Hello, fivers! We ever mentioned about hallyu wave or korean wave, right? And we did post about korean dish. Now, we gotta post one of the thing which is also included in the hallyu wave. What is it? The most popular nowadays, it is South Korean Idol Group. Check it out here at All in One Blog!
A South Korean idol, or K-pop idol, is a popular K-pop celebrity trained under a "factory-like" system, after having passed various stages of auditions held by South Korean talent agencies such as SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment. According to The Vancouver Observer, the stereotypical K-Pop idol is "incredibly young, good-looking, and able to carry a melodramatic note."
Characteristics
Training system
According to ABC News, every week hundreds of "wannabe stars" turn up at global auditions held by SM Entertainment to sing and dance for a chance at K-pop stardom. Those who successfully go through a few rounds of audition will have the chance to sign long term contracts and enter a training programme that lasts for years. The journey to stardom often starts around age 9 or 10, when tightly supervised trainees begin dance and voice classes at night and live together while attending school. The cost of discovering and training one member from the K-Pop idol group Girls' Generation amounted to a total of 3 billion won (US$2.6 million).
Besides attending regular classes, trainees spend many hours a day learning music, choreography and sometimes foreign languages including Japanese and English, because K-pop music is often produced for overseas export. Many trainees prefer to drop out of school in order to devote their time and energy to achieve their goal of becoming a K-pop idol.
Reported earnings
Some of the highest earning K-pop idols receive an annual income of a million US Dollars from royalties alone. Other sources of income include sponsorship deals, endorsements and concerts. According to The Korea Times, once a K-pop music video attracts more than a million views, it will "generate a meaningful revenue big enough to dole out profits to members of a K-pop group.
Effects on sasaeng fans
To some outside the fan community, it may seem irrational for sasaeng fans to stalk their idols when they can just see them in concerts. However, during public appearances like in concerts, K-Pop idols are usually surrounded by their managers who will do almost everything to stop fans from getting too close. Also competition is high as the idols tend to be surrounded by hundreds, or in some cases, thousands of sasaeng fans, and the chance of a private interaction with their idol is extremely low. However, after these public appearances, opportunities will start to present itself as fans disperse and the idols' managers take a break. According to the South Korean web portal Nate, even celebrities have to pull over at one on a five hour, long distance route. At this point the sasaeng fans will then be able to bombard their favourite K-Pop idols with gifts and exchange a few words with them, with almost no restrictions and no competition from other sasaeng fans.
According to The Seattle Times, during a K-pop concert at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., "teens swarm against the stage", holding their cellphone cameras "aloft, ready to fire", and describes how in nervous anticipation, a fan girl "squeals, unleashing a torrent of Oh, my Gods! and a wave of synchronized bouncing" and shouting "You're so freaky sexy!" The atmosphere is feverish, and heavy with hormones. The fans – mostly teenagers, almost entirely girls – brandish camera phones with furious focus, and modulate the intensity of their shrieks as each boy-singer appears onstage.
Recognition
Due to the massive amount of support from their fans, K-Pop idols are beginning to receive considerable media attention. For example, the BBC wrote that "Korean stars are beating a path to Japan, America and Europe".
In the past few years, K-pop has shown a creeping global influence ever since Korean films, soap operas and “K-Pop” music idols took Asia by storm over the past decade. But the hallyu – or “Korean wave” as the phenomenon is known in Asia – is now spreading to continental Europe, the United States and the United Kingdom. Social media platforms like YouTube and Twitter have become crucial tools for K-Pop idols to reach audiences in the West.
Usage of the termThe English language state-controlled newspaper China Daily calls Super Junior and Miss A "South Korean pop idols" and the Borneo Post calls Bigbang a "K-pop idol".
The Wall Street Journal also acknowledges Danny Im as a "former K-pop idol". and The Seattle Times published an article with the headline "American teenager with illness meets K-pop idols".
Source: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korean_idol
Reposted by: barabere on fivegrades.blogspot.com
So, do you have any favorite idol? You may share it here, fivers. See you on the next post at All in One Blog!
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