Friday, May 17, 2024

 

Jungkook's album, which set a new record for male solo singer's first-week sales







Seventeen's album, which set a new record for boy group singer's first-week sales

The amount of waste generated by K-POP entertainment companies has increased more than 14 times in 6 years,  "HYBE ranking first, followed by JYP and Kakao"

As for waste disposal fees, as of 2022, 11 music production companies paid over 190 M KRW. HYBE paid the most, with over 130 M KRW, followed by JYP with around 27 M KRW. 

Min Heejin questioned, "If HYBE was confident enough to persuade groups like New Jeans, who already had high album sales without any deceiving methods, to surpass the records of other groups, what about the other groups? This shows HYBE's lack of ethical awareness." She urged, "Although it is already known as a common practice within HYBE's label, I strongly request thorough investigation and transparent handling of any transactions."

theqoo

-Please buy albums moderately... How many people actually listen to CDs nowadays?

-If they're just going to throw those albums away, why bother buying them in the first place?

-Please, just release digital songs and sell photo cards separately...

-The whole K-pop industry is going in the wrong direction now, and it's all because of HYBE. If it wasn't for HYBE, this situation wouldn't have gotten this bad. It's ruining the entire K-pop industry. 

-It's really upsetting to see them treating those albums like trash. Can't they at least buy some garbage bags before throwing them away?

-It's such a waste, the idol culture these days is so bizarre.

-Earth, I'm sorry...

-K-pop is ruined.

-They should stop giving out random photo cards.

-They should get rid of physical albums and just sell photo cards at a higher price.

-Wow, isn't this a waste of resources?

-Increased 14 times in 6 years, that's insane.

-At this point, isn't it the company's obsession with sales numbers that's the problem? I don't think the photo cards are the ones at fault here.

-Unless the government makes new laws about this, I think this will continue to happen for God-knows how long

-The whole world is moving forward, and only Korea is regressing. Ridiculous.

-Seriously, if only this kind of wasteful behavior stopped...

-Random photo cards really need to be eliminated. It's too harmful.

-Environmental pollution...

-What's so special about those damn photo cards...

-How are we going to find a solution for that?

-But why aren't environmental protection organizations speaking out on this...??

-Environmental destroyers.

BTS Jungkook and Seventeen's albums discarded on the street

tvN drama 'Lovely Runner' is a fantasy romance where the protagonist, Im Sol (played by Kim Hyeyoon), receives encouragement and comfort from a famous artist, Ryu Sunjae (played by Byun Wooseok) at a moment when she has lost the will to live. However, her favorite artist whom she has admired for over a decade suddenly dies one day. In the moment of despair, Im Sol travels back in time to 2008, when Ryu Sunjae is still an ordinary high school student and she herself is a 19 y.o student. After realizing the time slip, Im Sol has only one goal: to protect her beloved Ryu Sunjae! However, there's an important aspect to address in this youth romance: Im Sol's disability.

Im Sol becomes paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident at the age of nineteen. This aspect of Im Sol's disability was not present in the original Webtoon, which means that it was purposely added into the drama as it serves a crucial role in the storyline. Before slipping back in time, the drama briefly shows the struggles Im Sol faces in daily life. On the other hand, Im Sol who has returned to the time before the accident, is unstoppable. The drama uses Im Sol's disability to show her 'powerlessness'. In the future of the story, Im Sol's accident will be just as important as Sunjae's tragedy. As viewers speculate, Im Sol might avoid the accident and achieve her dreams that she couldn't because of her disability. 

https://www.khan.co.kr/culture/culture-general/article/202404250600005

Looking at the original post, you might think that Im Sol's disability was unnecessary for the storyline. I didn't bring this up with ill intentions! I brought it up because I have family members with disabilities and there are some aspects in the original post that I can relate to. I hope you don't criticize excessively. 

theqoo

-I also wondered if such a storyline was necessary as I watched the drama. It also reminds me of IU's MV. I wish they would stop portraying going back in time as returning to a body without disabilities. In reality, people with disabilities try to live positively with their conditions. 

-I find it interesting how some people view this drama this way, even when the drama is actually really good.

-There was a similar article before, I thought people would watch the drama first before talking about it. Im Sol wasn't even pessimistic about her disabilities in the first episode. Besides, she didn't go back in time to fix her disability. 

-I also found it a bit disappointing. I think this topic is worth discussing. 

-Honestly, if you had the ability to turn back time, wouldn't you try to make everything better?

-The content of the article is good. It seems they added the disability to the drama, which wasn't originally there, to make it more dramatic. But rather than portraying someone who overcomes discomfort while having a disability, it would have been better if they hadn't made the disability disappear.

