Duo explores K-pop world in new Tving documentary

The rise of K-pop has changed how workers in the industry are viewed as well as the value placed on their labor. Top K-pop producers make billions of won in incentives, and top idols, as they are referred to in Korea, fly on chartered planes ...

Music critic Cha Woo-jin, left, and Jung Hyung-jin, CEO of Patchworks [JOONGANG ILBO]

The rise of K-pop has changed how workers in the industry are viewed as well as the value placed on their labor. Top K-pop producers make billions of won in incentives, and top idols, as they are referred to in Korea, fly on chartered planes for their international tours.

But what hasn’t changed is the status of K-pop fans, with deokjil — Korean slang to describe the act of fans enthusiastically collecting, watching, and immersing themselves in things related to their favorite idols — still remaining undervalued.

The latest K-pop documentary series on local streaming service Tving, titled “K-Pop Generation,” is an effort by two music enthusiasts — Jung Hyung-jin, CEO of Patchworks Production and Cha Woo-jin, pop music critic — to change that perception.

Totaling eight episodes, the original documentary explores a different topic in each episode: the evolution of the genre, the future of the industry, misconceptions about K-Pop, deokjil, and more.

The first episode that kicks off the series focuses on deokjil. It does a deep dive into the history of fandoms in Korea and the effort it took to even earn the term fandom. Until very recently, K-pop fans were called derogatory terms such as ppasuni — with a connotation that is close to “groupie” alongside its dictionary definition of young girls — and looked down upon.

Tving's "K-pop Generation" gives honest depiction of the current K-pop industry. [TVING]

With two experts — Jung, who is the former head of music at CJ ENM, and Cha, who has been covering pop music for more than 20 years — “K-Pop Generation” was acclaimed as a realistic, down-to-earth narrative that shone a spotlight on fans in particular, not just as consumers but a third dynamic lending its power to the whole industry.

Reviews say “K-Pop Generation” differentiates itself from other K-pop documentaries by accurately depicting the K-pop industry as it is currently. Rather than making inflammatory accusations that highlight the industry's problems or overselling K-pop’s global success, it tells a straightforward story of what really goes on behind the scenes.

“K-Pop Generation” was also notable for its stellar lineup of artists. From first-generation idols such as BoA and Taeyang [of BigBang] to fourth-generation staples like LeSserafim, Stray Kids, IVE and NCT, more than 53 artists from 22 different idol groups made appearances. They revealed their own concerns as K-pop artists and expressed their love for their fans.

Representatives from agencies, entertainment companies, makeup artists, choreographers, and others in the industry who rarely get media exposure appeared in large numbers to voice their opinions as well.

“It’s a business of winning over hearts,” the two experts said in describing the industry. "The foundation of the K-pop industry is winning the hearts of the fans who love the artists.”

The two sat down for an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, in their workshop in eastern Seoul last month to discuss their motivation for making a documentary series.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. Is there a reason you covered deokjil in the first episode? A. Cha:We wanted to break away from how traditional media treats K-pop fandoms. Fans are the ones who make or break the industry, and not just because they generate a lot of money for companies. It is true that they do spend a lot of money, but I felt that their love for the artists was ignored by society.

Jung: K-pop is a business of minds. I thought there was a need for content that showed how much fans love artists and groups, and how much they want to protect them and be like them — because that’s the essence of the industry. When I was working in television, I worked on idol debut programs and other music-related content, and I realized fans' roles are more important than in the past. Now, I see myself as a ‘creator’ who makes secondary content showcasing the artists’ charm and unique characteristics to their fans. I wanted to kick off the documentary by showing that the fans are the ones holding up the industry. How are K-pop fandoms reacting? Cha:For fans, their biggest interest lies in how much screen time their favorite artists get. Unfortunately, we had to cut out a lot of interview clips because each episode was put together based on a theme or keyword. The focus wasn’t a specific artist or group, but an overlying concept, such as deokjil. Because many artists featured in the trailers actually had little screen time, fans were frustrated: “Why is my favorite singer only getting a few minutes on the show?” We’re trying to figure out how we can release these edited clips as well.

What made you want to make a K-pop documentary? Jung:I first met Woo-jin at a book club, and was learning from him as a student actually. After that, we met up from time to time, and whilst watching a K-pop documentary, we both expressed the same disappointment at how the industry was being portrayed in the media. We realized we wanted to create content that represented K-pop better.

Cha:I once worked as an adviser for a different K-pop documentary, but there was only so much I could do when filming was already underway and all the directives were set in stone. I tried to provide my perspective, which was not reflected. I saw that Jung had a similar perspective, so we decided to make our own documentary.

