Japan here: This Side of Japan - Substack

[mjohnso]

Dream Again

Stop me if you've heard this one before — five friends live and work in a small town—in this case, a fishing village in Owase City, Mie Prefecture—but harbor grander aspirations for themselves. Rather than toil forever as a waitress, bookstore clerk, or fishmonger, what they really want to do is sing, as evidenced by the way Yuqi freezes as she gives a customer their food to watch an idol performance on a television. Then, in a moment of kismet, two of the friends separately come across a poster advertising an audition for a 'Dance Vocal New Girl Group' on October 3rd. The five friends then form a group and practice for the audition wherever they can, including at their jobs and at the fishery, ultimately leaving for the city and the chance to chase their dreams.

This is the story that unfolds over the music video for i-dle's second Japanese single, "Where Do We Go", and if the numerous idol anime series that share this same premise are any indication, the friends, despite enduring setbacks, will achieve their dream. Then again, it is not necessary to infer the conclusion of their story; there is potential confirmation. As one YouTube commenter observed, the group's performance on Naver's monthly music show, NPOP, three weeks after the single's release, continues the story. Mirroring the soft, warm, nostalgic tones of the video, this stage concept for their performance features the group performing at the 1988 Youth Song Festival, a play on MBC's Campus Song Festival, which ran from 1977 to 2012 before being revived last year. The MC, also styled to reflect the decade, introduces i-dle as the fifth contestant to great applause from the audience.

There is a quirk to the timing of their performance. Although ostensibly this is a music show in Korea, as indicated by the establishing shot of the exterior of the KSPO Dome (although in 1988, it would have been called the Olympic Gymnastics Hall), the signage written in Hangul, and the fact that both i-dle and the MC speak in Korean, they perform their latest Japanese single, "Where Do We Go" in Japanese. Technically, however, in 1988, when this performance is supposed to have taken place, performances of Japanese songs, among other Japanese cultural products, were still banned.

i-dle here is neither making a political statement nor attempting to portray an alternative history. To the contrary, the choice of stage direction to set i-dle's performance in the 1980s is more likely a matter of picking up on the song's wistful, nostalgic tone and lyrics. This applies doubly to the narrative arc of their stage, since aspiring singers striving for their dream share the same emotional resonance.

Idols’ pursuit of their dreams has always been framed by the industry as a factor in their appeal, whether promoting in Korea or Japan. Indeed, as much as k-pop idols are often distinguished from j-pop idols by the former’s more polished skills, honed through years of training, and the latter’s emphasis on gradual improvement in both skills and popularity, their motivation is usually always said to be a pursuit of “their dream.” Furthermore, despite their differing trajectories, the k-pop industry often engages in the same kind of storytelling as that attributed to j-pop idols. That is, while a k-pop idol may make it through rounds of auditions and years of rigorous training, their dream is not realized upon debut. Far from it: after debuting, k-pop idols face a new struggle to gain traction, build a fanbase, and gain popularity, and, depending on the state of their agency, earn money lest it go under and disband the group. It is in watching and supporting idols as they work towards their dreams and goals that lies their allure.

Or so the industry wants audiences to believe. As I have previously written elsewhere, the idea of idols pursuing their dreams at any cost provides both an emotional narrative and, perhaps most importantly, offers cover for the industry, which is allergic to meaningful change. Hence why, as I half-joked in the first paragraph, this story feels familiar, because it is. Even though it begins abroad, i-dle's story, circa 1988, fits a pattern and carries a message we have heard before.

[mjohnso]

Periodic Rookie Groups Report No. 26

Periodic Rookie Group Reports are a series of biannual reports that seek to put a number to how many rookie groups debut and make comebacks in a given year. For Report No. 26, I covered the activities of '24 rookie groups in the second half of 2025 and the rookie groups that debuted in 2025.

2024 Rookies Of the 83 groups that debuted in 2024, 12 groups—three boy groups and eight girl groups, seven of which had previously debuted under the Future Idol Asia project banner—disbanded in 2025. I covered ten of these groups that disbanded in the previous Rookie Report. The twelfth group is covered below:

AEONIT: In a statement published on the group's X—formerly Twitter account on July 25, 2025, ONMIND announced that after a discussion with the members regarding the virtual boy group's (August '24) future, they had come to the mutual decision to disband and terminate the members' contracts. The group released a final single on August 28th to mark the conclusion of their activities.

Factoring in these 11 groups brings the number of groups that debuted in 2024 and were still active in 2025 to 72 groups—27 boy groups, 39 girl groups, and 5 co-ed groups. Of these 72 groups, 65%, or 47 groups, released new music at least once this year. Specifically, 85%, or 40 groups, made their first release between January and June, while 15%, or 7 groups, did so between July and December. 64% or 30 groups released music in the first and second half of the year.

For reference, 65% of groups that debuted in 2023 released new music in the year following their debut, while 52% of groups that debuted in 2022 released new music in the year following their debut.

