NewJeans is a popular K-Pop idol girl group in Korea. They have successfully recreated the fresh and innocent idol atmosphere that was dominant in Korea in the early 2000s. Interestingly, despite being a teenage girl group, they are also highly popular among people in their 30s and 40s.
In fact, the creator of NewJeans, Min Hee-jin, is in her 40s, and the main composer of their popular songs, 250, is also in their 40s. Even the director who produced their music videos is in their 40s.
However, this has led to some controversies. It is not only a NewJeans-specific issue but also a problem in the Korean idol industry. It is often criticized that older producers scout young teenagers as “trainees” and push them to devote their lives to becoming idols. Some of them succeed in debuting. If they become popular, they work tirelessly for several years, and if the results don’t match the investment, the management company immediately debuts a new group they had prepared in advance.
This has been the functioning and profitable model for the K-Pop idol industry for decades. It can be interpreted as child labor exploitation and commodification, but it is beautifully packaged under the pretext of passion, dreams, and hope.
In reality, the leading producers and CEOs of Korea’s representative idol agencies like SM, JYP, and YG have remained unchanged for decades, but the idols have continuously changed. As the idols operated under controlled environments, most of them couldn’t become independent artists outside their agencies.
K-Pop idols provide cool, positive, and enjoyable energy, but they are often regarded as “dolls” or commodities. However, idols are human beings and should be treated as individuals. As K-Pop expands to the global market and gains more recognition, I hope artists can develop their agency and evolve into true artists who can stand against their management companies.