You said the production took a long time. Why? Jung:The first time we put our heads together and started planning was in May 2021. We met at a cafe in Sangsu-dong [western Seoul] exactly two years ago. At that time, Covid-19 was in full swing, and who knew that it would last that long? Assuming production would be over fairly soon, I even went to cover BTS’ concert in Los Angeles that winter. But as production took longer, our budget was exhausted and many artists were also canceling their schedules due to Covid-19. Fortunately, some production companies were considerate enough to help us. A2Z Entertainment and Tving understood and funded our production — we couldn’t have finished the documentary without them.

Singer Hwasa being interviewed in "K-pop Generation" [TVING]

Were there any other challenges during the production process? Cha: If there are a hundred people on screen, there are more than a hundred behind the camera. Everyone — PDs, writers, editors, camera operators — had a tough time. There was a scene where we needed an idol’s eungwonbong, or a custom lightstick for each K-pop group, that was discontinued. Im Hong-jae, our producer, had to personally comb through second-hand stores and finally met a fan who was selling one.

Jung: I felt that “K-Pop Generation” was a comprehensive art form in itself. From content planning to creating set designs, there was no detail that went unnoticed. We thought it would be boring for all eight episodes to have the same tone, so we had two different production companies, Mushroom Company, and Film Faktura, working with us to create a different ambiance for each part. In the end, I think it became a really unique omnibus.

A lot of K-pop artists were featured in the documentary. Do you have any casting secrets you can share? Jung: For artists, they want to know if their appearance on a show is going to help them or not. Fortunately, I think many of them realized that our content was new. Agencies seemed uninterested until they saw our questionnaire. I think they also thought, “This is very different from the interviews our artists have done before,” and wanted to get involved. It actually wasn’t as hard to cast the idols as it was to coordinate with their schedule. K-Pop idols have an extremely packed schedule. We realized that the position of a “K-pop artist” has also undergone an extensive evolution.

I think K-pop idols have really become world stars now. Even when I contacted artists who don’t seem very active, they’re preparing for a world tour. And world tour dates are finalized at least a year beforehand, so after they go overseas for months at a time, we’re only allowed a day or two to shoot. Even if artists wanted to schedule an interview with us, we would have to wait a month just to meet them and another six months to actually film.

For K-Pop artists in particular, their public image matters the most. Were they not hesitant to give their honest opinion? Jung:They all had very strong opinions and were not afraid to voice them, which I think is a distinct characteristic of this generation.

Cha: There definitely are things that they want to talk about but realistically cannot. It’s not that they cannot discuss it, it’s because it’s ambiguous and confusing. Even as a world star, they all have complicated, mixed feelings which they want to discuss but are unsure if they should. I hope that our interview gave them an opportunity to voice their concerns.

Do K-pop agencies pre-determine what idols can say to the media? Jung:I think it's because they think of K-Pop artists as puppets who do what the agency tells them to do.

Cha: That's absolutely not true. There seems to be a preconceived misconception about K-pop idols that agencies can control everything.

That is another stereotype I wanted to break with this documentary. If they’re unsure of what to say, or if they’re not too eloquent, they stutter and stumble, but say everything they wish to say nonetheless. Nobody listens to artist interviews with that kind of suspicion in any other industry; I wish people would do the same for K-pop artists.

Many underrepresented workers in the K-pop industry made appearances in the documentary. Did you intentionally turn the spotlight on them as well?Cha:K-pop is an industry where the creators around the artists are just as important. It’s not just about the artist or agency that produces the songs. Some are officially affiliated with big companies, but most are independent makeup artists, choreographers, and composers. Even as the music videos they’ve contributed to get over 100 million views on YouTube, they still joke about how they’re just ‘outsourced’ by agencies. Because their voices aren’t heard often enough, they can only talk about it in a self-deprecating tone. I wanted to capture their stories for everyone to hear.

Jung:During one of our interviews, Hwasa from girl group Mamamoo said, "K-pop is made up of people who are born to love what they do.” It’s very hard for a creator to work without passion and pride in their profession, and that spirit is what keeps K-pop alive. I hope our documentary highlights the significance of independent creators behind the scenes.

What was the most memorable thing you heard during the interviews? Cha: I was impressed when Lee Sung-soo, former CEO of SM Entertainment, said, “K-pop is not music, it’s content.” If you view K-pop from a purely musical perspective, a lot of things seem unreasonable or odd. However, if you look at it from a content-business perspective, it makes sense. Because Lee’s been in the industry for so long, he was able to condense it down into a simple sentence.