-This is exactly the same reaction as when IU's "Love wins all" music video came outㅋㅋㅋ

-The perception that sets disabilities as something to overcome is the problem. Why can't someone just live with a disability?

-I'm annoyed and dislike this drama because of this.

-Ah... seriously, this is too much. I haven't watched this drama, and I don't think I will in the future.

-I don't understand why they keep using disabilities as dramatic material.

'Lovely Runner' ... Reframing Disabilities as Faults

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by Journalist Lee Sunmyung

Not only ILLIT, LE SSERAFIM has also been surrounded by continuous plagiarism accusations three times. We have heard that HYBE, overseas producers, and officials who work with ADOR are negotiating the settlement fees for LE SSERAFIM's plagiarised songs. 

theqoo

-What was he even thinking when he started HYBE?

-They're busy negotiating the settlement fees to cover up the plagiarism issue. So sneakyㅋㅋㅋㅋ I'm glad they're finally caught using money to cover things up.

-Wow, so they've been silencing everything with money...ㅋㅋㅋ

-How many times did they cover things up????? Unbelievable...

-Wow... They're really falling apart...

-They're the epitome of corruption. Just cover-up after cover-up.

-So, is this why the net profit looks so messed up? They're just covering everything up with money?

-So, HYBE is trying to settle by paying overseas musicians now that they're speaking up?ㅋㅋㅋ

-Shameful.

-Using money to silence people. As expected from HYBE.

-There's no way it would've quietly passed by; I knew it... They definitely silenced people with money behind the scenes.

-This is a complete mess...

-So they were secretly silencing people with money?ㅋㅋㅋ How much more disgraceful can you get, HYBE?

-Whoa, it feels good to see it all revealed.

-It's truly chilling, really scary.

-The truth will eventually be revealed.

-They should have known when to stop.

HYBE is in the process of negotiating settlement fees for LE SSERAFIM's plagiarised songs

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 "Although it is already known as a common practice within HYBE's label, I strongly request thorough investigation and transparent handling of any transactions regarding this matter."

Read more about the 'deceptive marketing strategy' here


-Yeah, that's deceiving.

-Wow.. Big news.

-Seriously, K-pop is a mess, damn it.

-Yeah, that's manipulating results. They basically sold a million copies upfront and then used that money for fan meetings.

-I hope everything gets exposed.

-Min Heejin, the hero.

-HYBE's in trouble.

-Can't trust HYBE idols except New Jeans nowㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-HYBE's achievements were all manipulated.

-Shameful, goodbye HYBE.

-I knew it. They've been doing it for a long time.

-HYBE's first-week sales were all manipulated, then...

-Now who's going to trust HYBE's first-week sales?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-With this, it's confirmed that HYBE is manipulating all first-week salesㅋㅋㅋ

'Using deceptive marketing strategy is a common practice within HYBE's label'

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CEO Min Heejin stated, "The problem with HYBE is that they continue to do unethical behavior without responding to the criticism, while following the bad practices of the industry." She added, "As a leading entertainment company, HYBE is not being responsible. Its structure is not transparent. This has caused continuous damage to New Jeans, both directly and indirectly."

Min Heejin emphasized, "The biggest issue with HYBE is 'Album Pushing.' This is an act that deceives shareholders, members, market, and also fandom. HYBE has already faced strong criticism from public opinion for doing this. HYBE encouraged New Jeans to do this act. During the release of 'Get Up' album, HYBE suggested 'pushing' 100,000 copies, claiming that it could surpass Aespa's first-week sales record. However, New Jeans firmly refused as it goes against ADOR's principle."

Min Heejin stated that New Jeans refused HYBE's advice because the members were concerned that their previous genuine achievements in topping the charts might be tainted and damage various opportunities in the future. Furthermore, she said, "In the future, if this method receives more attention, New Jeans could be misunderstood as if they had participated in it behind all of their achievements, even when they firmly refused to do it."

Min Heejin questioned, "If HYBE was confident enough to persuade groups like New Jeans, who already had high album sales without any deceiving methods, to surpass the records of other groups, what about the other groups? This shows HYBE's lack of ethical awareness." She urged, "Although it is already known as a common practice within HYBE's label, I strongly request thorough investigation and transparent handling of any transactions."

(NB: 'Album Pushing', as described in another article, refers to a method where sellers purchase a specific number of copies to increase the group's sales. These sellers then organize events to sell those albums, like fan signs, until it's all sold out. This method not only exhausts the artists physically, but pressures fans emotionally to repeatedly purchase the same albums)

theqoo

-Their inferiority complex is legendary...

-What the hell, HYBE? They're so obsessed with Aespa, it's pathetic. 

-Not Aespa again...

-It's really disgusting.

-Is 'Album Pushing' the same as Sajaegi?

