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From 2NE1 to Sistar’s Hyolyn, female K-pop stars in the driver’s seat move to extend their careers

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Tamar Herman, South China Morning Post

The K-pop industry is seeing the first wave of popular female stars becoming industry entrepreneurs and taking charge of their careers after leaving girl groups.The past few years have seen two former 2NE1 members, CL and Minzy, along with Yubin of Wonder Girls and Sistar’s Hyolyn, start their own companies. All from popular acts that were K-pop royalty from the mid-2000s to the 2010s, these women chose to make their own way instead of staying at their initial companies or finding other opportunities in South Korea’s entertainment world.Jinsook Kim, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Centre for Advanced Research in Global Communication, said the growing trend could be attributed to the internet and global media making it easier for individual artists to launch their own careers.Kim told the Post that compared to the past, “the production and promotion of content has become easier through the development of IT technologies and diverse social media platforms”.The “seven-year curse” has long been a popular phrase in K-pop: companies can only sign artists for seven years, and few acts managed in the past to exceed that lifespan as a complete unit, let alone maintain their popularity for that long.However, more K-pop groups now enjoy a longer lifespan, and staying together after seven years has become the norm, at least for male K-pop acts, with the likes of Shinhwa, Super Junior, Shinee, Exo and BTS exceeding seven years as united acts.On the other hand, female acts are rarely able to continue as a team after their contracts end, with only a handful of girl groups lasting 10 years, let alone beyond that. If they do remain united, they typically receive less promotion and maintain a smaller following than before.“K-pop groups tend to be very visual and their physical appearances are important in general, but the standards for feminine beauty are much higher in South Korea,” said Kim.“Many female celebrities are suffering from public body shaming, cyberbullying, and hate speech, as seen in the cases of Sulli and Goo Hara,” she said, referring to two female stars who died by suicide in 2019 after years of being criticised by Korean media and internet users for sharing their thoughts candidly and refusing to stick to societal norms. Kim noted that a woman’s status as a K-pop star was connected to her age and physique, “so these female idols can’t rely on having a career as a singer for a long time. Also, due to the fierce competition among K-pop groups, they are easily replaced by other young, new girl groups every year. I think that’s the reason why many female K-pop stars seek to shift their careers”.A new television show on South Korean broadcaster MBN titled Miss Back features what Kim describes as “forgotten female idols”.At least two – Sera, formerly of 9Muses, and Stellar’s Gayoung – revealed that conflict with their companies had affected their careers: Sera lost her position as 9Muses leader after criticising the company for making the group perform in garter belts. Gayoung and Stellar were likewise sexualised against their will.“I think launching their own companies can give female K-pop stars more freedom and opportunities to plan and do their own music and performances,” said Kim.For many female stars, going solo or going into acting are the keys to success. Acting in South Korea, especially for female stars, is far more lucrative than being a singer, and offers more longevity and career diversification. Vlogging has also recently become a popular career path for female stars.Hyolyn, who launched her own management company, pronounced Bridge, in 2017, tells the Post that she pursued her own brand in part to diversify her artistry. Sistar and its members were known as the queens of K-pop’s summer annually during their tenure from 2010 to 2017, but that seasonality wasn’t fulfilling for her as an artist. “I wanted to show the public that Hyolyn is a solo artist who digests not only summer songs, but also various genres of music,” she says.This year saw three other stars set up their own management firms – Yubin (RRR Entertainment), CL (Very Cherry) and Minzy (MZ Entertainment). Like most Korean entertainment companies, they’re all-encompassing management agencies focused on their founders’ artistry and developing their careers.Hyolyn is well aware that female K-pop stars’ careers can be short: “I try to show a new side of me every time [I release new music] so that the public can keep remembering and supporting me,” she says. To stay relevant and memorable, Hyolyn works with new collaborators, and recently she learned how to edit her own video content, adding visual artistry to her music.Kim is still unsure whether efforts by female stars such as Hyolyn to go their own way and blaze a trail in the highly structured K-pop industry will pay off. “While I respect and support these female artists’ choices, I’m not sure whether they will all succeed, given the fierce competition in the K-pop scene,” she said.For more great K-pop stories, artist profiles and the latest news, visit our K-pop hub.

Most K-pop groups are only signed for seven years, and girl groups have the shortest lifespan; increasingly, their members are taking charge of their careers. Some leverage their fame and experience to launch entertainment management agencies that allow them to go solo or try new things.

Most K-pop groups are only signed for seven years, and girl groups have the shortest lifespan; increasingly, their members are taking charge of their careers. Some leverage their fame and experience to launch entertainment management agencies that allow them to go solo or try new things.

From 2NE1 to Sistar’s Hyolyn, female K-pop stars in the driver’s seat move to extend their careers

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From 2NE1 to Sistar’s Hyolyn, female K-pop stars in the driver’s seat move to extend their careers

Tamar Herman,

South China Morning Post

Published Nov 17, 2020 01:32 PM PHT

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