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thedaytheworldburned · 1 year

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Ghost Girls and Superpowers: BTS, HYBE, and the Past, Present and Future of TOMORROW X TOGETHER

My uni semester is over, and y’all know what this means.

Unhinged essays thousands of words long rather than actually contributing to TXT’s theory landscape.

Um... anyway.

This is a follow-up from this post about BTS’s military enlistment and my hopes for TXT. Because some people say that HYBE is only BTS, and some people say that it’s more than BTS, but both arguments have truth to them, in my opinion.

In this post;

The history of BigHit and HYBE

The growth of BTS - how and why?

TXT’s debut and the growth of BTS’s baby brothers

The hope of 2020 and the failures that followed it

The management and growth of BTS after the English Trilogy

The management of HYBE’s other groups

BTS’s enlistment and what it means - an analysis

The future of TXT, Le Sserafim, and HYBE’s other groups

Conclusion

Sources

A brief and educational analysis of my sources

So sit back and get your eyeballs ready to read. It’s gonna be a long one. But PLEASE I’M BEGGING YOU, feel free to skip the sections you find boring and just read the sections you’re interested in. Not everyone is interested in the management and advertising of the kpop industry the same way I am *crying noises*.

HYBE have ramped up efforts in recent years to reduce the portion of their profit that comes from BTS. But their efforts have only been partially successful - a reduction from an insane 98% to a still massive 60%. So will this be enough to keep the company going after the loss of the group in 2023? Well, I think not, and that’s exactly why I made the original post and this essay. So here is how and why HYBE has failed in the past few years.

Sorry @twentythirteez. It doesn’t contain as much TXT as you maybe hoped it would...

But on the bright side, I hit a new word record! This one is 10k words.

Oh dear, what am I doing to myself?

Full insanity analysis below the line.

Curses, Scandals, and HipHop: The Origins and History of BigHit and HYBE

BigHit was founded by Bang PD in 2005, and initially managed groups under or with other companies, such as 2AM. They debuted their first girl group, GLAM in 2012, who are known for being the origins of ‘BigHit’s Girl Group Curse’ and one of the biggest and earliest scandals in the kpop industry, which resulted in a member being jailed. For further information on this scandal, and the girl group curse, see Ploopy’s video on the subject.

The disbandment of GLAM, and the loss of other artists like 2AM and 8Eight was a big issue, and the company had very little money and even less influence in the industry - only a few talented trainees and producers.

Hitman Bang had one plan left - BTS. He had signed the first member, our hero RM, in 2010, and the group had debuted in 2013 with a hiphop image influenced by RM and Suga’s time as underground rappers, and Jhope’s dance past. BTS had mediocre popularity as a group outside of the Big 3, and the company was so poor that there are rumours that the members and staff had to use their own cars and clothes as MV props. I have not been able to confirm these rumours, nor identify which MVs are of concern - it seems that ‘War of Hormone’, ‘DOPE’ and ‘NO’ are considered the most likely.

But BigHit and Hitman Bang marketed BTS well, and BTS worked very hard, resulting in, after considerable struggle, the growth of the group and the collection of a VERY dedicated and loyal fandom.

BTS became worldwide superstars, which left BigHit, and our pal Hitman Bang, with some very big concerns. BTS made up about 98% of BigHit’s revenue in 2018, which resulted in a ticking time bomb - would BigHit be able to diversify so that the company didn’t collapse when BTS were called for their mandatory military service in 2020? At this point there was no guarantee that BTS would be exempt, and BigHit had to plan for the worst-case scenario.

And so, the great expansion began. Hitman Bang worked on expanding BTS’s storyline, which had been a huge pull for their fandom. This was done through acquiring Source Music, and their girl group Gfriend, whose storyline had been planned in connection to BTS, and the wonderously planned TOMORROW X TOGETHER, whose concept, from the first 3 release albums even down to the debut date and relationships with BTS members, had been planned in advance. They additionally debuted ENHYPEN under Source Music and acquired Pledis, with NU’EST, SEVENTEEN, and fromis9. These efforts lowered BTS’s contributions slightly - to around 87% of total revenue in 2020.

But that still wasn’t enough. And so begun the creation of HYBE - acquiring companies, growing their groups, and gaining resources and property became very key and VERY OBVIOUS focuses of the company. This included efforts in Japan and America, and, of course, the eternal struggle to make BTS bigger continued, especially with the release of their three English singles, which were, again, very obviously aimed at (naïve) hopes of a Grammy win.

The company rebranded as ‘HYBE’ in 2021 and continued its growth, along with attempts to break the Girl Group Curse with Le Sserafim and NewJeans. These efforts... well, I personally consider them a failure, although certainly less so than previous groups like GLAM and Gfriend.

And where are we now? BTS have just announced their military service and hiatus, yet still account for 60-65% of HYBE’s revenue. HYBE stands in the balance, and the question remains - have they grown enough to survive after the loss of BTS? Or have they failed? Well I think so, but let’s look at how and why.

Burn the Stage: The Growth of BTS

Now, let’s take a closer look at the superstars themselves: BTS.

They debuted in 2013 with a hiphop concept and mediocre success at the beginning of the 3rd generation of kpop. The members, as fitting of the time, had far less training, and less skills, than modern group members. But they had passion and talent, and their hard work paid off, as they became a large group in the 2015 period and only continued to grow. By 2017 they had cemented themselves in the global, and especially American, market, and were winning awards which had only ever gone to American artists. By 2019, they were on top of the world, and in 2020 and 2021 they got bigger than any artist has really ever been... except for the Beatles. But even that is arguable.