2024 Rookie Group Comebacks & Releases - July-December

Note: Releases marked with an asterisk (*) indicate an additional release from a group following their initial release July 01 BABYMONSTER - “HOT SAUCE” (Single) 02 RESCENE - “Deja Vu” (Single)* 07 TIOT - “Run Run Barefoot” (Single)* 07 WiTCHX - “Run Baby Run” (Single) 09 Big Ocean - “Bucket Hat” (Single)* 09 NOWZ - Ignition (Mini Album)* 09 UNIS, noa - “Shaking My Head” (Single)* 12 GEN1ES - “Rewrite” (Single)* 16 ARrC - HOPE (Mini Album)* 18 New-L - “So Sweet” (Single)* 21 GEN1ES - Gen1 (Album)* 24 ASC2NT - “DON'T MOVE” (Single) 29 Dragon Pony - “Radio Silence” (Single)*

August 01 SAY MY NAME - “iLy” (Single)* 11 LOVEONE - “LOVE HIGH” (Single)* 13 ARTMS - Club Icarus Remix (Remix Album) 15 A2OMAY - “B.B.B” (Single)* 15 JAESSBEE - “SHUT THAT” (Single)* 27 KJRGL - “TipToe” (Single)* 27 UN1CON - GENKI (Mini Album)* 28 AEONIT - “Siren” (Single)* 29 Angel Noise - “Ram Pang Pang” (Single)* 29 GIRLSET - “Commas” (Single) 30 KYSB - “Lucid Dream” (Single)*

September 01 NCT Wish - Color (Mini Album) 02 Too Many Color - “Dangerous” (Single)* 09 ALL(H)OURS - VCF (Mini Album)* 15 BADVILLAIN - “Thriller” (Single) 22 GENBLUE - MIRROR (Mini Album)* 23 TIOT - MY PRIDE (Mini Album)* 30 izna - Not Just Pretty (Mini Album)*

October 13 TWS - play hard (Mini Album)* 14 MEOVV - “Burning Up” (Single)* 15 ANODE - “TALKIN' TO ME? feat. Moon Sujin” (Single)* 15 Dragon Pony - “So Nice (GMF2025 Ver.)” (Single)* 22 VVUP - “House Party” (Single)* 24 A2O MAY - Paparazzi Arrive (Mini Album)*

November 03 ARrC - “SKIID” (Single)* 14 GIRLSET - “Little Miss” (Single)* 20 VVUP - VVON (Mini Album)* 22 YDS - “Take Off Your Glasses” (Single) 23 BIG OCEAN - “RED-DY SET GO” (Single)* 24 ILLIT - “Not Cute Anymore” (Single)* 25 RESCENE - lip bomb (Mini Album)* 25 13Found - “say” (Single)* 26 NOWZ - “HomeRUN” (Single)*

December 05 ALL(H)OURS - “White Christmas” (Single)* 08 Dignity - “THE MOMENT” (Single)* 11 NCT WISH - “Princeping Song” (Single)* 12 JAESSBEE - “Perfect Sunset” (Single)* 12 LOVEONE - “Crossing Time” (Single)* 16 ILLIT - “ALL FOR YOU, 2027” (Single)* 23 ASC2NT - “Replay” (Single)* 25 KYSB - “Kind of Love” (Single)* 29 SAY MY NAME - &Our Vibe (Mini Album)*

2025 Rookies

In 2025, 75 groups— 31 boy groups, 37 girl groups, and seven co-ed groups—debuted, representing a 10% decrease from the total in 2024. Girl groups—due to the end of the Future Idol Asia project—saw a 21% decrease, while co-ed groups saw their highest numbers since I began tracking rookie groups in 2013. Meanwhile, although boy groups remained consistent in comparison to the previous year, for the sixth consecutive year, they failed to best the number of girl groups, a fact that at this point seems unremarkable. For many fans who got into k-pop after 2020, they have never known a time when new boy group debuts outnumbered those of girl groups.

Miscellaneous stats:

April saw the largest number of debuts with the debut of 12 new groups: two boy groups, nine girl groups and one co-ed group.

Once again, December saw the fewest number of debuts, with only one new group making its debut.

Methodology: https://blog.mjohnso.com/methodology

[mjohnso]

Favorite K-Pop: 2025

Favorite Albums

Chaeyoung - LIL FANTASY vol. 1

Wendy - Cerulean Verge

ARTMS - <Club Icarus>

Yves - Soft Error

Joy - From Joy, with Love

Heize - LOVE VIRUS Pt.1

Red Velvet – Irene & Seulgi - TILT

Favorite Songs

Fromis_9 - "LIKE YOU BETTER"

H1Key - "Summer Was You"

BBGIRLS - “LOVE 2”

Purple Kiss - "Lost and Found"

Bibi - "Scott and Zelda"

Chuu - "Only cry in the rain"

VIVIZ - "La La Love Me"

AtHeart - "Plot Twist"

Hearts2Hearts - "STYLE"

Yerin Baek - "MIRROR"

Nana - "Hurt"

Taeyeon - "Panorama"

HWASA - "Good Goodbye"

ablume - "Echo"

DAYOUNG - "Body"

Rainbow18 - "SNS (Slow N Steady)"

ILLIT - "jellyous"

RESCENE - "Deja Vu"

IVE - "Rebel Heart"

tripleS - "Are you Alive"

Favorite Rookies

Hearts2Hearts

Tomatomat

ablume

Favorite Music Videos

BBGirls - “LOVE 2” (Dir. Jo Seong-min)

Oh My Girl - "Oh My"

Jeon Somi - "Extra" (Dir. RIMA YOON (RIGEND FILM))

Bibi - "Apocalypse" (Dir. Song Kiho (SEGAJI))

CHAEYOUNG - “AVOCADO (feat.Gliiico)” (Dir. Luke Casey)

CHAEYOUNG - “SHOOT (Firecracker)” (Dir. Minjae Kim (Sigakryu))

XG - "IN THE RAIN" (Dir. Jihoon Shin (SOMEOFUZ))

[mjohnso]

So you want to be a trainee

I am too old to qualify for most entertainment agencies' auditions, but I do not feel this is a loss. Not only have I never harbored dreams of debuting as an idol or stardom, even if I had I would by now has been disabused of those dreams given everything I know about the grueling trainee process—the competition between trainees, the pressure trainees both put on themselves and that agencies place on them, surveillance, strict rules, extreme dieting, and the long odds that any of it would ever pay off.

