All the times the two leaders of K-pop giants, Park Jin Young and Bang Shi Hyuk share the same frame
The friendship of two of the most powerful figures of Korea’s entertainment industry, Park Jin Young and Bang Shi Hyuk, goes way back.
The founders of JYP and HYBE, Park Jin Young and Bang Shi Hyuk, are not only “fathers” of generations of famous K-pop idols but also talented producers with a strong passion for music. They both have a collection of smash hits with their names in the credits. Did you know that the two are also close friends?
The recent broadcast of KBS 2TV’s Entertainment Company Live revealed the ranking of The richest Korean celebrities from copyright royalties. In which, Bang Shi Hyuk takes 1st place with 740 songs, followed by Park Jin Young in 2nd place with 639 songs.
Bang Shi Hyuk graduated from Seoul National University with a major in Aesthetics. Although he did not study music, after receiving the bronze prize of the 6th Yoo Jae Ha Music Contest, he started his career in composing in 1997. “Hitman” Bang has produced and written numerous famous songs such as Rain‘s Bad Guy, GOD‘s Sky Blue Balloon, Baek JI Young‘s Like Being Shot by a Bullet or 2AM‘s Never Let You Go.
As for Park Jin Young, he is famous for writing many massive hits for JYP girl groups Wonder Girls, Miss A, TWICE, ITZY, and NiziU, such as Tell Me, So Hot, Signal, What Is Love?, Not Shy, Mafia In The Morning,..
Seeing Bang Shi Hyuk and Park Jin Young top this ranking together, fans have the opportunity to recall memories of their longtime friendship and how they “parted ways”.
In a press conference in 2019, Park Jin Young talked about his relationship with Bang Shi Hyuk. In the 1990s, Park Jin Young and Bang Shi Hyuk met and often worked together as a songwriting duo. JYP Entertainment was later established with 3 members including CEO Park Jin Young, producer and composer Bang Shi Hyuk and an accountant. However, in 2005, Bang Shi Hyuk left JYP and founded his own Big Hit Entertainment.
On Radio Star, Park Jin Young shared the story about one of his disputes with Bang Shi Hyuk. During their time working together to achieve their common goal of spreading K-pop to the world, they lived in the same house in America and went through a hard time because they could not sell any songs. The tension caused the two to often fight over minor things.
And the reason for their conflicts was because of socks. Park Jin Young did not have a clean lifestyle, and had a habit of keeping his dirty socks inside out. The person in charge of doing the laundry, Bang Shi Hyuk, could not deal with this happening over and over again so he got very angry and ran away from home.
Through so many hardships, they both now have their own successful empires, constantly having their names ranked next to each other on important charts. Park Jin Young, who was once rejected by SM Entertainment, became one of the leaders of Big 3, owns a huge fortune and has trained many popular groups.
Producer Bang Shi Hyuk is now the founding chairman of Big Hit Entertainment and HYBE Corporation. He was recognized by Forbes Asia as the only billionaire in the Korean entertainment industry. He is the one who created the global boy band BTS, who has an important influence on the Korean economy.
It can be seen that, although they are no longer in the same boat, both have fulfilled their dream of bringing K-pop to the world. And the stories of their friendship back in the day never stop being funny.