So how did they get there, and why was it BTS that became this big? Why not TWICE, or EXO, or even a group like SEVENTEEN? All of these groups are big, but nowhere near the same level. And why? Well, let’s just say that BTS had the right message, in the right place, at the right time and with the right management. And that combined to do the impossible. So, in no particular order, here are some contributing factors;

Their storyline and album structure - BTS’s albums are arranged in a very careful way. They show the progression the members went through - school, youth, that odd in-between period, fear, self-acceptance and love, then self-reflection and legacy. This album structure is easy to follow and many of their fans followed this progression with them over almost 10 years. Additionally, their storyline, which was one of the first major storylines in kpop and which is complex and with a lot of depth, was a huge factor to them gaining fans. People were interested in the storyline and where it would go - and more importantly, the story and message of pain, love and growth that it told. After TXT and Gfriend’s storylines became connected to the BTS one, it brought in even more fans, although it did peter out a lot after ‘FAKE LOVE.’

Their message - BTS have always sent a message of being confident in yourself and healing after suffering, but their message became especially amplified with YNWA and the Love Yourself series, which followed a progression of fear and hate to self-love, and which was accompanied by global speeches and charity fundraisers. As an anonymous person on the internet said; ‘BTS’s have so much power that they can get millions of self-loathing teens to scream that they love themselves.’ And yeah, this is a big thing. Many people say that BTS saved them, and it isn’t hard to see why they have made such a big impact on so many people. Their music is a source of comfort and confidence for many, and they go through the five stages of grief with the listener, while also guiding them out the other side. It’s a powerful message that few groups had at the time and that even fewer executed well, so it’s no wonder it made BTS stand above the rest and gain fans outside of their typical music market - many older fans cite this message as a key aspect of them becoming an ARMY. Additionally, the exploration of psychology, and the concept of things like Persona, Shadow, Self, and Ego, brings a lot of interest to the group - it’s just another thing that adds to their uniqueness.

Their management and marketing - From 2013-2020, BTS’s marketing was top tier. I’m saying gold-star, 100/10 levels of epic. BigHit always marketed them as a group portraying the feelings of the youth, which was supported by BTS taking part in the production and writing of their own music. As they became more popular, they continued on this journey of growth which captured people’s hearts and minds. And, the whole time, BigHit was not only marketing them worldwide, but was also ensuring the members built the most intense parasocial relationship with their fans to ever exist. Bon voyage, In the SOOP, vLives and a million other snippets of content gave a very curated, but outwardly organic, look into their lives. This made the fans feel like we personally knew the members, and, of course, made them more likely to stream. When you know more about someone, you generally care more about them and their future, and you’re more likely to move towards making that come true. And in this case, ARMY felt (and still feel) as if they have a personal relationship with the members, and thus will work till the ends of the world to help them succeed. It’s one of the reasons they were able to grow so big - because much of the fanbase is so dedicated, they’ll do anything possible to make BTS succeed - thus, they win almost every voting or streaming-based award they’ve ever been nominated for. I’ll also note that this parasocial relationship, and the emphasis the group and company have put on marketing it, is something that we see with all of the most popular celebrities to have existed. One Direction, The Beatles, Justin Beiber and more - they’ve all had very intense paarsocial relationships that have been furthered by marketing some succeeded fans who got to meet and be friends with their stars, so that we can all have hope too, of one day marrying Jungkook. Wow. That said though, BTS’s parasocial relationship is much more dramatic and goes far further than all of the other artists mentioned, and possibly more than any other artist ever.

Their dance skills and hard work + talent - There’s no denying that BTS are both very talented, and great dancers. But it’s not just that. They work hard to improve, and we see them improve. Their routines are mesmerizing and synchronized, at a time when most groups didn’t have either of these things, and they were likely a key part in the dance-heavy focus that 4th gen developed. They showed that one thing you definitely need to succeed in the industry is an eye-catching, or at least trendy, dance.

Their variety and variety shows - They showed their variety through appearances and interviews, and through their content itself (the albums and MVs and their different concepts). The beginning of Run BTS, their reality show (not to be confused with ‘Run’ by BTS or ‘Run BTS’ by BTS) in 2015 was the literal beginning of an era. The show showed the charms of the individual members and their chemistry as a group, and gained them much popularity as memes and clips circulated. They seemed happy to embarrass themselves, and this brought them down to earth and was endearing to a lot of people. And, of course, the show was just generally very entertaining. After this, we saw a lot of other groups creating their own reality shows. These shows had always been a great way to showcase the personalities and charms of the groups and members, but BigHit and BTS created their own, which did all of these things to an even greater extent. And thus, the memes were born, BTS feeling like your best buddies rather than celebrities was born, and everyone had a great time. I guess.

Content content content - BTS put out, and always have put out, absurd quantities of content, and even more so in the past than now. Concerts and world tours, Run BTS, other shows like in the SOOP and Bon Voyage, constant vLives and weverse chats, social media posts, albums and on and on and on it goes. Now, this is something that lots of kpop groups do, but BTS, as always, took it to another level. The extreme quantities of content they put out was their primary tool to creating these parasocial relationships - you could literally watch BTS 24 hours a day if you wanted to, every facet of their lives that has ever been seen by another human being. And this amount of content, this personal and to this extent, just isn’t something that a lot of other kpop artists, or any other artists or celebrities in general, do.