If I ever do decide I would like to have the trainee experience, though, I have options. SK Telecom recently opened its new store "T Factory" in Seongsu-dong, featuring a "path to debut experience". Entitled "T Entertainment", it is less a replica of an actual trainee experience, warts and all, and more of a consumer experience. According to The Korea Herald, 

"After registering as trainees, participants take on challenges in singing, dancing, acting, trivia and even "stage presence" tasks such as finding hidden cameras — all aided by AI and VR technologies."

The intention here is not to benefit trainees or agencies, helping the former refine their skills or sourcing aspiring idols for the latter, but rather SK Telecom. The enterprise exists to push SK Telecom's interests in AI and investments in those aforementioned AI and VR technologies.

Yet, while T Entertainment may not offer a true 'trainee experience' or the opportunity to strengthen your skills, there are, as I mentioned above, alternatives. Specifically, there is a whole cottage industry of programs, such as RBW's 'Dream Withus', ACOPIA's 'K-Pop Training Camp', and K-Pop Art School's 'K-Pop Idol Intensive Program', where participants can receive similar training to that offered to real trainees — for a price. For between $500.00 USD and $1,600.00 USD, the programs provide, in addition to lodging, a combination of Korean lessons, dance lessons, vocal lessons, stage training, and recording sessions, taught by experienced instructors from the industry. These programs are typically capped off with the opportunity to audition for various entertainment agencies, providing a chance to lengthen their trainee experience, albeit under different circumstances. Much like the T Entertainment project, these programs strip out the more repugnant aspects of the actual experience to create a more "fun" or at least "pleasant" experience. Then, even if the audition does not translate into an opportunity to join an agency, participants do not leave empty-handed.

Again, similar to how T Entertainment is not actually about helping to debut new idols, these programs are not about providing an "experience". Not unlike the now-defunct Future Idol Asia Project, many of these programs are predicated on identifying and sourcing potential trainees, especially those from overseas who may otherwise be hindered by logistical challenges. In turn, this eliminates the need for agencies to hold costly and labor-intensive auditions abroad and presents a solution to the trainee shortage. In doing so, it does not require agencies to actually address or improve the trainee experience, but instead merely acclimates trainees to the status quo.

[mjohnso]

Ode to Summer (Music Videos) Pt. 2

The summer music video is a great equalizer. It blurs distinctions between popular and nugu groups as their summer music videos, regardless of whether they were filmed abroad in a tropical locale or on Jeju Island or Busan, as groups tend to recycle the same tropes: playing in or lounging by the pool; frolicking on the beach; partying at night; lighting off fireworks or sparklers; camping; sunsets; washing cars; bicycling or driving, etc., etc. Even the quality or lack thereof, which is usually a reliable indicator of where a group falls in the hierarchy, loses all meaning when it comes to the summer music video. Groups will sometimes adopt a lo-fi aesthetic, all film grain, date stamps, and "spontaneous" rather than staged shots meant to channel the carefree nature of summer.

Despite my general apathy for summer and my distaste for overly trite formulaic videos, I am on the record professing my love for the summer music video. Much as I did in 2020, I still appreciate their consistency and their edges, often literally demarcated by yet another trope. The summer music video begins in the daytime, but as the YouTube progress bar advances, it fades to dusk or night.

It goes without saying (another cliché) that not every summer music video adheres so rigidly to this formula. There are, as always, exceptions that rely less on the rules and the familiar when it comes to conveying the season. In this respect, the studio Digipedi's work stands out in particular. Although they have directed videos more in line with the expected, like BIGBANG’s “We Like 2 Party” and Stellar’s “Crying”, they have also, in some instances, taken a different tack that is truer to their own style, even as it goes against the standard.

In other words, although summer may be synonymous with the outdoors, their summer videos, like much of their other work, are set inside. Specifically, they often use built interior sets, or what I have previously described as "rooms," given that they often feature three walls and a ceiling. Inevitably, this changes their options when it comes to conveying the essence of summer. They cannot fall back on the aforementioned tropes, most of which are tied to the outdoors, and must think outside the box even as they set their videos in one.

Clockwise, top left: Stills from HANHAE - "EYESCREAM", fromis_9 - "FUN!", Raina and San E - "A Midsummer Night's Sweetness", and Heize's "&July feat. DEAN and DJ Friz"

Or three, as in the case of Yukika's 2019 summer single "Cherries Jubiles", the accompanying video for which takes place wholly inside and is thus a prime candidate to illustrate Digipedi's version of summer. In the video, Yukika prepares a bento box for herself and her crush, whom she plans to confess her feelings to with her pink cassette tape, which she used to record the acoustic version of her song.

The storyline is not overly summer, lacking any of the more traditional summer activities and rituals, with Digipedi instead choosing to tuck summer into the details. For example, they use subtly nature-inspired decor throughout the video. In one of the first scenes where Yukika is recording her song, she is seated upon a floral-patterned couch with floral-patterned pillows that mirror the floral-patterned rug. The room features natural wood paneling, while the curtains around the window feature a William Morris-esque botanical pattern.

This is pulled through the kitchen set, clad in earth tones. There are literal references to nature in the brightly colored summer vegetables, as well as an abundance of floral motifs. It is on mugs, the rice cooker, and the stained glass pendant lights that hang over the sink. The kitchen island where she chops her vegetables features an orange-yellow checkered pattern with rose-patterned accent squares. She uses a floral furoshiki to wrap the bento boxes.

