[Hyungyoung Ju Column] Preventing the 'Goose Seppuku Suicide Case' of Fifty Fifty

Hur Young-ju's Creator World]
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The success of 'FIFTY FIFTY,' which climbed the Billboard charts faster than any other group in history and stayed on the Hot 100 for over 20 weeks, eloquently demonstrates that K-Pop can become a 'goose that lays golden eggs.' However, the subsequent conflict between the agency and the idols is disheartening and even causes concern.

Reactions to FIFTY FIFTY, who filed a lawsuit against their agency after just six months of debut due to issues with settlement, violations of health management, and lack of support, even going as far as selling their watches and using their 90-year-old mother's savings, were sharp and critical. As they touched upon the sentiment that Koreans dislike the most – ‘betrayal’ – some even predicted that a comeback would be difficult. It's worrisome that the golden egg-laying goose might become a victim of 'self-inflicted harm,' akin to the ‘Geese Self-Decapitation Incident’.

From my perspective, having been an idol trainee and singer for seven years and having started and run my own agency after leaving one, I can understand both sides. Looking back at my time as an artist, I rarely saw idols who were grateful to their companies, supporting them and happily engaging in activities. They were mostly full of complaints. It was commonplace for them to gather and complain about the company.

I've seen instances where the mindset was, 'If I succeed, it's my doing; if I fail, it's the company's fault.' This made me think I should never get into the entertainment business. This isn't meant to criticize anyone, but rather to emphasize that it's not unusual or strange to feel ‘dissatisfied.’ In fact, if you think about it, it's not just the entertainment industry. Check out Blind (an anonymous corporate review platform). Can you find any employees who feel a sense of responsibility and believe they're working together to grow the company?

Furthermore, from the perspective of the FIFTY FIFTY members, who achieved meteoric success at a young age, it's not entirely surprising that they might have more complaints than gratitude towards their company. Even when I was under a talent agency, I found myself resenting the CEO whenever the group wasn't doing well.

However, as time passed and I took on the role of CEO myself, I started to understand and sympathize with the company's perspective. Companies aren't charities. They need to make a profit to survive, and it's impossible to satisfy everyone's needs.

During my active years, we didn't release many albums. At the time, the company faced a sudden crisis when the 'T-ara bullying incident' occurred, and employees went months without pay. While I was with the agency, I just thought, 'Why aren't they promoting our team?' But after becoming CEO, I realized that pushing our team at a time when the company's survival was at stake would have been unreasonable.

Even while working in the MCN industry, which involves creators' agencies, these issues kept recurring. Most creators initially join companies with good intentions but end up becoming dissatisfied and leave to join other MCNs. Again, it made me think that nurturing people is truly difficult.

In short, artists find it hard to understand the CEO's and the company's perspective, and because of this, they tend to interpret situations from a self-centered viewpoint, easily developing ‘dissatisfaction’ whether the company is doing well or poorly. The company, on the other hand, is in a position where it ultimately bears all the ‘responsibility.’ Therefore, it needs to manage these situations well and move forward. While it's unfortunate that the public is disappointed by the artists not appreciating their parents' sacrifices, expecting such mature children is a fantasy shared by all parents.

However, the real area of concern in this FIFTY FIFTY controversy lies elsewhere. There are suspicions that 'external forces' were involved in manipulating and influencing the members, rather than the members making independent decisions and choices. This is known as 'tampering.'

Tampering is a term often used in the sports industry, and simply put, it means 'poaching players (artists).' FIFTY FIFTY's agency, ATTRAKT, outsourced production to The Givers, and claims that The Givers approached FIFTY FIFTY and urged them to breach their contract. The Givers denies these claims, so the dispute will likely be settled in court.

However, it's not beneficial for the development of K-Pop to allow 'external forces' to interfere in the relationship between agencies and their artists. I've experienced external forces twice during my business career.

Once, I was swayed by an external force, and another time, an external force approached one of our business partners and tried to take them away. When I was swayed, I was briefly tempted by the external force's promises to 'expand the business further,' but thankfully, my existing partner held on tight and we maintained our relationship. Though the relationship was preserved, I lost a company and money in the process, incurring a significant sacrifice.

Since then, I've learned my lesson and formed a strong bond with my existing partner, making all decisions and communicating only between the two of us. In another business venture, with a new partner, an external force approached them. Having experienced this myself, I tried to understand and communicate with them, but the external force blocked communication entirely, leading to a devastating loss of the relationship. Through these two experiences with external forces, I've come to realize that anyone can encounter such situations in life.

This might seem like a random example, but I had this thought while watching the popular SBS Plus reality show, 'Single's Inferno Season 16.' Gwang-soo and Ok-soon agreed to choose each other, but Gwang-soo changes his mind after listening to outsiders who told him to 'be wary' and that 'Ok-soon seems to have feelings for other contestants.' Upon fact-checking, it turned out that Ok-soon had always expressed her feelings for Gwang-soo, and all of it was a misunderstanding. Gwang-soo confronted the other contestants who had spread these rumors, but it was too late.

Ok-soon's heart was gone, and Gwang-soo became known as a 'flighty person' and a fool overnight. While Gwang-soo was the one who made the final decision, so he bears the responsibility, think about it. What if you had a boyfriend you were happily dating, and two or three people around you warned you to be cautious, told you not to trust him too much – would you not be swayed?

It's not easy to stay grounded and avoid being swayed by external forces. Even adults are easily influenced by various opinions and temptations. It takes a lot of experience, trial and error, and overcoming hardships to develop the ability to stay grounded, keep promises, and avoid being swayed by others' words or outside forces. It's a skill that develops over time, and it's unlikely that the FIFTY FIFTY members, who have just started out in society, would possess it. In this situation, their guardians should have remained steadfast, but unfortunately, they did not. That's why it's so heartbreaking.

So, how can we solve this problem? We could strengthen laws to prevent tampering and explore various solutions, but ultimately, I believe the solution lies in the relationship between the artists and the agency. Therefore, based on this incident as a cautionary tale, I'd like to make a suggestion to the entertainment industry. Let's make communication skills and character education mandatory for both artists and agencies. Building a strong foundation requires character and communication skills. Let's nurture artists not just as talented dancers and singers but as individuals with a strong character and capable of handling major roles. Let's create an advanced model of idols. Only then can the goose continue to lay golden eggs.

There are too many cases where idols finish their contracts and enter society as blank slates, knowing nothing. Seeing my seniors who had only been trained in dancing and singing, I felt fear, and that's why I studied hard. To lead the K-POP culture, agencies should not treat entertainers as disposable tools after 7 years of training in dancing and singing. They must take responsibility and nurture them into individuals with good character and good public image, making them into human beings who can exert a positive influence as public figures. Though there was a huge sacrifice, let's use this case as a textbook to educate future K-POP talents.

Humans grow through mistakes and by taking responsibility for them. FIFTY FIFTY, at a young age, has learned a hard lesson that anyone can experience.

※ The author of this article is the original writer, and this is a translation of an article fromWoman Economy Newspaper.