Their personality and uniqueness - These were best shown off through Run BTS. Sure, it’s inaccurate to reduce the members to one personality trait each, but for most of their careers, and as they were growing, this was what defined them as a group, individuals, and brand. Smart, mature or maybe not, tired tsundere, ball of sunshine, libra, weird, and strong baby. This is an essential aspect of popular boy bands and has been since their inception, but, interestingly, it isn’t a HUGE aspect of the kpop industry. Just in the same way that kpop was made from the best aspects of Western pop and j-idol music to be more successful, it seems that BTS and HYBE combined the best aspects of the k-idol industry and Western pop (as always, noting that I use ‘Western’ and ‘The West’ VERY loosely) to become more successful. These personality traits are something you see in a group like One Direction, and less so in groups like TXT and ATEEZ, for instance. And, speaking of One Direction:

The disbandment of One Direction - One Direction were well known for having one of the most loyal and dedicated fandoms ever. The fandom was one of the reasons I never became a fan of them, despite liking some of their message and music. And honestly, I’m glad I wasn’t a fan, because the fallout was insane. One Direction went on ‘infinite hiatus’ and then... disbanded? I guess. And their fandom, millions and millions of mostly teen girls who had latched onto a group with a positive message to help them cope with the harsh world and the way it treats women, were turned out onto the street, as such. So they needed to find something else that they could enjoy, and which would tell them that it’s okay to be a girl and enjoy things. Side note: the One Direction fandom certainly had a large number of fans who were not teenage girls, and it is inaccurate and unhelpful to stereotype the fandom as only made up of teenage girls. It had many older fans who were primarily there for the message and community provided, and also a large queer population. And, gee, this group of people sounds very familiar, doesn’t it? Mostly teenage girls, but with a large portion of older people and queer people? Holy moly, if that isn’t BTS’s fandom?! A lot of One Direction’s fandom felt abandoned and were on the verge of trauma, and they gravitated towards the closest equivalent - BTS. And when I say this, keep in mind that this only ended up being a small portion of BTS’s fandom. Everything about them brought people of all sorts in, but the disbandment/hiatus of One Direction was definitely a big influx.

And these and many other factors combined to make BTS as successful as they are today. It wasn’t necessarily that the rest of the industry did less, or worse, it was just that BTS did more, and what they did, they did very well. There are more talented and more skilled groups, but BTS had the right strategies at the right times, and a little bit of luck, to pull them through.

Cats and Time Travel: The Debut of TOMORROW X TOGETHER

TXT were originally conceived around 2017, during the height of BTS’s storyline. And it’s a good thing that Hitman Bang had plans, because BTS’s success (and portion of the company’s revenue) only grew from that point onwards. Later, in 2018, the group’s concept and lineup were solidified, and a Harry Potter concept fitting debut date of 04/03/2019 (9 3/4) was set. We were introduced to the five members and their charms, and many ARMY were curious to see where this new boy group, the first after BTS, would go.

And they debuted, with the absolute masterpiece that is ‘CROWN.’ And thus followed the memes:

Trust ARMY to make a meme like this. TXT got their first music show win after a week, a feat which had taken their brother group over 2 years, a show of the immense support they had from ARMY and non-ARMY alike. Their fandom grew, and so did they. A big draw of TXT was their incredibly well-produced songs and MVs, and their top-tier dance skills, pulling off tough teamwork-based choreographies from debut. They also had the clear beginnings of a complex storyline through the ‘Nap of a Star’ MV, and there were hints that their storyline would tie in with BTS’s, through the ideas of time travel, superpowers, and self-acceptance and love.

TXT’s next two albums, THE DREAM CHAPTER: MAGIC and ETERNITY showcased their versatility in executing many concepts, and maintained the many established layers of their concept; magic and time travel, Harry Potter, friendship, BTS, and, even more BTS - self-love and becoming a voice of the youth. This really cemented the cohesion of TXT and BTS as individual groups, and also of the connected nature of their storyline. Since BigHit had also acquired Source Music around this time, their girl group, Gfriend, was also involved in the storyline, and heavily rumoured to be the ghost girl seen in TXT’s MVs.

In 2020, BigHit was going strong. They had survived the initial hit of the pandemic, and their groups, both part of the storyline and not, were thriving. They had bought more companies in preparation for BTS’s impending military service in December, and debuted their new vampire-themed boy group, ENHYPEN, which would begin a second storyline universe separate from the BTS one, with a teased werewolf group (now known as the Japanese &TEAM).

BTS was on top of the world, TXT and Gfriend were thriving, and BigHit was as prepared as they could be for December 4th and Jin’s 28th birthday.

The BTS Law and American Awards: 2020 and the Grammys

Jin approached 28, and BTS only grew stronger, an ARMY with them. Everyone was in anticipation - would the South Korean government break their own unofficial policies and give BTS a military exemption? Or would BTS become part of the literal ARMY? The fans were literally ready to single-handedly unify Korea, if need be.

A few days before Jin’s birthday, the South Korean government passed a law which became known as ‘The BTS Law’ - allowing certain celebrities, including idols, who had achieved certain milestones of spreading Korean culture worldwide, to postpone their military service for 2 years. All of the members of BTS qualified, as they had been given awards of cultural merit previously. It was disappointing for ARMY who hoped for a full exemption, but it gave everyone, and especially BigHit, some hope. They now had two whole years to build their portfolio as a company, so that their name didn’t remain synonymous with BTS, and, more importantly, to show the government that the best option was to give BTS a full exemption.

Going into 2021, BigHit were on top of the world, literally, and some fans who didn’t quite understand the importance of influence in the industry even said that BigHit was the single biggest and best company.

BTS had released their first all-English song ‘Dynamite’ in August of 2020, as a gift to the fans, but also, not so subtly, an attempt to push further into the American market. BTS had achieved every award under the sun available to them, but there was one thing that would take them from being, in the eyes of the American public, the obsession of silly teenage girls, to a serious pop group with a crucial message relevant to their generation.

BTS needed a Grammy.

And thus began the ‘English Trilogy’ - started with ‘Dynamite,’ then followed by the questionable ‘Butter’ and the even more questionable ‘Permission to Dance.’ All in English, and all in the place of the Korean album that so many fans desperately wanted.

When ‘Dynamite’ failed to achieve it’s Grammy win, despite a landmark nomination and record-breaking success, instead of giving up, like many fans had, BTS and BigHit continued onwards. There are so many layers and concerns to the issue, so let’s consider a few perspectives.

