The Dark Side of Kpop

927 Words4 Pages
The dark side of South Korean pop music By Lucy Williamson BBC News, Seoul South Korea's pop industry is big business in Asia. As K-Pop sets its sights on Europe and the US, will this force a change in the way it treats its artists? Selling singles is no way for a pop star to make money these days. Most artists find that touring and merchandise sales are more lucrative. So when it comes to concerts, size matters. This is why the biggest date in the Korean pop calendar - the Dream Concert, at which up to 20 bands perform - is held in Seoul's 66,800-seat World Cup Stadium. Teenage crushes come here for a once-a-year date in a national love story, where commitment is measured in coloured balloons, and devotion is knowing all the words.Most of the bands, like Super Junior andWonder Girls, are household names; highly produced, sugary boy- and girl-bands with slick dance routines and catchy tunes.But the industry also has a less glamorous side: a history of controversy and legal disputes over the way it treats its young artists, which it is still struggling to shake. K-Pop is a massive industry: global sales were worth over $30m (£18m) in 2009, and that figure is likely to have doubled last year, according to a government website. Industry leaders are also ambitious - Korean stars are beating a path to Japan, America and Europe. This month, South Korea's biggest production company, SM Entertainment, held its first European concert in Paris, part of a year-long world tour.In April, Korea's king of pop, Rain, was voted the most influential person of the year by readers of Time magazine. And earlier this year, boy band Big Bang reached the top 10 album chart on US iTunes. Korea is excited by what this new musical export could do for its image - and its economy.But some of K-Pop's biggest success stories were built on the back of so-called slave contracts, which tied
Open Document