Then there is that light that shines through the windows, often backlighting Yukika's activities. In the context of the video, the light serves a dual purpose, simultaneously evoking the summer season and acting as a cheat. It brings the outside inside and, in doing so, supplies an important narrative element: the weather. Yukika prepares a bento box because, according to the bright light, the skies are fair. Summer weather is fickle, and as if conjured by the references in the lyrics to "a cloud spreading in violet", the light changes. It dims as the rain begins to fall, tinting the scene blue, which is mirrored in the third room. Gone are the warm earth tones, and instead, the room where Yukika sits alone eating her bento box is similarly awash in cooler blue tones.

The video does not end on such a dour note. Just as before, the light changes as the sun returns and its rays shine through the window. Although she is not shown setting out to meet her crush, the question of whether she ever will is left open-ended. While she may never, there is no indication that she may not also be willing to try again another day.

This brings it more in line with traditional summer video, which, as they complete their full cycle from day to night, does not end with any sense of finality. There are no falling leaves, cold gusts of wind, or any other indications that the end of summer is near. There could be a day just like it tomorrow, or even right now. All you have to do is hit that play button, and the summer day starts all over again.

[mjohnso]

Periodic Rookie Groups Report No. 25

Periodic Rookie Group Reports are a series of biannual reports that seek to put a number to how many rookie groups debut and make comebacks in a given year. For Report No. 25, I covered the activity of ‘24 rookie groups and the number of rookie groups that debuted in the first half of 2025.

2024 Rookies Of the 83 groups that debuted in 2024, ten groups — 2 boy groups and 8 girl groups—disbanded, seven of which had debuted under the banner of the Future Idol Asia project. They are as follows:

Bluebell, Crystal, Flora, Heimish, Ivory, Pearlys, and Orbis: Earlier this year, OGAM Entertainment posted a series of music videos to their YouTube channel for groups named Ruby, Bellany, Seraph, Opal, and Last Jam. While all bore the logo of the Future Idol Asia project across the top, technically, none of these groups had officially “debuted” in the usual sense. Typically, a new Future Idol Asia group’s debut is announced via a teaser image and video, followed by the full video a few days later. In the case of these groups, however, their debuts had neither been announced nor teased. The only way a person would have even been aware of these groups is if they had watched the stream of the 2024 Future Idol Asia showcase, the only place they ever appeared. For a moment, these videos made me reconsider my previous declaration that the Future Idol Asia project was over and its girl groups (January '24, February '24, March '24, and June '24) inactive. However, I now believe they merely buttress my statement. This was less a sign of life than a photo dump, someone cleaning out a folder. I surmise that these videos were filmed last year with the intention of them being rolled out, post-showcase, in the second half of the year, before the decision was made—for reasons still unclear—to sunset the project and thereby disband the groups.

CELEST1A: Birdman announced in an X post on November 1, 2024, that following discussions with the boy group's  (July '24) members regarding their future activities, they had made the mutual decision to disband the group.

NND (Night N Day): On February 27th, 2025, WAY BETTER announced on X that YoungJun, who was one half of the male duo (March ’24), had signed on as a DJ and producer with their company, effectively disbanding them on a technicality. As a duo, the departure of one member renders the group a solo act, and consequently, outside the purview of these Reports.

Subtracting these ten disbandments brings the total number of active rookie groups to 73 groups— 29 boy groups, 39 girl groups, and 5 co-ed groups. Of these 73 groups, 55% or 40 groups released new music at least once between January and June of this year, with 18% or 13 groups doing so more than once.

For comparison, in 2024, 65% of groups that debuted the previous year made a comeback in the first half of the year, while in 2023, 52% of groups did.

2024 Rookie Group Comebacks & Releases - January -June

Note: Releases marked with an asterisk (*) indicate an additional release from a group following their initial release January 07 CREZL - “Hakuna Matata” (Single) 08 WAKER - “Always Be There” (Single) 10 VVUP - “4 Life” (Single) 15 KJRGL - “Generation_Cloud” (Single) 15 ODD YOUTH - “Best Friendz (English Ver.)” (Single) 22 NCT Wish - “Miracle” (Single)

February 03 Angel Noise - “White Letter” (Single) 04 ALL(H)OURS - Smoke Point (Mini Album) 05 RESCENE - Glow Up (Mini Album) 07 MADEIN - “Saturn” (Pre-Release Single) 10 Big Ocean - “Bright” (Single) 14 I:mond - Under My (Mini Album) 14 MADEIN - “Love, Afraid” (Single)* 17 RESCENE - “Glow Up (English Version)” (Single)* 18 ARrC - nu kidz: out of the box (Mini Album) 26 UN1CON - “Jump” (Single) 28 NOMAD - “Carnival” (Single)

March 06 GENBLUE - Act Like That (Mini Album) 10 ILLIT - “Almond Chocolate (Korean Ver.)” (Single) 13 AEONIT - “Endless Dream” (Single) 13 SAY MY NAME - My Name Is… (Mini Album) 18 Candy Shop - “Tip Toe” (Single) 19 Dragon Pony - Not Out (Mini Album) 19 KJRGL - “So_Fine?” (Single)* 25 NCT Wish - “Make You Shine” (Single)* 29 13Found - “TBH” (Single) 31 izna - “Sign” (Single)