The Grammys and their prejudice - It’s a pretty well-known fact that the Grammys discriminate primarily against three categories of music/artists - non-white artists, non-English music, and pop music in general. BTS fits all of these categories - thus, their chances of winning were instantly low, no matter how good or popular their song would be. The Grammys are an old institution, run by the kind of old white men who hate all of the things listed above. As sad and undeserved as it was, there was no way even a song as groundbreaking as ‘Dynamite’ would win. And if ‘Dynamite’ had no chance, ‘Butter’ and ‘Permission to Dance’ may as well have not been made, for all the chance in the world they had.

Does Dynamite even deserve to win? - Well, in my opinion, no. And this is an opinion shared by many ARMY, kpop fans, and music fans in general. And it’s not because ‘Dynamite’ is a bad song. It’s because it is one of BTS’s songs least deserving of a Grammy. A common contender I saw, which absolutely deserves to win every award ever created, was ‘Black Swan.’ It isn’t my style of music, but the artistry, effort, passion and emotion that went into the creation of ‘Black Swan’ makes it a piece of modern art. BTS’s work and message would be far better represented with a Grammy for ‘Black Swan’ than ‘Dynamite.’ But, of course, ‘Black Swan’ was in Korean, and not a title track, so not even a contender to be nominated. ‘Dynamite’ was important and started trends left and right - and, of course, it was exactly what the world needed at that time. But it just isn’t the best, or even a good, representation of BTS and their work.

Trying to be Western - This was an argument that was put against BTS after the release of so many English songs. They had previously said that they wouldn’t make any English music, and fans found this weird. But I think that the issue is less BTS, and more what the general public of the world, but especially America (the biggest music industry in the world) views as ‘legitimate music’. No non-English song has been commonly played on radios in the US (and other English-speaking countries like Australia and England) other than when it was a meme. Think ‘Gangnam Style’ or ‘Despacito.’ Did anyone care about those songs other than that they were both memes and the former had an older fat guy presumably making advances towards a hot young woman? And don’t we find making fun of fat people funny, huh, America? Because fat people aren’t real people with feelings and creativity, they’re just stupid and worthless, right, America? Hmm... So we must think from the perspective of BTS and BigHit. They want a Grammy, because they want to be seen as legitimate and hard-working artists worldwide, and because Suga said he wants one, and if Suga wants something we’d better get it for him. But they know the Grammys are racist and prejudiced, and so they only have one option - try to fit in with the most popular songs - the most boring, white, English songs to ever be created. Because no one cares about someone like Taylor Swift’s hard work or the depth of her lyricism - it’s the boring-ass catchy songs which will be successful. And thus, they need to make these songs, with American producers, in the hopes of getting a Grammy.

Does BTS even need a Grammy? And why so many trashy attempts to win? - Well, to be successful - no, they don’t need one. But we all knew this. The fact of the matter is that the South Korean government heavily considers international achievements - such as winning an Olympic medal or a World Cup - when assessing people for military exemption. The Grammy may just have been another award for many of the artists who were nominated and won, but by failing to win the Gramm, BTS were very possibly sentenced to military service. If they had won, it’s incredibly likely that they would have been granted an exemption. The pop landscape moves quickly, and the Grammy for BTS was likely a matter of life or death for their group. Sure, it was something they wanted, but it could have been the difference between a long-lasting legacy and the rapid death of the group. And that is likely why they and BigHit pushed so hard to win it.

So, in conclusion, the Grammys suck, and their attempts to use BTS to gain viewers in later years were both very obvious and only cemented their fate as a dying and increasingly less-respected award show.

Fandoms and World (Read: American) Tours: The Fallout of the English Trilogy

So what’s the situation with BigHit/HYBE in 2021? BTS had been given a new lease on life, and a chance to prove to the government why they should be given a military exemption. They had failed to get their Grammy, so it seemed the only other option was to get as popular, and as rich, as possible.

So what did HYBE, who had been managing BTS next to perfectly for years, do? The same company that gave their artists a near scandal-free life for 8 years, who helped them develop their talents to become commonly regarded as the next biggest thing since the Beatles, and the face of the kpop industry?

Well, they went on... a world tour???

Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with a world tour. It built hype and allowed the group to have interviews and appear on American stages and shows. But the government gave them a military postponement so that they could continue to grow, and the fact of the matter is that a world tour doesn’t grow the group that much. A world tour, with expensive concert seats and hype that only really comes from already being interested in a group, doesn’t really appeal to those outside of the fandom. So they didn’t really gain a lot of new fans - or, at least, not as many as they gained through new albums and the like.

BTS still grew, but, to me and to many others, they didn’t make the most of these few years. We felt that they would best use the two years of borrowed time they had to release many new songs and, as I seem to keep saying like a broken record, continue to grow exponentially. But they didn’t. They went over a year without releasing a Korean album, and when PROOF came, it was VERY underwhelming. An anthology album?!?!?!? Sure, I understand it’s importance in their journey as a group, and it’s meaning as a reflection of their past and future. But the album only had 3 new songs, and the most interesting of the 3 CDs - the 3rd one, wasn’t even available on Spotify. And even then, it was only interesting because it contained some new demo tracks, not even new songs. PROOF was expensive and lacking in new content, and its importance could only be seen by the group, the company, and a few ARMY. If BTS had been releasing several new albums over these two years, PROOF would have been a fitting send-off to the members just before their military service. But as it stood, their first Korean album in almost two years, it was disappointing. And I think this, and BTS and HYBE’s seeming obsession with becoming top American artists rather than Korean, turned off a lot of people.

Of course, BTS are not trying to be American, and they never have tried. But in appealing to the largest music market in the world, it seems that they have forgotten a little about the rest of the world.

