The South Korean Government's strong arming of Idols.

    I will preface this by including an article about the current situation of the Jamboree Concert.


    Lame and Incompetent. A Jamboree messing with Kpop stars



    The Government's view of Pop music is still firmly rooted in the past. The scramble to use K-Pop stars to cover up the messy state of affairs of the Jamboree shows the outdated thought that Culture is purely a subservient tool of the State.


    Following the postponement of the original Jamboree Concert, The Government moved to hastily recruit acts who had previously not been scheduled to perform, including Girl Group NewJeans.


    The Government is scrambling to find singers for the concert and rather conveniently the KBS program Music Bank has been cancelled on the same day as the concert with no reason provided.


    When the venue of the Jamboree Concert was changed to Jeongju, the same day as the Jeonju Music Festival. The Director of the Festival went to Social Media and said "I got a call from an offical who to me that 'We're going to take your headliner for the Jamboree... please understand."


    Additionally Rep Sung Il-Jong on SNS stated "The Ministry of National Defense wants all of BTS, including those who are currently soldiers, to participate in the K-pop concert on the 11th, to enhance the national prestige of the Republic of Korea."


    Jin and J-Hope of BTS are currently serving in the military. V is busy preparing for his first solo album releasing next month. Each member, who is currently engaged in individual activities, was asked by the government to go on stage without any preparation.



    BTS had experienced a similar issue during the concert in October last year to host the 2030 World Expo. Hybe, not the bidding committee, paid for the concert which ended up being free of charge. At that time, it was right as Jin was enlisting into the military, so it sparked controversial discussion over whether he was paying for the performance to escape military service.


    "Asking a K-pop artist to solve the incompetence of the ministry"



    Every move of a kpop artist on stage is subject to scrutiny by fans. One has to pay attention to the lighting, their personal movements, and that the acoustics are completely different depending on the stage location, time, and weather. The stage of the Seoul World Cup Stadium is completely different from the "Music Bank" held at the KBS New Hall.


    The demand for artists who are currently serving in the military to be on stage in three to four days is due to the perception that K-pop stars' stages are regarded as "talent shows."



    Music Critic Kim Jak-Ka said "I'm furious. They think they can just ask K-pop idols to solve the incompetence of the government? These South Korean bureaucrats still have an outdated perception that culture is subordinate to politics."



    Reporter Lim Ji-sun

    The original line up was as follows


    IVE

    ZeroBase One

    Nmixx

    StayC

    P1Harmony

    &Team

    Verivery

    Lee Chaeyeon

    Nature

    Xikers



    The current line up following the mess of the Jamboree is


    NewJeans

    MAMAMOO

    NCT DREAM

    THE BOYZ

    ITZY

    MONSTA X Shownu & Hyungwon

    KARD

    fromis_9

    HolyBang

    Kwon Eunbi

    Jo Yuri

    Kang Daniel

    P1Harmony

    THE NEW SIX

    ATBO

    xikers

    ZEROBASEONE

    Libelante


    With word that there's still discussions in place for IVE, Seventeen and BTS


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    They’re able to do this because the Korean government gave kpop companies subsidies and they’re obligated to return the favor I suppose. And theses old handshake agreements have a lot weight still.


    Double edged sword of being company first instead of people first. I think a company like HYBE in fact may have benefited less but during those founding years like 90s and 00s Korean Government did a lot for hallyu with exactly this outcome in mind.


    But it really is interesting how long the Korean government will be able to have this leverage. Imo it’s only going dwindle over time as we have more new age companies and even old companies like SM moving towards changing their old executives.

    I have argued for years that it was necessary to break from Korea, something Fifty Fifty is now attempting. (Despite of all these flagrant media play by the attrakt owner, in reality his chance of a win is slim which is why he stopped running media plays.)


    Yes, all these free money from the government hurt them in the end.

    Quote from WhyKnock

    I have argued for years that it was necessary to break from Korea, something Fifty Fifty is now attempting. (Despite of all these flagrant media play by the attrakt owner, in reality his chance of a win is slim which is why he stopped running media plays.)


