Meet the woman behind girl group IVE who dared to redefine the production process

For Seo Hyun-joo, who took part in every detail of the casting, concept-setting and promotion steps for IVE, the question always lingered, “Is this really right?” The process was not easy and Seo still has a lot of doubts, but has kept going forward.

Seo Hyun-joo, 50, vice president of Starship Entertainment [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]

Seo Hyun-joo, the 50-year-old vice president of Starship Entertainment, "dared" to doubt IVE, the 4th-generation girl group that is leading the K-pop scene.

IVE debuted in 2021 with “Eleven” and has been making headlines since. The band has been praised for its catchy music and top-notch choreography, becoming one of the most notable acts in the K-pop industry.

But for Seo, who took part in every detail of the casting, concept-setting and promotion steps for IVE, the question always lingered, “Is this really right?”

“The process was not easy and I still have a lot of doubts,” said Seo.

But after a successful start, Seo is already set on making another smash-hit to follow the widely-popular “After Like.”

Standing at the forefront of the K-pop production frontier, Seo recently sat down for an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, to talk more about the production process.

The following are edited excerpts of that interview.

Girl group IVE [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]

Q. How was the casting process for the members of IVE? A. During the final audition process, Starship Entertainment examines whether the people auditioning have a unique charm along with basic understanding and skills needed for the industry. IVE is a case where each member has so many different characteristics and charms and has enough qualities to come together in harmony. First of all, we saw in member Yujin a potential to firmly support the group by being what we call an “all-rounder,” in that she has an overall holistic set of skills and talents. In the case of Gaeul, she has been working hard ever since she was a trainee, and Rei, who is Japanese, has great command of Korean and a lovely singing voice. I was attracted to Wonyoung’s sparkling star-quality character and her constant effort to maintain that quality, and Liz’s attractive clear tone and Yiseo’s seriousness and passion were what caught our eyes.

Is it true that you hand-picked Ahn Yu-jin yourself? Yujin applied to Starship through an online audition. When we saw that audition video, we thought to ourselves, “We have to bring her in no matter what.” I had a business trip planned coincidentally near her hometown — Daejeon — so we contacted her parents and immediately signed a contract. Every day as I see her growing up to be such a beautiful young lady, it reminds me that we made a great choice in casting her.

What did you think immediately after seeing the reaction after IVE debuted? I was really grateful to our members who put faith in me and followed my production direction well, and to all the executives and employees at Starship who accompanied me through the process. When a debut song hits the streaming services and music platforms, the pressure for the next album inevitably increases, but I wanted to show listeners and fans a newer and better image rather than just quickly putting out the next song.

What’s IVE's world view? (A world view in K-pop is the central message or point of view that a group wants to rely through their music and performances.) In the production stage, we focused more on setting up and showing the identities of the group members rather than setting a world view. IVE’s identity can be defined as “confident girls who have become independent on the basis of self-love,” and through this, we sought to represent the current younger generation. I think this identity was why some people have called the IVE world view something close to narcissism.

IVE member Ahn Yu-jin during an episode of ″Voyage,″ a JTBC reality show. [JTBC]

Is there a part of the production process that best reflects a female producer’s point of view? Rather than a woman’s point of view, as a producer, I thought a lot about what kind of message to convey through IVE and through the group’s stage performances and songs. After discussing various aspects with our team at Starship, I thought that IVE’s self-reliant attitude and confidence coupled with high self-esteem match well with the direction IVE wants to go in the future.

Is “Love Dive” a song for IVE’s fan club DIVE? There is a line in the lyrics of the song that goes, “If you want, dare to jump in.” There is a very bold and challenging nuance to that phrase, and I thought that the fans and the general public who listen to IVE’s songs would find it interesting, so we decided on the title “Love Dive.” In the song's composition, there is a variation on the dance break, and the title could have been “Loved IVE,” which is also reminiscent of the fandom name DIVE. We intentionally made these variations possible through the production process.

How do you view the relationship between IVE and DIVE? The relationship between K-pop idols and fandoms centers on the “reason for existence” for each other. The part that can best show this is IVE’s greeting slogan, “DIVE into IVE.” Because the name of the fandom is within the slogan itself, it connects IVE and DIVE in every moment and strengthens the bond.

How do you balance between targeting the fandom and the larger public? IVE’s debut song was able to garner a lot of popularity and became a hit, which we are very thankful for. I saw the process of listeners becoming a fan after first liking IVE’s songs. In the end, the positive effect of well-made content seems to give a K-pop group the opportunity to catch two birds — general popularity and a loyal fandom — with one stone.