And perhaps BTS’s lack of growth through only appealing to pre-existing members of their fandom would be fine for HYBE, if the other artists under the company grew.

PunkRock and Angels: HYBE’s forgotten groups

With the comeback of Brave Girls in 2021 and the debut of groups like Aespa and Ive, the post-BTS Law period became dominated by girl groups. And yet, boy groups still remain arguably more popular, and with far fewer barriers to success. At the start of this era, HYPE had two other major groups under their belt: TXT, and ENHYPEN. Gfriend had been mysteriously lost to the HYBE girl group curse, and SEVENTEEN, as a self-produced group, needed little management to stay successful (that said, HYBE still manages them badly and doesn’t use their talents and skills to their fullest extents).

So what did they do? They faded ENHYPEN’s iconic vampire concept and music style to a generic ‘bad boy against the world’ concept, and the group’s subsequent releases were barely discussed against the backdrop of girl groups with badass or generally sophisticated concepts. ENHYPEN have had two comebacks in the past year, with ‘Future Perfect’ and ‘Blessed-Cursed,’ both of which were forgettable in the sea of other comebacks.

A similar thing can be said for TXT. TXT’s success skyrocketed from the moment of their debut, initially propelled by ARMY and later by those who had discovered the group for their own merits. This growth continued through THE CHAOS CHAPTER, which heralded in their new punk rock concept to go with the darker segment of the storyline they had just entered. This was an important part of their concept - switching mood to reflect the current portion of their non-linear storyline we would explore. But after two albums with the same concept in a row, some fans, including and especially myself, became worried that they would never switch from this concept, no matter what the storyline dictated. We hung on in anticipation and waited.

And waited, and waited and waited. One of TXT’s strengths had been relatively regular comebacks with hints leading into the next album, but we waited nine long months for Minsode 2, during which time TXT seemed to do... nothing? They had a concert in October of 2021, and their Weverse concert for New Years and their fansign for their third anniversary in March, but these were all paid contents that a relatively small portion of the fandom had access to. There was no continuation to the storyline and well-produced music that so many people had been attracted to.

I wrote this 7000 word monstrosity of an article about why TXT are in the best position in kpop in January of 2022. And at the time, it was very true and I genuinely believed it. But, although I leave the essay up as it is still important and has good points, I no longer believe that TXT are in the best place in kpop. One of the main factors riding on this essay was that TXT would continue to produce content on a regular or semi-regular basis, and especially to continue their storyline in another song that was on top of the industry, like Blue Hour or LOVESONG. But when Minisode 2 came, it was too little too late, and, although it continued the storyline, the title track ‘Good Boy Gone Bad’ was underwhelming as a song, a choreography, and, most importantly, a title track. The choreo was satisfying and portrayed the lyrics of the song well, but lacked the teamwork and unique formations we expected from a TXT choreography. The major complaint with the song was that it was kind of cringey, especially the repetitive, droning ‘good boy gone bad’ in the chorus - was there nothing else you could say here? You only want a one-phrase chorus for your first title track after nine months? For real?

‘Good Boy Gone Bad’ became more of a meme than anything else, which is perfectly fine in theory - songs that are memes are played often and get exposure, which in turn often brings at least some fans to a group. But meme songs are best when the song itself is memey. ‘Good Boy Gone Bad’, a genuine exploration of the aftereffects of an abusive and codependent relationship and the emotional, physical, and mental symptoms it leaves, should not have been capable of being memed in any way. And yet, the ridiculous poor choices that riddled the chorus made it one. It was well-known for all the wrong reasons. And while it was well known that a group called TXT had a funny song called ‘Good Boy Gone Bad,’ the comeback itself barely made a splash in the wider industry. Looking back, the only reason I cared about it was because I was a MOA anyway, and because TXT had a world tour coming up. If I hadn’t been a MOA, I couldn’t have cared less about this song, even with its interesting additions to the storyline and meaningful lyrics.

So let’s elaborate on why TXT are no longer in the best position in the industry;

Long hiatus - The pop industry moves quickly, and the kpop industry even more so. You need to stay on top of things. There’s a reason groups like Everglow and Blackpink are becoming less popular - few releases means fewer new fans and old fans become bored. You don’t grow as a group and so fans are less emotionally invested. Yes, kpop is much more than just music, but without new music you aren’t really a kpop group, and fans WILL drift away.

Focus on fans only - As I said in the BTS section, world tours are great. They brings fans closer to the group and they bring the group and company lots of money. But they only appeal to current fans. They don’t bring in (many) new fans and they don’t grow the group. Additionally, Minisode 2 was an album that didn’t appeal to the current mainstream trends, and instead focused on the specific subset of fans who had been following the storyline and would go to the effort of reading and understanding the lyrics.

Bad title track - As I said above, not many people liked ‘Good Boy Gone Bad.’ The concept was interesting, the music good and the lyrics great, except for the chorus which was the biggest letdown I’ve seen in a TXT title track since ‘LOSER=LOVER.’ TXT title tracks are going downhill and I don’t want to see where they go next.

Storyline muddling - At their debut, TXT had a pretty solid and well-realised storyline - they were children who had grown up on the Magic Island that had featured in both BTS and Gfriend’s storyline, and thus had powers, but also curses. They mirrored BTS’s storyline (think V fighting his Dad and Beomgyu fighting his Dad), and they had themes of self-love, belonging, youth, and friendship, just like their older brothers. And then LOVESONG and LOSER=LOVER came around, and we got hints of the old storyline, but also something new about some boys falling in love and becoming part of a codependent relationship. But this was different, unlike what we were used to, and a little confusing, honestly. And then the HYBE webtoon was released, which brought TXT and their storyline into the real world? Which was something that seemed quite incompatible with what they had previously been. So now they have three storylines, or more, or less maybe, and they’re all a bit muddled up and, like ENHYPEN, HYBE doesn’t seem to know what they want to do with TXT and their storyline. There have been changes and recons and the confusion of it all has destroyed one of the best things TXT had going for them - a compelling, cohesive, and complex storyline and concept. I even made a post talking about how TXT’s storyline seems to have DID.