    Yes, all these free money from the government hurt them in the end.

    shut up, Yknock


    This aint a thread for your thinly veiled racism.

    Quote from ISaidISaid

    They’re able to do this because the Korean government gave kpop companies subsidies and they’re obligated to return the favor I suppose. And theses old handshake agreements have a lot weight still.


    Double edged sword of being company first instead of people first. I think a company like HYBE in fact may have benefited less but during those founding years like 90s and 00s Korean Government did a lot for hallyu with exactly this outcome in mind.


    But it really is interesting how long the Korean government will be able to have this leverage. Imo it’s only going dwindle over time as we have more new age companies and even old companies like SM moving towards changing their old executives.

    Ding ding we got a winner someone with a brain that understands this. Yes the government s subsides kpop most agencies receive funds from the state as kpop has always been a tool of the state, you wouldn't have BTS pr anything else without the government funding it in the beginning. Kpop was seen as a means to project the nation's soft power and it has been a wild success. People often say BTS paved the way, nah in reality the Korean government paved the way because without them funding the idea of this fledgling business back in the late 70s it would have never happened at this speed. To the point the first group people would have been hearing about in 2023 would have been BigBang.

    The push for kdrama and kpop to be a global sensation wasn't some genius marketing strategy, no that was done by the ministry of defense.


    Yes today the government trying to strong arm them into shit is highly illegal today as many laws,rules and government types changed since then keep in mind inside 30 yrs we went from a corrupt dictatorship a literal Holocaust on our land by our own government and then into a real democracy all in that timeframe.


    People often wonder what's wrong with Korea and Koreans? Well unlike you and your nations which likely had hundreds if not thousands of years to progress through eras and life. We had to do all of that with in one generation, the affects of it are still being processed today and will still be felt for many generations to come

    Quote from Fluffers

    When the venue of the Jamboree Concert was changed to Jeongju, the same day as the Jeonju Music Festival. The Director of the Festival went to Social Media and said "I got a call from an offical who to me that 'We're going to take your headliner for the Jamboree... please understand."

    oh i really hate this, festival is one of very few way to make profit as an artist and not only the government take that away but they also coerce them to volunteer without paying their stage cost.


    conformism has its own perk but i really hate incidence like these (especially if the artist don't have bargaining power)

    If idols work 7 years as strategic soft power weapon for the ministry of defence shouldnt they receive a pension for their service?

    this lineup does not make up for all the mismanagement. and i think companies are also feeling the pressure not only from the gov but also to try to salvage some of sk's reputation when it comes to events. it's been embarrassing for all of them.

    Quote from allfandomssuck

    this lineup does not make up for all the mismanagement. and i think companies are also feeling the pressure not only from the gov but also to try to salvage some of sk's reputation when it comes to events. it's been embarrassing for all of them.

    I honestly don't understand why would they think a kpop concert would salvage their reputation? Successful kpop concert won't erase the fact they were incompetent to properly organize the jamboree. I'm confused

    Quote from doesitneedsaying

    I honestly don't understand why would they think a kpop concert would salvage their reputation? Successful kpop concert won't erase the fact they were incompetent to properly organize the jamboree. I'm confused

    I get the feeling they're kind of desperate. I think companies are doing other stuff (YG offered dance classes). And it definitely won't repair the damage done to their organizational capability.

    still, government is a big picture, I dont see how using idols to cover something make sense. the people who in charge of the event made something wrong, doesn’t mean the government has to step up to fix the mess. i can understand using them for external political purpose but for internal, thats dumb

    Quote from worlddome48

    still, government is a big picture, I dont see how using idols to cover something make sense. the people who in charge of the event made something wrong, doesn’t mean the government has to step up to fix the mess. i can understand using them for external political purpose but for internal, thats dumb

    Because politicians are dumb lol have you forgotten this?

    Quote from doesitneedsaying

    I honestly don't understand why would they think a kpop concert would salvage their reputation? Successful kpop concert won't erase the fact they were incompetent to properly organize the jamboree. I'm confused

    I am also confused by this logic. It actually makes the Korean government look even more inept, rather than salvaging anything.

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