April 04 ARTMS - Burn (Mini Album) 04 NCT Wish - poppop (Mini Album)* 15 ODD YOUTH - I Like You (Mini Album)* 15 UNIS - Swicy (Mini Album) 17 TIOT - Flex Line (Mini Album) 20 Big Ocean - Underwater (Mini Album)* 21 TWS - TRY WITH US (Mini Album) 23 KJRGL - Cloud_Six (Mini Album)* 25 A20 MAY - “Boss” (Single) 25 LOVEONE - “Drama Queen” (Single) 27 KYSB - “Wish” (Single) 30 ANODE - “Keep It Raw feat. Moon Sua of Billlie” (Single) 30 KATSEYE - “Gnarly” (Single)

May 12 MEOVV - MY EYES OPEN VVIDE (Mini Album) 26 CATtRIEVER - "Drive" (Single)

June 01 TMC - “Blue Rose” (Single) 02 CREZL - “Lady Marmalade” (Single)* 02 KJRGL - “S/T/A/Y (Welcome Back DIEN version)” (Single)* 07 UNIS - “See you in my dream” (Single)* 09 izna - “BEEP” (Single)* 11 DAYCHILD - “Click Clack” (Single) 13 ARTMS - Club Icarus (Mini Album)* 16 Dignity - “SWEET2TH” (Single) 16 ILLIT - Bomb (Mini Album)* 17 NOWZ - “Fly to the youth feat. YUQI” (Single) 18 SAY MY NAME - “L.O.V.E (Romantic)” (Single)* 20 VVUP - “Giddy Boy” (Single)* 21 Gen1es - “Vroom” (Single) 26 JAESSBEE - “My Summer Manual” (Single) 27 KATSEYE - BEAUTIFUL CHAOS (Mini Album)*

2025 Rookies Between January and June of this year, 39 groups—15 boy groups,19 girl groups, 5 co-ed groups—debuted. Although this is a decline in comparison to the last three years, it is a somewhat unfair comparison. Since 2020, debut numbers have been skewed due to the Future Idol Asia project, which debuted multiple groups a year, thus inflating numbers.

The impact of the project's conclusion and the absence of Future Idol Asia groups on rookie group debut totals remains uncertain, but is something to keep an eye on in the second half of the year.

Methodology: https://blog.mjohnso.com/methodology

[mjohnso]

Vibe Check

The pizza box from “Peek-A-Boo”. The rain boots from “Umpah Umpah” and the ballet slippers of “Feel My Rhythm”. A parrot from “Happiness”. The trailer, “Love is COSMIC” for Cosmic, Red Velvet’s 10th-anniversary mini-album, is full of such mile-markers and references to their previous eras. As a result, the trailer feels like a scrapbook of their journey over the last ten years, showing where the group has been while also hinting at their future—literally. At the video's conclusion, the members stand in front of a door emanating a column of light—another callback. This time, it is a concept photo from Red Velvet's Red Summer album, where the members stand hand in hand before a door emitting a red light. Much as this light hints at their follow-up release with Perfect Velvet, the light in the trailer engulfs the members, transporting them to the green fields of “Cosmic”.

While this trailer may reflect the group's journey from their debut to the present, the same cannot be said for the music video and the members' ideas or suggestions. According to Joy, who responded to a fan on Bubble when asked for her reaction to the “Cosmic” video, she said, “They didn't listen to us at all and just told us to wait, but none of the requested changes were made.”

We expect this from new or less successful groups, not industry veterans. Because of their experience and stature in the industry, as well as their renegotiation of contracts for more favorable terms, they should have at least some say over the direction of their career and musical output. At the very least, they should be able to give input on an anniversary release meant to celebrate their decade of hard work. However, as Joy's comment reveals, this is not the case.

This goes a long way to explain the industry's image problem. That is, even as the Fair Trade Commission and National Assembly have passed more regulations and laws concerning the industry, especially in the last decade, the industry's reputation has remained unchanged.

To illustrate my point, consider contracts. The term 'slave contract', infamously used by Lee Eun-mi during a 2001 episode of MBC's Editorial Magazine 2580 and a contributing factor to a boycott and multiple lawsuits, is still bandied about today. Yet when Lee used the term, there were few, if any, regulations governing contracts. Conversely, today, the opposite is true. In July 2009, the Fair Trade Commission introduced a standard contract for idols that established payment terms, stipulated that idols have some input over their activities, and notably included a clause capping contracts at seven years. With the passage in 2014 of the landmark legislation, the Pop Culture Arts and Industry Development Act, these terms were further refined, strengthening protections for minors. The Act provides protection for minors from sexualization, limits working hours for minors of at least 15 years of age to no more than 40 hours a week, and guarantees the right to education, rest, and sleep.

These terms were again modified to strengthen these protections with the passage of an amendment to the aforementioned Act. Colloquially referred to as the Lee Seung-gi Crisis Prevention Act, the law requires that at least once a year or whenever an artist requests, entertainment agencies must provide settlement earning details. In addition, it also included additional rules regarding the schedules of minors, further circumscribing their working hours. To be specific:

...entertainers under the age of 12 are allowed up to 25 hours a week, up to 6 hours a day. Those aged 12 to 15 are allowed 30 hours a week, while those above the age of 15 can work 35 hours a week, both age groups are limited to 7 hours a day. In addition, the act prohibits any infringement of underage entertainers' rights to education by forcing them to be absent from or drop out of school, per Yonhap.” (Source)

This is a mostly surface-level accounting of every revision and change that contracts have undergone since 2009, and it does not even touch on the issue of trainee contracts. However, the point is clear. For years, contracts have been revised and changed to make them, to borrow the words of the Pop Culture Industry Standards Act, more equal and fairer, even if it does not feel that way.