-Aespa again?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Do you really want to step on them that badly, Sihyuk-ah?

-Aespa again?? HYBE is seriously so obsessed with Aespa. HYBE, you're patheticㅠㅠ

-Min Heejin is so braveㅋㅋㅋㅋ It's amazing that she has the courage to expose that.

-Wow... Their jealousy, anger, and obsession with Aespa are on the next levelㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Wow... This is beyond being obsessed with Aespa.

-Leave Aespa alone, you crazy bastards.

-New Jeans did well by sticking to principles.

-Their obsession with Aespa is crazy...

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ HYBE is damn pathetic...

Min Heejin reveals that New Jeans firmly rejects HYBE's advise for deceiving marketing method to surpass other girl groups' sales

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During LE SSERAFIM's process of signing a new contract with an international luxury brand that was already working with New Jeans, there was a disagreement. It was revealed that the Brand Synergy Team had brokered the contract with deceitful tactics on both ADOR and Source Music. 

The Brand Synergy Team should be treating both ADOR and Source Music fairly. However, the team had shown biased treatment towards certain artists. After this was exposed, they responded to ADOR's complaint by refunding 3 months' worth of fees and finalized the deal. 

During this process, it was the responsibility of the labels to meet directly with the brands to check the facts and sort out the details.

theqoo

-Absolutely insane.

-...Wow...

-This is crazy.

-Is this Dior?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-From now on, they'll disrupt all New Jeans' ads.

-They even tried to snatch the ADOR's contract??

-Even with all this happening, New Jeans and their parents have to stay quiet?

-Louis Vuitton?

-???????? HYBE should just disappear.

-It's a mess.

-This is betrayal.

-Damnㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Do they think they can get away with stealing? People have eyes.

-I had a feeling something like this would happen, seriously ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Wow, interfering with their own girl group like this ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-This is beyond imagination, stealing someone else's contract.

An international luxury brand proposes a contract with LE SSERAFIM in the middle of their contract with New Jeans

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by Journalist Hong Hyemin.

A representative from HYBE stated, "Min Heejin's interest is not New Jeans itself, but the money they bring in." They further claimed, "Although Min Heejin says, 'If it weren't for me, New Jeans wouldn't have debuted. I couldn't bear to see them suffer.' The reality is that she belittled and insulted the members by saying, 'It's actually difficult to treat New Jeans as artists, but I endured it. The success of New Jeans is not because they're New Jeans, but because of me.'"

HYBE's side also alleged that Min Heejin engaged in gaslighting in order to make New Jeans' members emotionally dependent on her, saying, "Min Heejin demanded New Jeans' members to stick to the scrips she provided when they have interviews. This portrays a gaslighting relationship, where New Jeans here holds a passive role, all disguised behind the term 'mother-daughter relationship.'"

theqoo

-It's really disgusting. If you're a semi-major company, act like one. Stop doing such crappy things.

-It feels like I'm watching kids fighting.

-Wasn't it HYBE who told them to speak according to the script? Wasn't it HYBE who controlled New Jeans so they couldn't even promote on variety shows?

-This company is crazy... Even if it's true, why would they release an article with such wording? Wow...

-Is causing conflicts HYBE's specialty? Their media play is too disgusting.

-HYBE seems out of their minds. Please let Min Heejin and New Jeans part ways with HYBE peacefully...

-HYBE is too obsessed with media play. Why are they like this, even though they're a big company?

-HYBE is getting more disgusting.

-Wow, HYBE is really going overboard... Wow, this company is really dirty.

-Is HYBE really protecting New Jeans, though? What the hell kind of article is this?

-HYBE is really crazy, beyond the limit. They're so disgusting to the point of making me sick.

-I wonder what New Jeans would think if they saw this... They probably don't care at all.

-Wow, how far will HYBE fall? It's really disgusting for them to use the names of young artists like this for media play.

-Since HYBE's logic doesn't work, they're resorting to all kinds of nonsense.

-They might get sued by New Jeans' parents if they keep making these speculations without evidence.

-Why is HYBE treating New Jeans like this?

HYBE's Side: "Disgusted by Min Heejin backstabbing New Jeans... Claims that New Jeans' success is because of her"

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 The thumbnail originally said 'PSICK', but the letters P, S, and I were cleverly covered to make it look like 'FUCK.'

All other thumbnails have 'PSICK' written on them, but only Jang Wonyoung's stands out so obviously. It's surprising that it hasn't stirred controversy yet. Considering it's a concept conducted in English, is it really believable that they didn't know or it was a mistake, covering the P to make it look like an F?


Other thumbnails:


International fans' reactions:



theqoo

-There must have been many people who stayed quiet because they didn't want to create unnecessary controversy.

-If that's intentional, then they're really thoughtless.

