Is Adding Chinese Members Worth It?

I can't think of a group where the chinese member stayed till the end. So i guess no.

Even tho SM Entertainment seems to hate Chinese people (Victoria of f(x), whole China line of EXO,... got so much hate by SM and they even hated on Amber tho she was from America and only Taiwanese) it seems to work out with NCT for some reason. Some companys also seem to be very happy for some Chinese people (example: back in 2017 Jin Longguo was kinda popular and his agency was very happy to have him, but after he fucked his whole career nobody liked that guy anymore. But I am not sure how much he counts since even tho he is Chinese he was born and raised in Korea)

Hm I guess it's 50/50 with Chinese idols

If I look for example at Japan and the few Chinese idols they have (for example Langyi and Mingjun of WARPs UP) it seems to work out quit well and Japan also seems to be kinda more open and accepting to foreign idols so I'm kinda confused all the time when I hear how kind of rascist Korea is compared to Japan. It's weird

honestly, the tension between china and korea, it bounds to happen.

The chinese member will eventually being forced to take side.

One of the reasom im not as invest in GIdle and aespa, because i know eventually the chinese member will likely leave the group first

Jackson stayed until the end tho? As long as the company doesn't treat them differently sorely because of their ethnicity... They'll be loyal and it'll pay off for sure

yeah it does seem like a good idea at first but at the end the chinese idol will start to promote in China and have solo gigs there . They will focus more on their solo activities and once they get popular, they'll probably want to have a more stable career. Why would they want to return to Korea if they will earn more money in China?

Look at Victoria, Lay and Jackson

Quote from queenyeji

Jackson stayed until the end tho? As long as the company doesn't treat them differently sorely because of their ethnicity... They'll be loyal and it'll pay off for sure

He is from Hong Kong

That is if you take it as a country not China and also a lot different since most people in Hong Kong can do things that people in China arn't allowed to do

Just as example: people in Hong Kong can freely use the Internet while people in China maybe only can access 10% of all websites or even less than that

Quote from queenyeji

Jackson stayed until the end tho? As long as the company doesn't treat them differently sorely because of their ethnicity... They'll be loyal and it'll pay off for sure

Agreed.. treat them fairly and they will be loyal. Who the hell wants to stay if they are treated like shit with no family to support you in a foreign country. They are still kids and being an idol is tough enough. None of us would accept that. I think SM has learned from their past mistakes. NCT & Aespa will be completely fine.

I think the idol's motivations are important and Korean entertainment companies are learning from past mistakes.

That SM is still invested in Chinese idols isn't just for the market, it's also probably for the talent. Chinese idols can still benefit from going to Korea if they want to go more international and get better training.

Short term, I think we'll know if SM keeps adding more Chinese idols to groups. There's probably a lot of healthy competition in China for the most talented people. Wasn't there a couple YG-subsidiary-affiliated idols on a Chinese survival show?

Also, companies can keep bringing them to Korea as long as they are comfortable with the risk of jumping...which they can also manage through contracts. All the SM idols that jumped without resolution are locked in China--which isn't a bad thing for them now. Except that Lay still has the international option open to him which might be a bigger deal in a decade.

That said, there are probably more people that want to go to k-pop now...so maybe the risk/reward calculation is changing and will continue to change in the future. Chinese people are getting pretty tall...but you can get too tall for an idol...it's a lot harder to do complex, subtle moves in k-pop.

they are always problematic, but from a business stand point, yes. they still bring in that Chinese money.

Adding Chinese members almost always end up resulting in problems, but as Ent. companies want money from that market, they still add them

In short them they get revenue, but in the mid term these idols will probably be very know in China, so they abandon their group (like WJSN or CLC)

Yes, otherwise they wouldn't persistently debut groups with Chinese members.

Quote from chuusaintyves

I got inspired for this thread after the news that the 3 chinese members have most likely left WJSN, and so I was curious what AKP thinks...

I just want to say before hand that I feel bad for the chinese kids who are mostly very talented and hardworking, and it's not their fault for their country's political situation, but looking at it from a strictly business standpoint...

many people (especially k-nets) are against adding chinese members because it seems to be only a matter of time before they leave their groups or take an indefinite hiatus, more often than other foreign idols, also with the recent stuff with chinese idols becoming mouth pieces for the CCP, many people are saying that adding chinese members is just causing problems.

whereas others argue that the chinese fandom ($$$) generated by chinese idols is valuable enough to overwrite these issues

what do you guys think?

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No BTS and Blackpink don't have a Chinese member and they are the biggest group in the world.

Quote from minigee

Adding Chinese members almost always end up resulting in problems, but as Ent. companies want money from that market, they still add them

In short them they get revenue, but in the mid term these idols will probably be very know in China, so they abandon their group (like WJSN or CLC)

You’ve have got to be kidding about Elkie abandoning CLC. Cube abandoned CLC and are just leaving them in the dungeon until their contracts expire. elkie had proof that cube didn’t pay her for some of her work, which is why she was allowed to break her contract without much of a battle.

For the wjsn girls, it’s their company who pushed them into China. Obviously it’s all about money.

China has a significant fan base and strong buying power - you only have to look at the purchase power of Cherries for EXO and the members’ solos and the different bars for NCT members, especially Jaemin, Renjun and Taeyong. (If you are not familiar with NCT, Renjun is the only Chinese member out of that list I just named, although not the only Chinese member in NCT, but the point here is that these fan groups are purchasing a lot a lot of albums). When you’re talking about bars that can order 500k albums, there is a very solid business reason Kpop companies invest in Chinese idols, with an eye towards the profit they can potentially make. (Of course Chinese fans don’t only support Chinese idols, but all of the companies are very shrewd in thinking about who they add and why. Talent is a part but not the only one.)

I think I myself underestimated the purchase power of the Chinese fan bases in a previous discussion around the market, but now that I’ve been watching with some of my faves, I’m realizing why it is still such a coveted market for Kpop companies.

It wouldn’t make sense to leave that money on the table just because the artist may or may not resign. Because that’s just as much true of the Korean (or any other nationality) artists as well.

Found this snapshot in Twitter but can’t verify how accurate it is about Chinese bar purchase power..

As for the members themselves, it is a business for them, too. These are professionals looking to acquire the skills, training and/or contacts to build to a long term career, and I’m sure they are very aware that massive artists like Lay came out of Kpop. Like many jobs, it may require sacrifices to get what you want.

Quote from gerrard174

honestly, the tension between china and korea, it bounds to happen.

The chinese member will eventually being forced to take side.

One of the reasom im not as invest in GIdle and aespa, because i know eventually the chinese member will likely leave the group first

For some reason I believe Ningning won't just leave without big reason (getting kicked out for example). She was scouted and seems to be treated well.

it is worth it, while they are in the group they bring a lot of sales, and kpop groups are short lived anyways

Quote from vilavanilla

For some reason I believe Ningning won't just leave without big reason (getting kicked out for example). She was scouted and seems to be treated well.

she probably will and it has nothing to do with being treated well or not, SM is know for shit contracts that don't pay as well as other big companies + having to divide earnings with a group, you can earn much more money in china

Quote from jiminhell

she probably will and it has nothing to do with being treated well or not, SM is know for shit contracts that don't pay as well as other big companies + having to divide earnings with a group, you can earn much more money in china

I mean she is already big in china even before being scouted by SM. I just don't think she will leave easily.