It is certainly not talked about that way, although that is less a failure of language and more about the absence of a vibe shift. For all the changes enacted, it does not feel like anything significant has changed. This is because none of the discussed reforms go far enough to correct the power differential between idols, the agency, and the larger industry. It is one thing to say that an idol has the right to sleep or have a right to have a say in the direction of their career and another to empower them to exercise these rights since doing so could put them at risk of being replaced by any of the other thousands of aspiring idols who would agree to exchange compliance for a chance. Indeed, an idol’s willingness to accept precarious working conditions and their choice not to push for regulations or rights they are entitled to may be seen as proof of how much they want this, a demonstration of their commitment to their dream.

Fixing this would require more than legislation. It would require reconstituting the industry from the ground up, a task unlikely to be undertaken anytime soon by the powerholders who benefit from the status quo. On occasion, though, we get a glimpse of what this alternative world could look like, particularly when idols file lawsuits to assert their rights or exit bad or unfair contracts. It is less the lawsuit itself, which will never be a vehicle for radical change within the industry, given its limited focus and impact, than the act itself. In doing so, idols attempt to claw back some power for themselves.

[mjohnso]

Long Live K-Pop In Japan

The Korea JoongAng Daily headline, “J-pop slowly dies as K-pop takes its place,” has not aged well. The accompanying article published in 2022 intoned on all the ways that the Japanese market failed to adapt to a changing world, too slow to transition to social media and digital, as CDs became passé. Meanwhile, k-pop “had never been more successful around the world,” including in Japan, where, due to its years of brand-building, it was able to claim a share of the market for itself (“the Oricon Chart is home territory to Korean acts,” crows this same article.)

And yet, despite the bullishness of that article, k-pop’s winning streak in Japan has not lasted. According to an article by Kim Jae-heun published in The Korea Herald earlier this year in 2024, “Japan, one of K-pop’s top three export markets alongside the US and China, recorded a sharp decline in demand. The export value to Japan dropped 24.7 percent to 130.3 billion won in 2023.” This decrease is reflected in the annual year-end charts as well. While in 2023, k-pop groups took six of the top 10 spots on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums charts, in 2024, their share shrank to three.

This post will not explain or speculate why k-pop exports have declined in Japan; that is already well-covered by other outlets, including the articles linked above. Instead, my intent here is less to explain the slump than to trouble this framing. These numbers indicate that k-pop in Japan is in “crisis” or “decline,” a fair assessment to make, but one based on incomplete information. Numbers alone can never provide a complete picture of the state of k-pop in Japan.

History bears this out. Between 2012 and 2013, amid hallyu’s waning novelty, anti-hallyu sentiment, and heightened political tension between Korea and Japan, k-pop’s sales numbers—and reputation—slipped. A 2012 article in the Japanese newspaper Asahi reported that based on data from the Oricon charts, “the average debut album sales of a K-pop artist also declined from 37,000 in 2011 to 18,000 in 2012”. This same report quoted an anonymous representative from a record label lamenting, “Because they do not attract new fans anymore, we are having a hard time selling CDs. We are worried about the rookie K-pop group we are working with. I hope they make it to the next year.”  Even former k-pop powerhouses were not immune from the downturn. In comparison to their previous sales numbers, both groups, KARA and SNSD, saw a dip in sales when they released their November 2012 albums Girls Forever and Girls & Peace, as recounted in a December 2012 Time Out Tokyo article:

Kara's Girls Forever entered the charts at number 2 and swiftly nosedived towards the lower reaches of the Top 20, while Girls' Generation II: Girls & Peace comes in the wake of the group's lowest performing single to date (it was called 'Flower Power', in case you missed it – apparently the Nayutawave Records promotional department did too.

Due to this downturn, many major agencies pivoted, shifting their focus from the Japanese market, which had an unintentional effect. Specifically, without these groups pulling focus, a light was shined on an under-recognized subset of k-pop in Japan, populated by groups like Tahiti, BIGFLO, Pungdeng-e, and High4, who struggled to gain traction in Korea. These groups signed not with major labels but to what I have previously described as "boutique k-pop labels," most of which had been founded to capitalize on the hallyu wave. Their sales numbers are unimpressive, although that is not generally where they concentrate their efforts. Instead mimicking the model pioneered by indie and underground idols in Japan, these groups held small, intimate events at both k-pop-specific venues like K-Stage O!, FC Live Osaka Hall and FC Live Tokyo Hall, as well as spaces also utilized by j-pop indie groups, including event spaces at Tower Records, malls, and department stores.

In the ensuing years, this subset of k-pop in Japan has neither disappeared nor shrunk as much as evolved. Much of the scene is still composed of low and mid-tier groups, some of which primarily promote in Japan, but with the addition of a new group—idols from groups once big in Japan, like KARA. Although the group paused group activities in 2016, the members still maintain fan clubs and have held annual individual fan meetings in the country. Seungyeon and Jiyoung are both signed to two of the aforementioned "boutique k-pop labels," alongside groups that were not even around during their own heyday. Moreover, the label Seungyeon is signed to, HUB Japan, in addition to organizing fanmeets for groups like RESCENE and ONE PACT has also organized KARA's 6th Japanese tour, KARASIA: Magical World, to be held this July.

Although these older idols may boast more impressive résumés than the other groups also signed to these smaller labels, they both share the same “infrastructure.” For example, just in May TI-MA Japan, which bills itself as a 'k-pop artist management, fan club management and live concert planning company', organized fan meetings for second-generation idols like TEEN TOP’s Niel, BOYFRIEND and UKISS’ Kevin Woo, Hoon and Kiseop, as well as fourth-generation groups including NINE.i, and ABlue. All in-person events were held at one of three venues, including FC Live Tokyo Hall and TIAT Sky Hall.