America tour or world tour? - Why would you have a world tour, which already appeals to very few people (only fans who can afford the concert) and then only go to America, a small portion of your fans which are a small portion of the population to begin with? It’s a bad choice and the management of TXT’s world tour has been criticised extensively, from the very small locations to Kai getting a nosebleed.

HYBE’s obsession with BTS - TXT were once marketed as their own group with their own talents, but, after the BTS Law, HYBE seemed to, bizarrely considering they were going to go to the military, only focus on BTS. The marketing for TXT and ENHYPEN faded into oblivion, and, other than a few new groups like Le Sserafim, it seemed that BTS had become synonymouis with HYBE once again, and that TXT and ENHYPEN were comparatively ignored.

Concerns for another hiatus - It’s been four months since TXT released Minisode 2, and I am genuinely concerned that we are going to see another 3/4-yr hiatus. Of course, they are on tour and shouldn’t be overworked, but, as I keep saying, tours don’t bring in new fans, and their progress as a group stagnates as long as they are on tour without releasing a new album. There have been no hints of the next era of TXT, and, while it’s possible a teaser will drop tomorrow, especially after such an uncharacteristic hiatus, I am concerned that it will happen again.

And nothing to carry them - TXT may not be releasing albums, but they are still releasing contents - vLives, TO DO, and other Youtube shorts and behind-the-scenes. But this content isn’t of the type that will bring in new fans. No-one watches vLives unless they’re a fan of the group, and the same with behind the scenes contents on Youtube. TO DO could work - after all, a lot of people got into BTS and SEVENTEEN because of their variety shows, right? SEVENTEEN even have an entire second fandom dedicated to their variety show. But the fact of the matter is that SEVENTEEN and BTS both have fun group dynamics which keep the audience entertained, whether they know the group or not. And this is how they bring in new fans. TXT have a fun group dynamic, but not nearly to the extent that the above two groups do, and TO DO just isn’t that fun out of context, or as a non-fan. It isn’t even that fun to many fans like myself. So when they aren’t putting out albums, TXT have nothing to maintain a steady stream of people becoming new fans. And this is a problem in a fast-paced industry.

It didn’t help ENHYPEN and TXT’s cases that the remnants of HYBE’s attentions that weren’t on BTS were on their new girl groups - post-IZ*ONE Le Sserafim and the oddly-named New Jeans. Both of which have had run-ins with the HYBE girl group curse, but which, as 4th gen becomes the generation of girl groups, have had more mainstream popularity and acknowledgement than their older brother groups. Both groups have also been, in my opinion, badly managed (Le Sserafim more than the latter), but have still managed to make a splash and succeed. While I see general kpop fans talking about and checking out their songs, the same doesn’t happen for TXT and ENHYPEN.

HYBE’s other groups have been forgotten (literally, in the case of NU’EST), but they may need to become more noticed, after a recent event which made headlines across the world.

The Army vs the ARMY: The Military Enlistment of BTS

After the BTS Law in 2020, HYBE had been in many talks with the South Korean government in hopes of winning exemption for BTS. But their hopes were in vain, and no further exemption or postponement had been agreed upon by October 2022. So, on the 17th October, after their free concert in Busan, HYBE released a statement saying that, after his solo promotions in October, Jin, the eldest member of BTS, who would turn 30 in December, would apply to cancel his military extension, and would enlist when he receives his enlistment notice. This sent ARMY, and the world, into a mini panic, with tears, laughter and articles upon articles and tweets upon tweets being shed.

There were many interesting details about this. The announcement was made after BTS’s free concert, which, may legitimately be the last concert BTS ever holds. Jin said this was so he could have a happy concert with the fans, rather than seeing them all sad. Additionally, it sugests that HYBE’s discussions with the Korean government had either fallen through or were foreseen to be falling through. This likely caused the company and members to take events into their own hands.

There are other implications and common points of discussion which I think could be important to note/discuss/be aware of;

Arguments for and against BTS’s military service - The biggest argument against BTS’s enlistment is the huge impact they have on the South Korean economy - they reportedly contribute about 0.5-0.7% of the GDP. This is yes, a very tiny portion. But most of the largest contributors are huge companies like Samsung. The fact that a single group can contribute this much to the economy - enough to actually show up as a notable percentage - shows how insane their monetary power is. However, the greatest argument for them enlisting was that military enlistment is so engrained in Korean culture (on both sides of the DMZ), that the group would likely be shunned by a good portion of the South Korean population if they either didn’t enlist or got an exemption. This was seen in the early 2000s with singer Steve Yoo, who, when he tried to avoid his military service by becoming an American citizen, was exiled from Korea. His reputation was so stained by this that he went from being one of the most liked singers to one of the most hated, and many in the general public still believe he should never be allowed back in the country as long as he lives, despite him getting down on his hands and knees in an official plea to the government. BTS getting an exemption would not have been nearly as bad for their reputation, but still likely would have reduced their favour and popularity in Korea.

Jin’s character - Jin has stated many times that he sees military service as his duty as a Korean citizen, and that he would go as soon as he was called. He has never expressed a wish to not serve, and ARMY are divided between those who wanted to let him go and do what he sees as his duty, vs those who want BTS to have an exemption, no matter the wishes of the members. Jin has established himself as a generally responsible and mature person, and somewhat traditional in his beliefs in duty to serve his country. HYBE’s announcement specifying that JIn himself applied to cancel his extension was honestly a very good idea for BTS’s image in the public. These actions are directly in line with the character that Jin has created, and so maintains his integrity as a celebrity. This additionally proves that BTS are not trying to ‘become American’ and head away from ‘their Korean roots,’ as they prioritise their country and duty to their country over the wishes of the international fans and music industry. This statement was the absolute best way that BTS and HYBE could maintain their reptutation. That said though, HYBE hasn’t really had a good reputation lately. At least BTS still do...

