[YeitSuda] K-pop Crisis Theory... Growing Need for a 'Mega Planner'

“Rather than being satisfied with the proud achievements of K-pop, I believe it is time to have a sense of ‘crisis.’”

Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE, is attending the Gwankun Forum held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 15th, delivering a keynote speech. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

On the 15th of last month, Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, attended the Kwanhoon Forum and emphasized the ‘K-pop crisis theory.’ Regarding the slowing growth indicators of K-pop, he stated, “There is a clear decline in K-pop in Southeast Asia, such as a 28% decrease in K-pop market share on Indonesia’s Spotify compared to the previous year, a 53% decrease in K-pop entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart compared to 2021, and a decline in K-pop album export growth since 2020. Numbers do not lie,” he stressed.

The market was surprised by the crisis theory raised by the head of the country’s largest entertainment company by market capitalization. His remarks drew more attention as they came at a time when praise for the K-pop industry’s achievements was continuous and right after stepping away from the SM acquisition battle in an official setting. He referred to the 1990s Hong Kong cinema and Japanese manga, which enjoyed a brilliant heyday but then declined, pointing out, “The value and energy of the K-pop industry should never be something that is only nostalgically recalled in the future.”

He cited the global music market sales share hidden behind BTS’s global influence, saying, “K-pop is David among the three Goliaths.” The three global major companies?Universal Music, Warner Music, and Sony Music?account for 67.4% of the global music market sales, whereas even when combining all major domestic K-pop companies, their share in the global market is less than 2%. This metaphor reflected a painful self-awareness that, although there are outstanding global K-pop artists, there is still no global entertainment company.

BTS member Jimin's solo album title track "Like Crazy" has reached number one on the US Billboard main singles chart "Hot 100," becoming the first K-pop solo artist to achieve this.
[Photo by BigHit Music]

Amid the rising sense of crisis, some welcome news also arrived. On the 4th, BTS member Jimin’s solo song “Like Crazy” reached number one on the Billboard singles chart. This was the first time for a Korean solo singer, and BTS was the only Korean artist to have previously topped this chart. Jimin appeared on the web variety show “SUGA’s Chuitta,” hosted by BTS member SUGA, and confessed, “‘Like Crazy’ was inspired by watching the movie of the same name. I wanted to depict the time when I was wandering aimlessly but didn’t realize it was wandering and thought I was enjoying it.” He continued, “I was always drinking and getting drunk, but strangely, no member ever said anything to me.” SUGA added, “In such a situation, if someone says ‘It’s okay’ or ‘Cheer up’ next to you, it only makes things worse,” and Jimin revealed, “I came to my senses during BTS’s Las Vegas schedule,” marking his awakening moment.

Regarding the future of K-pop beyond the mega IP BTS, Chairman Bang previously mentioned the ‘dilution of the K identity.’ He pointed out that K-pop must go beyond the achievements of groups planned by Korean entertainment companies and composed of Korean members, to the extent of collaborating with overseas genre labels and forming K-pop groups made up entirely of foreign members. The industry has already entered the K-pop 3.0 era. A representative example is groups produced by domestic agencies but composed entirely of local members; JYP’s girl group NiziU, made up entirely of Japanese members, has achieved meaningful success.

Chairman Bang emphasized ‘people’ as K-pop’s greatest competitive advantage. Until now, this person was only considered as an artist, but in the K-pop 3.0 era, people must become planners and, furthermore, a system and infrastructure. The high cultural power that Baekbeom Kim Gu wished to “possess infinitely” ? which makes ourselves happy and, beyond that, brings happiness to others ? now demands the systematic cultivation of a second mega planner who can repeatedly showcase global artists, starting from one-person agencies.

Editor's Note“Yeit Suda (藝It Suda)” is an abbreviation for “Art Talk,” a column focusing on issues and trends across the arts, including music, fine arts, and performances.