What do K-pop idols gain and lose when leaving their companies?
When idols step out of their comfort zones, they face significant career challenges, but it's also an opportunity for them to grow personally and professionally.
In Kpop, there’s a growing trend of idols leaving the company but not the group. SNSD led the way, with three members departing in 2017. This year, we’ve seen a surge in idols leaving their companies, including members of BLACKPINK, BIGBANG, EXO, Super Junior, and recently, Taemin and Onew from SHINee.
While leaving their companies after years together can propel an idol’s career to new heights, it can also dim their original shine.
In the past, idols leaving their companies, like Jessica from SNSD and Junsu, Jaejoong, and Yoochun from DBSK, faced covert pressure and were effectively banned from the domestic market.
Jessica shifted her focus to business activities in China, while JYJ found success in Japan before making a recent comeback on Korean TV.
Even if idols leave quietly, their careers often don’t shine as brightly as when they had company support. These examples make many Kpop idols hesitant; they either continue with their “slave contracts” or accept leaving, knowing they might sacrifice part of their career.
Benefits of leaving
But now, the landscape is changing. The wave of idols leaving their companies and still succeeding is gradually making “leaving the company but not the group” a new norm in Kpop.
SNSD paved the way for this trend. In 2017, the public was surprised when Tiffany, Sooyoung, and Seohyun left SM Entertainment after 10 years. While many thought this marked the end for the “nation’s girl group”, SNSD returned with a full lineup of 8 members, released a 15th-anniversary album, and even performed at the SM Town Concert in 2022.
SNSD’s success set a precedent for many other groups with members from different companies to make comebacks together, like 2PM, KARA, and EXID. This inspired many other idols to confidently leave their companies.
Three Super Junior members left the company in 2023, but many fans have even forgotten about this departure because they still see Donghae, Eunhyuk, and Kyuhyun performing together as usual.
The only difference now is that their solo activities are no longer labeled with SM Entertainment. The EXO members who didn’t renew with SM for individual activities m, Chen, Baekhyun, Xiumin, and D.O., are also planning to reunite with other members under SM for EXO’s fan meeting in April.
Thus, it’s clear that as long as idols can manage their schedules and maintain good terms with their former companies, they can still be active in their groups while developing themselves in other fields.
Jennie appeared on TV shows more actively, something she couldn’t do under YG. Jisoo landed new acting roles, while Lisa expanded her activities in the Western market.
All BLACKPINK members showcased new aspects of themselves that they hadn’t shown at YG, indicating that their individual careers are heading in the right direction after leaving.
Challenges
However, leaving isn’t without its challenges.
Recently, Xports News pointed out that BLACKPINK has been continuously facing overcrowding and safety issues at airports after pursuing individual activities under their own labels.
The Korean media is concerned that the members lack risk management skills when operating independently, notably in situations where they don’t hire enough bodyguards for safety.
However, some argue that the main issue lies with fans lacking awareness rather than the number of bodyguards.
Moreover, although not explicitly stated, everyone understands that the entertainment industry in Korea is cutthroat. Entertainment resources, capital, excellent producers, skilled stylists, professional managers, industry relationships… mostly concentrate in large entertainment companies.
When they’re still under these companies, idols receive resource investment and maximum support teams to quickly become famous and generate huge profits.
Their main job is training and performing, without worrying about company management or music production.
On their own, idols must not only focus on their singing and dancing skills but also handle company management, operational capital, schedule planning, and connecting with producers and broadcasters independently. Entertainment resources and outstanding figures are also harder to access because they’re often “commissioned” by large companies.
This forces idols to make much more effort independently if they want to maintain their status and continue developing their careers.
Jay Park and Zico are typically successful cases of setting up their own management. They not only established impressive solo careers but also successfully operated separate companies and trained successors.
Source: K14