What was even the point of the extension? - My legitimate belief is that the government gave the group the extension to then see whether it was worth giving them an exemption. As discussed above, HYBE, through their trashy management of the group in 2021 and 22, showed the government that it was best for everyone to make BTS do their service, and to save face among the Korean public.

But what about President Moon? - When BTS were given an extension on their date to enlist in the military in 2020, President Moon (Moon Jae-in) was the president of South Korea. President Moon has often expressed his love for BTS, including presenting them with Awards of Cultural Merit - the exact awards which allowed them to delay their service. But President Moon was replaced as President in May 2022 by the conservative candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, who was president at the time HYBE was having talks about exemption with the government. I don’t think it is a big step to assume that BTS would have been much likely to receive an exemption if President Moon, or the democratic party, were still in power at that time. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they would have received an exemption either way, but with President Moon and the democratic party, it is entirely possible that BTS would have had a lower-grade exemption, such as a reduction in the term they need to serve, as the democratic party, backed by who would be the ex-President Moon, would have emphasised the cultural and economic merit of BTS, rather than the military service emphasised by the conservative party. It likely wouldn’t have made a big difference, but is still interesting to consider.

Who said ‘f u’ to who - the government, or BTS? - When discussing the enlistment with non-kpop friends, one said something I had never considered - ‘so BTS said ‘f u’ to the Korean government?’ And my initial reaction to that was ‘wtf definitely not, that would assume that BTS has any power over the government’. I have since discussed the possibility with some kpop friends, and have reached a more well-rounded perspective. Both BTS and the government said ‘f u’ to each other - but the government certainly had the upper hand in this situation. Let’s go step-by-step. If we assume BTS said ‘f u’ to the government, it is because Jin and the members enlisted on their own terms, rather than those of the government, and essentially sent the message that they wouldn’t be holding onto the possibility of exemption, because they don’t need it to succeed and have a legacy! But if we look at the government saying ‘f u’ to BTS, it’s because they’re the party in power and they have the ability to give or revoke the hope of military service as they see fit, taking control of the phenomenon that is BTS and dangling military service over their heads like a carrot on a stick. Giving BTS an uncertain future is the ‘f u,’ showing that they are still the ones in charge. But both of these are partially the case. The government did hold military enlistment like a carrot on a stick, but more for HYBE, who desperately chased it and the financial security BTS gave them. The government said ‘f u’ to HYBE, and BTS kind of said ‘f u’ to both of them. But BTS’s ‘f u’ is a very small, pathetic one, because an ‘f u’ assumes that the ‘f uing’ party have made a decision that makes the other party lose out, or puts them in an inconvenient situation. And BTS, a relatively small part of Korean culture and economy, just don’t have the power to ‘f u’ the government. The government wins if BTS enlists and they win if BTS doesn’t enlist. BTS picked the option that was slightly less convenient for the government, which is where their tiny ‘f u’ comes from, but the government maintains power, which is where their massive one comes from. They both were annoying each other, but pretending that BTS has any cultural or economic power over the government is just wrong.

The future of BTS - will they survive the military? - I don’t think so. As I said earlier, the pop industry moves incredibly quickly, and the kpop industry even more so. Yeah, BTS will only be gone for 2-3 years, but in that time the third gen will likely have become completely irrelevant. Very few groups that have been interrupted by military service have been able to continue, and none of them have large mainstream popularity. As close as it gets are probably SHINee and EXO, both of which continue and are loved and iconic, but which have both seriously faded in popularity since their service. ARMY are used to ridiculous quantities of content from BTS, and this three-year gap won’t sustain a fandom so used to content content and more content. I think BTS will keep their promise of coming back in 2025, but that their popularity will be drastically reduced. They just won’t be the current hot thing anymore, in an industry that thrives off the next current hot thing. In their statement about BTS’s service, HYBE referenced their latest title track ‘Yet To Come,’ and how it is a mark of how the best of BTS is still yet to come. But this is wistful thinking on HYBE’s part. In my opinion, the best of BTS had already passed by the time the song came out - they were still getting more popular and were still the most popular group on the planet, sure, but they weren’t experiencing the exponential growth of 2017-2019. The lull in albums just didn’t do much for them, and with the approaching knowledge of military service, I feel like a lot of ARMY started looking for other groups in preparation. Especially those who had been Directioners didn’t want to be thrust into the world without a main group again. Things just aren’t looking up for BTS. And it has nothing to do with their immense talents and skills, but instead as they are a product of the industry they are a part of.

Implications for HYBE - Well, BTS may be a much smaller percentage of HYBE’s revenue than they used to be, but 65% is still a lot. Le Sserafim and NewJeans have been pretty successful, and with the girl group popularity of fourth gen I think HYBE will push them more. As much as I hope that this means TXT and ENHYPEN get more funding and are pushed more as groups, I just don’t think this is going to happen. HYBE will continue to expand rather than develop what they already have. And this is pretty sad, but it’s what they’ve been doing since BTS became popular. And because of this, HYBE has become more of a corporation and less of ‘artists and music for healing.’ They’re losing a large portion of their income partially because they weren’t managing them well. This is either the end of HYBE as a company people respect, or the start of their turnaround, where they manage groups fairly and the groups go up in popularity as one, not in competition to each other.

The enlistment of BTS will have a big effect on the music industry and especially kpop - that’s for sure. But the effect that it will have on both HYBE and BTS themselves depends on a multitude of factors both in and outside of their control. So I am, in a way, morbidly curious to see where this all goes.

