“The beginning of the era for K-pop dragons seems to have ended with Big Bang-BTS.”
MTV Korea’s ‘Real Docu Big Bang,’ broadcasted in 2006, captures the pre-debut journey of the group Big Bang. In the footage, Big Bang sweats day and night in an underground practice room in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, preparing for their debut stage. Despite their exhausted faces, Big Bang dashes towards the single goal of ‘debut.’
Afterward, Big Bang became an indispensable global group in K-pop history. With their passion and effort for music and the stage in adverse conditions, evaluations such as ‘dragons emerged from the sky’ followed them. Big Bang was the flagship of YG Entertainment, leading K-pop in the first half of the 2010s.
When it comes to the next dragon after Big Bang, it would be the group BTS. At their debut, BTS was merely a rookie group under Big Hit Music, classified as a small and medium-sized agency. Even in 2014, when BTS was rising, many media outlets referred to them with the epithet ‘dirt spoon’ before their team name.
BTS continuously set unprecedented records and garnered support from a massive global fandom. They rose to an unparalleled position among K-pop groups, a position that no other domestic group has achieved to this day. With the global mega-hit of BTS, Big Hit Music has established today’s K-pop empire, HYBE.
This trend has accelerated the gap between large and small agencies. Except for the big four agencies – HYBE, JYP, SM, and YG – small and medium-sized agencies struggle not only to debut new groups but even to recruit trainees. A senior figure in the music industry lamented to Ten Asia, “We are looking for trainees to launch rookies, but capable individuals only pay attention to large agencies. Small agencies are finding suitable trainees akin to catching stars in the sky, regardless of capital.”
The background behind trainees dreaming of debuting as K-pop idols considering the agency’s name value also reflects the harsh reality that ‘dragons don’t rise from small ponds.’ In reality, cases of K-pop groups from small agencies achieving global success after BTS are extremely rare. One could almost exclusively mention FIFITY FIFTY, launched by Attrakt Entertainment, but they eventually disbanded due to contract disputes and other issues.
Attrakt’s inability to support such situations internally despite their capabilities in scouting and A&R planning led to these results. While FIFITY FIFTY achieved remarkable success, such as reaching 17th place on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Cupid” and charting for 25 weeks, eventually, they couldn’t sustain their activities as the same group members.
After BTS established a golden pillar, it seems K-pop is experiencing a downward trend. Despite the backdrop of the intensified wealth gap in the domestic music industry, the consensus in the industry is that challenges and attempts by small and medium-sized agencies must continue.
The ‘dragons’ and ‘dirt spoon’ idols who follow in the footsteps of Big Bang and BTS must move forward ambitiously toward both domestic and global audiences. The beginnings of the groups that have led K-pop history so far have never been satiating. The narratives of those who climbed from the bottom might be even more appealing to global fans. The next-generation global K-pop star who follows BTS might not be within the big four agencies.
