All the Dark And Creepy Things That Go On Behind The Scenes Of The K-pop Industry

One of the biggest, if not the biggest K-pop labels, HYBE, has found itself suffering a series of scandals that have worked to expose the corrupt inner shell to its shiny exterior. You may know HYBE as the label that brought BTS – arguably the biggest K-pop group right now – to the world.

In recent times, controversies and scandals have ripped it open for the rest of the world to see the systemic exploitation, financial manipulation, and legal conflicts going on beneath the surface. Overworking K-pop stars and having inhuman expectations of them is also one of the big things that the company needs to address internally.

How HYBE Corporation Employs Financial Manipulation To Keep Stars At the Top of the Charts

HYBE is behind so many of our favorite K-pop groups – BTS, TXT, Seventeen, New Jeans – either upcoming or established, so it’s troubling that the company at the forefront of K-pop has less than ethical practices.

In recent years, HYBE has hugely contributed to the steady rise of K-pop, curating its infectious beats, synchronized choreography and idols.

However, earlier this year, HYBE faced significant controversies when it was exposed that founder Kim Beom-soo was involved in a stock price manipulation scandal.

The founder of Kakao group, which currently owns a majority stake in HYBE, reportedly joined forces with private equity to inflate the stock of SM Entertainment, one of K-pop’s Big Four agencies.

This was done to ensure that rival BigHit Entertainment, one of K-pop’s four major players, don’t take a significant chunk of their market.

Since the fallout, the big four – HYBE, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment – has collectively nearly ₩8 trillion (approximately $5 billion). This then seemingly opened the floodgates to further revelations.

One of them is the manipulation of charts to get their stars in peak position all the time. One of the biggest eyebrow-raisers is the unprecedented success of BTS.

This has led to accusations of sajaegi”—the practice of artificially inflating chart numbers – with fans now demanding transparency from HYBE and BigHit Music, which manages BTS directly.

K-pop Stars Are Offered “Slave Contracts” That Manipulate and Restrict Their Freedom

With South Korea’s social climate not doing a lot to catch up with modern times – Seunghan quit RIIZE after backlash over a picture where he is smoking with an unidentified woman – K-pop stars are constantly put under pressure to be perfect.

This includes controlling their behaviors, confiscating their phones, restricting their diets and even their movements. Bobby, a member of iKON, previously revealed he had to seek permission from his label just to visit a convenience store.

These artists are also made to sign what is now described as “slave contracts” that lock young trainees into long-term agreements.

Be sure to catch up on everything happening in the world of K-pop right now. Come back here often for all K-pop spoilers, news, and updates.

Editorial credit: Naumova Ekaterina / Shutterstock.com