-Youtubers I watch usually put a lot of effort into making thumbnails. It's hard to believe that something like that would go unnoticed on a Youtube channel that big.

-If only one out of 96 thumbnails is like that, then it seems intentional.

-Even if it wasn't intentional, if people keep pointing it out, they should fix it.

-They've been doing this kind of thing all along... This controversy is probably just the tip of the iceberg...

-I don't think they aimed for it, it just seems thoughtless to me.

-What kind of thoughtlessness is that? ㅋㅋㅋ Get your act together. Does that thumbnail look normal to you?

-Fix it.

-Even if it wasn't intentional, it's a poorly made thumbnail. Fixing it is the right thing to do.

-I didn't think they were just trying to flaunt Jang Won-young's face... But yeah, they should fix it. 

-For them to not even know what 'fxck' means...? It's such a basic swear word that it's embarrassing to explain. I recommend looking it up in a dictionary.

-All the other thumbnails are fine, but only Jang Wonyoung's is weird. It's definitely strange, but to call it intentional...? It's a reach

-Disgusting.

-It doesn't seem intentional, just move her picture slightly and fix it.

-Wow.... They could've just placed her picture all the way to the left like the others.

-I'm a design major. There's an empty space next to Wonyoung's face on the left. If it wasn't intentional, they would have placed the title further to the left. There's no need for such ambiguous right alignment. The important thing is whether 'P' is fully visible or not. Despite there being empty space, they deliberately placed the text in a way that 'P' is not fully visible, making it look like 'F' instead of 'P' --> This is intentional. Especially since in other videos, the logos are fully visible, it's just weird. If they didn't intend to do that and just wanted to have a larger picture of Wonyoung in the thumbnail, they should put it on the left and placed the logo on the right. That's how you maintain consistency with the thumbnails uploaded so far. But they didn't do that. They deliberately made it different.

-The title isn't even clearly visible in the thumbnail. And they say it's not intentional? If they wanted it to be visible, it could easily be made visible, or at least 'I' could be visible. There's no such thing as unintentional design.

PSICK Univ Jang Wonyoung's Episode 'FXCK'

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by Journalist Kim Jongyong

On the 16th, sources from the investment banking (IB) industry revealed that CEO Min met with Song Chihyung (Chairman of Dunamu) and representatives from Naver to propose the acquisition of ADOR. CEO Min reportedly told Chairman Song to 'pressure HYBE into selling ADOR' as Dunamu is the 3rd-largest shareholder of HYBE, with a 5.6% stake, giving them the power to appoint directors.

HYBE discovered CEO Min's contact with Naver and Dunamu when they audited CEO Min's activities. Previously, HYBE confirmed that CEO Min had illegally downloaded sensitive business information, such as artists' dividend details and regional income, which only HYBE manages. HYBE started an internal audit on April 22nd to investigate if CEO Min was trying to bring in outside investors to force HYBE to sell its shares in ADOR, which would be an attempt to take control of the company.

During the audit, HYBE reportedly found Kakao Talk messages on CEO Min's computer that showed she had contacted Naver and Dunamu. These included messages where CEO Min said things like, "Song Chihyung doesn't understand what I'm saying. XX," and "Naver understands a bit better." Previously, HYBE had also revealed a conversation where CEO Min responded "jackpot" to a plan by the ADOR vice president to secure cash and buy ADOR's shares from HYBE through a financial investor.

theqoo

-Honestly, I can totally understand why she asked them to acquire ADOR...

-Seriously, what's going on?

-Min Heejin seemed to ask Dunamu to pressure HYBE to sell ADOR, since Dunamu is one of HYBE's shareholders. Soon, there will likely be articles denying about this accusation. However, based on this alone, Min Heejin seems to be in a disadvantageous position.

-Just go to court already..

-It's so annoying how no one's playing along with HYBE's propagandaㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-It's been over two years since HYBE and Dunamu exchanged billions of won in shares. Although the two of them have maintained a close relationship, strengthening business partnerships, the cooperation between the two companies hasn't yet produced significant results.

-If this is true, we need to know the exact details to judge whether it's true that ADOR was trying to take over management rights.

-Why are they going through Min Heejin's personal Kakao Talk messages? It's scary. She can't even chat with her friends?

-Let's just talk in courtㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Instead of those Kakao Talk messages, does HYBE have any other evidence that CEO Min met with Naver and Dunamu?

-That's nonsenseㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-It seems like they spend all day going through Min Heejin's Kakao Talk messages line by line.

-Even so, it doesn't change the fact that HYBE's a mess, right?

-The legal battle will probably last for more than a year... It's going to be extremely noisy until then. It's going to be painful for the fans.

Min Heejin met with Naver and Dunamu, asking them to 'Acquire ADOR' in