There is a fierce 4th generation girl group war going on. What are IVE’s strengths? First, we plan to show listeners and fans alike how we will stick to our values but will always be changing. From IVE’s debut song “Eleven” to “Love Dive” and “After Like,” all of the group’s songs have different colors, and it is difficult to predict what will come next for IVE. We hope this will increase the curiosity of listeners and the general public about IVE. But the core values that the group holds will not be shaken. Secondly, I think that the attitude that IVE members have are the group’s strengths. IVE’s unique characteristic is its high self-esteem attitude that all of the members have, which is filled with self-confidence not only on the outside but also on the inside.

Girl group IVE [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]

What are the characteristics of 4th-generation girl groups, in your opinion? The central characteristic of the new generation of girl groups seems to be diversity. Girl groups have become diverse in all aspects, including songs, lyrics, performances, visuals and content. Additionally, each group pursues its own uniqueness and embodies it wonderfully.

What is the most important thing in K-pop production? I focus on three points when working on production: setting a new standard on what is ‘classic,’ an approach that fits the current trend, and communication with fans. In other words, we try to pursue new but authentic values that idol fandoms have come to prize, but also look at new media and old media at the same time in order to approach trends in terms of promotion and marketing. Above all, fan opinions and monitoring reactions have become a central axis of all decision-making at Starship Entertainment.

Has your view of girl groups changed compared to the past? Rather than a change in the status of girl groups, I definitely sense that the status of K-pop itself has changed. At the time group Sistar was being produced, I thought that the domestic market was everything, but now my perspective has broadened to include the global market. Thanks to fans who love K-pop from all over the world, proposals for collaboration that we could not even imagine before are flooding in. Now I feel that I am standing on a stage that I previously only dreamt of. I am very grateful for this.

Did you feel there were limits to the overseas reach that groups could achieve? Nowadays, from the moment of debut, we set up plans for domestic and overseas goals and strive to implement them. However, during production in the Sistar days, I thought that we had to achieve success domestically first before turning to foreign markets. But now, with the onset of social media and platforms including YouTube, the K-pop market has grown above time and space constraints. We are thinking now about how to target both the domestic and foreign markets together.

Girl group IVE [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]

Will active overseas expansion help girl groups extend their shelf lives? As the overall market has grown so much, the growth phrase has become longer and fandoms have expanded. Because of this, I think that the activity cycles of idol groups, including girl groups, will become longer.

How do you choose ‘good’ songs? There are songs that make us at Starship feel like “This is it” when we first listen to it. I don’t really fixate on a certain style or genre, but I look for songs that I think would be good to listen to for a long time. Songs are selected by matching them to the artists’ growth roadmaps. After selecting a song, it proceeds in the form of “working backward” — a product planning methodology first coined at Amazon. First, we imagine what would happen if we reach number one on music charts with that particular song, then reflect on why this song would become popular and apply it to our production process. Lyrics, choreography, timeliness, trends and every other factor are verified. We write a press release for a song reaching number one then identify the success factors that way.

Are more female producers coming to forefront these days? Many women have been active in the K-pop industry for a long time. Recently, it seems that we have started to receive more attention. The people I worked with when I first started out in this industry have become producers, and I am very happy to be with them at this moment in time in the industry. Women producers are leading K-pop and the K-culture by producing representative artists of our time. And producers are rewarded not only for the achievements of their artists but also for well-trained staff members who they work with at entertainment companies. Behind the glitz and success of the artist themselves, I always think about how to help out people who will step on the accelerator for the industry to grow even more in the future.

There is a perception that girl groups produced from a woman’s point of view will be different. How is it in reality? Of course, there are differences in the perspective given by gender and those points of view. However, each producer has a different perspective individually and we can’t be defined by whether we are men or women. The most important point of view from my perspective is understanding of the artists themselves. Speaking from my own experiences, I try to have a lot of different conversations with the working staff, too. I tend to try to communicate more comfortably about how the staff think, breathe and collaborate with the artists. It seems that a more delicate production environment is being created in the industry. It is often said that the market grows when consumers are sensitive, but fans who love K-pop have higher standards than in any other industry. As we are exposed to a more global environment, various points of concern or potential for issues that we have not thought of before are arising. That’s why a delicate and communicative working environment and constant conversation between those working on groups is helpful.

There has been talk of Starship Entertainment being listed on the Korean stock market. Would IVE’s achievements advance such ambitions? Starship has been growing ever since its establishment. Going public is also part of that process. I think we were able to keep moving forward because we have talented and solid artists such as K.Will, Monsta X, WJSN, Jeong Se-woon, Cravity, and of course IVE. I think these efforts are advancing a positive future for the company.

BY CHUN YOUNG-SUN, BAE JUNG-WON, HWANG JEE-YOUNG, PARK GUN [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]