Scenes from Tving's "K-pop Generation" [TVING]

Jung:In episode five, we cover girl groups. At the end of the episode, I asked if they would like to send a message to their fellow girl group idols; “Let’s all work happily and healthily for a long long time,” is what they all said.

Agencies and fandoms try to create drama and competition among girl groups, but they all have a sense of solidarity and respect among themselves. And it was really nice to hear it from the artists themselves.

Another artist that particularly stood out to me was Hoshi from boy band Seventeen. With the band’s world tour and activities for BSS, a Seventeen sub-unit, he was really busy. But he would come in late at night to practice performance pieces for our documentary, then head out at dawn for TV appearances. It’s impossible for an artist to do that without being passionate about the content. That’s why it was more memorable and we are so grateful.

Were there any stories you had to cut out but wanted to include? Cha: It’s hard to pinpoint one specific story, but we had to cut out a lot of anecdotes from artist and creator interviews in order not to get sidetracked. It’s a shame because they really give the viewer an idea of what it’s like to be a part of the industry.

Jung: I couldn’t include much of this in the documentary, but I learned a lot from interviews with artists who are past their prime. The depth and extent of thought they put into what they do was much deeper compared to other people in their age group. I’m still figuring out how to release those clips. There was also an episode on the dark side of K-pop, such as the pseudo-romance marketing, excessive appearance control, and the trainee system. Why did you choose to deal with these issues head-on? Cha:When the topic of the dark side of K-pop is brought up, everyone is so eager to find out. It’s not like other industries don’t have the same problems, but why is it that everyone is interested in K-pop's problems?

I think a lot of the reports and documentaries made in the past that discuss the dark side of K-pop are over-exaggerated. I’ve met the directors of those shows, and they said they couldn’t help but dramatize it. I personally hate that. Over the past two decades, there have been a lot of issues raised regarding K-pop, especially from outside the industry, and we, the people in the industry, have been trying to work through them. I think it’s important to show things as they are.

Jung: We didn’t feel like it was our place to offer a direct solution, but we could show the reality — how the industry is changing, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and the people involved. It’s not a solution but more calling for attention. We tried to cover as much as we could, even if it is not enough.

There are also concerns about how sustainable the K-pop industry is in its current state. What are your opinions? Jung:It depends on your perspective, but I think K-pop is still a subculture. It's time to move beyond that stage. For example, music like Latin pop in the U.S. has become more of a co-culture than a subculture. It's recognized as its own independent field of music. I don't know if K-Pop can go that far in its current state.

K-pop has come a long way. It used to be led by only the top one or two artists, but nowadays, it seems like there is a huge wave of popular K-pop artists. After systemizing the industry, the quantitative growth has been insane. Concerts and performances are doing well, and it is expected that record and album sales will increase once we can formally stabilize the Chinese marke t.

However, there was an issue not long ago when Thai K-pop fans visited the Korea Consumer Agency to complain that ticket prices were too expensive. For K-pop to be viable in the long run, it needs to focus more on quality and less on quantity and profit. But, the good news is, K-pop has done a great job of solving these problems so far.

Cha: For K-pop to become bigger in the future, we need to recognize that it's going to continue evolving. Currently, K-pop is a section of music, not a genre. If you were to define its musical style, you could. But the underlying notion of K-pop is that it has to include Korean elements, especially racial elements. Questions like “Can a K-pop group be made up of only Americans?” or “Shouldn’t the group look Asian?” keep coming up. These strange cultural and racial elements keep dogging K-pop, but for it to establish itself as its own genre, it must be widely understood that anyone can make K-pop music. Big K-pop agencies are already experimenting. SM Entertainment is planning a K-pop group made up of locals in the U.S., and so is HYBE. HYBE already has a group that is active in Japan, producing and creating content there. We'll see more results from these experiments next year. Depending on the public reaction and how successful these groups are, we can discuss K-pop's future. Do you have any plans to follow up with more K-pop-related content? Jung: We currently don't have anything planned. I think it's too early to talk about a second season yet. There needs to be a change in the cultural phenomenon that is K-pop for us to document it. Needless to say, so much happened even while we were shooting the first season, and I would love to create another documentary when there is enough content. I also like the idea of branding “K-Pop Generation” and creating related content.

Cha: K-pop is a microcosm of Korean society. Everything is really fast. Changes happen so fast that if you try to keep up with trends, you are already too late. Personally, I’m still trying to figure out what kind of content I want to create in the future.

BY PARK KUN [kim.juha@joongang.co.kr]