'Celebrity management/Korean style concert planning and production/exhibition and event business’, Whoop Japan, is similarly agnostic about the groups they work with. They organized Japan fan meetings for Apink, their subunit Chobom, and Jeong Eun Ji, as well as for groups like Drippin, The Boyz, and Weeekly.

Admission to these performances is sometimes tied to an album release, whereby a ticket is bundled with a physical album. Most of the time, ticketing is straightforward. To attend, a prospective attendee simply needs to purchase a ticket—no album bulk buying is necessary. Although this means a group sacrifices, potentially boosting their album sales, it may not make a difference. Most of the venues where these groups perform have a capacity of 250 seats or less.

Neither of these is a flaw. Far from it, they are the keystone of its appeal for both rookie and lesser-known groups, as well as legacy groups and idols. In the case of the former, the space provides them a refuge from the more hypercompetitive domestic market, allowing them to build their own small but dedicated fan base. Similarly, for legacy groups and idols with existing fans, it offers the opportunity to engage with their fans, many of whom have grown up alongside them, on an intimate level.

While such events may not show in export numbers or dollars earned or spent, they should not be discounted. If anything, they should be considered part of the larger picture of the Japanese market, proof of life in a market that contradicts the image of a market in decline.

(Header source)

[mjohnso]

Co-Opting Trainees' Dreams

Note: I published this post in May 2016, and due to a quirk on Tumblr’s part, it disappeared from this blog’s archives. I am republishing it because while the examples may be dated, my main point remains timely. Despite limited changes meant to improve the trainee experience, it continues to be difficult, precarious, and excessively stressful, which the industry justifies using what I term “dream rhetoric.” As this unfortunate reality will not dramatically change soon, it is worth revisiting the post below.

Yoon Jong Shin has never been a trainee, but he knows what it is like to be one. It is, according to his 2015 song, “The Trainee” which is sung by MYSTIC89 trainee Y.E.T, and its music video, difficult, frustrating, and often lonely. Those who are training struggle with feelings of doubt, questioning whether all of the effort and sacrifice is even worth it, especially given that neither debuting nor success is guaranteed. Consequently, this leads many to consider giving up and returning to a more “normal” life. However, it has been attested to by the continual steady stream of new groups — 34 in the first half of this year alone — they do not. This is because they, so the story goes, have a dream.

This “dream” is the linchpin of this narrative as it softens it, not necessarily downplaying negative aspects as much as reframing them. And so, under the dream rhetoric, trainees are not merely engaged in a grueling and harsh process that only benefits entertainment agencies but is actually principally for themselves. Likewise, entertainment agencies are cast in the guise of benevolent, if not magnanimous, benefactors helping trainees achieve their dreams. Furthermore, their training, while difficult, is necessary to increase the odds that the trainees will succeed post-debut in an industry as crowded and tough as k-pop.

Given this flattering image of entertainment agencies, it is not surprising that the dream narrative has become both the party line that is actively pushed. It can be seen in the theme for SBS’ reality competition show, K-Pop Star, which is BoA’s “One Dream feat. Super Junior-M’s Henry and SHINee’s Key.” Although the basic premise of this show is aspiring singers competing to join one of the three entertainment agencies, this is not a typical competition show. This show has loftier ideals as the lyrics of BoA’s remind viewers. The lyrics are all about giving singers who have struggled and gone through hard times a chance — “They look at me with expectant eyes/The light that shines on me is bright/My desperate dreams are now in front of my eyes” — to achieve their dreams — “To me, there is only One voice (One voice)/One dream (One dream), One chance (One chance).” Dreams, specifically those of the 101 unpaid trainees who competed for a spot in an 11-member project girl group, were also a major part of the marketing surrounding Mnet’s reality competition show, Produce 101, which aired earlier this year. For example, in the lead-up to the show, Mnet released a promotional video titled “Girls’ Dream!” Set to a sad piano instrumental, the video features shots of the contestants, often alone, dancing or looking pensive in practice rooms, intermixed with footage of participants discussing their training. They—all of whom are in the minority among the participants, having trained for at least four years, while most had trained for two or less—tearfully recount their struggles and working towards a debut that never seems to get any closer.

Still from Mnet’s Produce 101’s “Girls’ Dream!” (2016)

Lest it come off as too depressing, dragging down audiences instead of hyping them up for the show as it was intended, though, the video ends on a more upbeat note. True, they had struggled, but they were not doing it in vain. As the end indicates, where a voice off camera asks one of the participants, “Why do you want to do this? " It is, as the participant says, “Because…I have a dream.”

Of course, as covered in another post, due to its very design, Produce 101 was never going to give all of the participating trainees a fair chance at their dream. There were only so many minutes in an episode, and just too many trainees. Although it did not necessarily have to; merely giving trainees the illusion of the opportunity was enough. It was always up to the trainees themselves to seize this chance and work hard, which, as the dream narrative says, is how goals are achieved.

This is the flip side of the dream rhetoric. In reframing entertainment agencies as those that provide the means to achieve dreams, the burden of making them happen is placed upon the shoulders of each trainee. Although they are told they share the same dream as others, their struggle is not a collective one, but portrayed as being theirs and theirs alone. This encourages trainees to view issues like dieting, long hours, and years of training not as evidence of a toxic work culture but as personal problems to overcome. If they cannot handle the stress or fail to make it to debut, the problem is not the system; it’s them. In essence, this lets entertainment agencies off the hook regarding trainees’ working conditions. After all, if trainees view their struggles as personal, they are less likely to band together to demand better treatment, especially if they feel it would jeopardize their chances of a debut. And it is also not as if the process of becoming an idol has ever been shown to be anything but long and arduous. The industry is often more than willing to own up to that fact, but not to change it.

[mjohnso]

UNDER15, a Response in 5 Parts

1. Imagine a diptych. On one side, this quote, regarding promotional materials for the show :

“The designer is a female in her 30s. We thought of this (audition show) set as a school. We thought they were here to receive training from good teachers. The concept (for the content) was a student ID. It's an image that comes up immediately when you search on Google. Modern student ID cards include barcodes and birthdates, but we couldn't include birthdates. So, we only included ages instead," she further explained.” (Bolded emphasis mine) — "Controversial 'UNDER15' pleads for broadcast despite child sexualization claims" - The Korea Times (March 25, 2025)

2. On the other side of the diptych, this quote:

“…many parents highlight the importance of "educational support" for their children from a young age. The "support" includes: sending their children to proper training programs and finding good agencies; discovering their children's talent at a young age; and taking care of their children's media schedules as a manager-and-mother. However, these parenting practices occlude children's labor and exploitative conditions common in the child media industry.” —Jin Lee, Tama Leaver, & Crystal Abidin -"Child idols in South Korea and beyond: Manufacturing young stars at the intersection of the K-pop and influencer industries" - New Media & Society (November 23, 2024)

3. UNDER15 was not the first survival show to co-opt the language of education to soften the competitive aspect of the show. Mnet's 2017 survival show Idol School, which also featured participants as young as 12 and like UNDER15 was accused of sexualizing minors, did something similar. Unlike the harshness of Mnet's Produce franchise with its pyramid motif highlighting the show's divisive hierarchy, Idol School positioned itself in an early recruitment advertisement as less a competition than an "education process". Participants were referred to as 'students', trainers were described as "teachers", and sets mimicked real classrooms. Challenges were referred to as exams, while the winning participants did not win so much as "graduate".

4.

— From "[Worldwide Recruitment] Mnet IDOL School 'We are recruiting Beautiful Freshmen.'"

"More contestants talked about the harsh conditions that the contestants experienced while filming, without revealing their identities. “There were girls there who were just 12 years old,” said one trainee. “They’re still growing so don’t they have to eat? They’d cry because they weren’t given food. My head hurt and I’d think, ‘What kind of filming set is this?’ There was one point in the middle when some people broke a window and escaped. They were so stressed out from being locked inside that they broke the screen and glass and escaped.” A trainee also said, “We were always indoors, so we had no idea whether it was daytime or nighttime. We’d go get ready when they told us to, eat when they told us to, sleep when they told us to, and get up when they told us to.” —“Idol School" Contestants Talk About Poor Filming Conditions And Effect On Health” - Soompi (October 15, 2019)

5. This language not only softens; it obscures. To borrow from #2, much as "parenting practices occlude children's labor and exploitative conditions common in the child media industry," so too does using language associated with education reframe the role of the survival show. They are not exploiting but helping. If things are difficult or conditions are poor, even when directly caused by production staff or the very nature of the survival show, that is part of the process. Enduring hardships or learning to work through them becomes a test meant to prepare them for the arduous path to debut and the rigorous nature of an idol career. In other words, it is for their own good, or at least that is what the industry wants them to believe.

[mjohnso]

Quick Take: Woo Yerin - “Red Rose”

Woo Yerin's recent “Red Rose” music show stages have been bare bones. There is no elaborate floral set dressing, and besides that one Inkigayo performance, no flowers decorate her keyboard or microphone stand. She rarely wears or accessorizes with roses beyond subtle callbacks through color as evident with her red dress. Except for the occasional backing band like for her February 8th performance on Show! Music Core and February 21st performance on Music Bank, she has no backup dancers. In fact, she does not dance beyond some swaying and gestures. Mostly, she stands next to her keyboard, turning to play it intermittently throughout her performance.

The stages' plainness comes as no surprise. Woo Yerin is not (yet) a star, and this is not a comeback as much as it is a reversal. When she initially released the song in May 2023, and then again as part of her second mini-album Day: RUNNING GREEN IN THE CLOTHES OF THE WIND in May 2024, the song was not an immediate success. Instead, its popularity has been building organically. According to comments on the “Red Rose” music video and the performances, some first discovered the song when the YouTube algorithm surfaced the music video in their recommendations and auto-generated playlists. Others found the song because a BJ or VTuber recommended the song or covered the song for a video. Eventually, this interest built up enough to propel her to music shows eight months after the song's release.

Virality is a tricky thing; it does not come with any guarantee of future success. In the case of Yerin though, she has a few things going for her that may help this be more than a fluke. For one, she has been releasing music since 2018 and has an extensive back-catalog of songs, from various genres including pop, funk, and folk. That could help convert curious listeners, especially if they are willing to look beyond the algorithm and auto-generated playlists and take a look for themselves.

*Here is my bonus mood board for how Woo Yerin's stages and styling could have been handled given the red rose motif in her song:

Davichi - "Turtle" (Performance on MBC Music Bank (April 13, 2013))

IU - "Lilac" (Performance at 2021 Melon Music Awards)

Lee Hi - "Rose" (Performance on SBS Inkigayo (April 28, 2013))

Song Ji Eun (SECRET) - "False Hope" (Performance at SBS Inkigayo (October 6, 2013))

Baek A Yeon - "Looking For Love" (Performance at Mnet M! Countdown (June 18, 2020))

JUNIEL - "illa illa" (Performance at SBS Inkigayo (July 1, 2012))

Song So Hee - "Spring Day" (Performance at KBS Immortal Songs 2" (November 14, 2020))