Scandals, Minors, and the sleeping star: The future of TXT, ENHYPEN, Le Sserafim, NewJeans and more.

I don’t see Le Sserafim and NewJeans being anything other than successful in the future. NewJeans have brought a refreshing and (possibly too) youthful spin to y2k and retro concepts, Le Sserafim only have two releases and both of them have been iconic hits, and both groups somehow managed to survive their scandals, at the expense of Garam’s career and a bunch of album sales. As I’ve said several times, from 2021, girl groups have ruled the 4th gen, and Le Sserafim and NewJeans can only really go up (unless HYBE manages them to levels of bad that have only been seen in CLC and Exo).

I think ENHYPEN will continue in the same direction - somewhat popular and growing, but slowly. They have quite a niche music genre and concept, like Dreamcatcher, so I think they’ll stay how they are. Same with the soon-to-debut &TEAM, Japanese brother group and werewolves to ENHYPEN’s vampires.

ENHYPEN’s management has been a little dodgy from the start, and their concept is very fragmented. They started off as creepy vampire orphans. Great, so that brings in all the people who love the non-sexual vampire stories. And then they have ‘Drunk-Dazed,’ bringing in the fans of unconventional noise music, and sticking with the superpowered vampire theme. But ‘Fever’ comes with that, and, as iconic as it was, it rubbed many people the wrong way as a sexual choreography in a group that was almost half minors. And the recent group of ‘Tamed-Dashed,’ ‘Blessed-Cursed’ and ‘Pass the Mic’ have alienated almost all of the fans I previously mentioned. No more explicit vampire storyline, other than in the webtoon which you need to actively research to understand. No more noise music, just the usual pop summer songs and whatever the very questionable ‘Blessed-Cursed’ was. If you like the Gothic stuff, it’s gone. If you like them being niche, it’s gone. If you were holding on for the werewolves, you still have a while to wait. And if you were a very weird person who sexualised the minors in the group, well, it ain’t as easy anymore. ENHYPEN seem to have a similar problem to Kep1er - although they have solidified an identity as a group of people, their musical identity is all over the place. And their concept doesn’t even call for it, like TXT’s does. I hope that with the debut of &TEAM, ENHYPEN’s storyline and management will turn a new page. They may be niche, but HYBE could still make a lot more money from them and their fans to make up for BTS’s gap.

SEVENTEEN are largely self-managed and produced. They have their own small group of staff that stick with them, and their success is largely self-made. They’ve had a few dodgy releases in recent years, like ‘Rock With You’ and ‘Ready to Love,’ which have been more of a product of them overworking themselves than any bad management on HYBE’s part. And just as their questionable releases weren’t dictated by the bad management of HYBE, SEVENTEEN’s success won’t be caused by good management by HYBE. I think that SEVENTEEN’S success will continue and grow. Many CARATs criticise their decision to move towards more mainstream pop music in recent years, but I think that the SEVENTEEN heart and soul is still there. We shouldn’t be looking for ‘the next BTS,’ because every group is unique and they are themselves, but if there was to be a ‘next BTS,’ I don’t think it would be Stray Kids or ATEEZ or anyone else - it would be SEVENTEEN (although SKZ have a pretty good shot). SEVENTEEN are also currently under HYBE, so an easy transition. They have well-made self-produced music, two factors ARMY find important, and they have strong, complex choreos, and manage to have both popular and meaningful music. They also have a similar vibe to BTS, as they are both third gen groups, and they have English speakers which gives them a wider audience. But most of all, SEVENTEEN have variety. They are the only group I’ve seen so far that actually surpasses BTS in variety skills. And this is very evident by their second fandom, Cubic. BTS’s variety skills and the unique roles of each member were crucial to their success, and SEVENTEEN’s popularity has skyrocketed because of GOING SEVENTEEN. The members don’t quite fit 2D single character traits like the members of BTS, but you could still push them into small groups if you wanted, and if you want to go deeper, they all appear clearly as complex human beings. They are each bias-worthy, which is crucial, and they have similar levels of popularity. Additionally, SEVENTEEN are a group for all - everyone will find something they like.

The moral of the story is that SEVENTEEN will be fine. Until next year when Scoups’ military service comes up.... Cry with me, y’all.

And finally we come to the heroes (?) of the story, who are so heroic they’ve barely been mentioned... whoops. TOMORROW X TOGETHER, who have recently been managed in a less than great way by HYBE. They’ve lost, or at least had complicated and confused, many of the things that made me place them as ‘the best position in kpop right now’ in my essay. They’ve lost the versatility, the mainstream appeal, the serious nature of their storyline, the well-produced title tracks, the variety skills and the appearances on many shows which gained them popularity. TXT only appear in the public consciousness now through memes, which, yes, is the case for a lot of groups. But TXT never tried to be memes, or even to be funny. Their very serious content just couldn’t be taken seriously because of how HYBE managed and marketed them. And then this world tour came, only focusing on fans and with a tiny number of available seats compared to the actual number of fans. I feel that a lot of problems with TXT came from HYBE’s fear of reality shows after BTS were mistreated on them. And yes, TXT constantly being compared to BTS wasn’t and isn’t good - but I feel that if they went on more reality shows and showed the variety that was peaking through at the beginning of their career, they would reach and thus gain more fans. They don’t have the fanbase and the strong message that BTS did, so they can’t follow the same route, as they have been doing. Or, perhaps we could consider they are going in reverse from BTS? From dark to light concepts, from light to dark. But either way, their musical identity has become exactly what it shouldn’t have - obfuscated and overshadowed by that of BTS. TXT are far from the worst example of HYBE, or any other company, poorly managing a group, and an argument could be made that they aren’t being poorly managed, since their numbers continue to grow. But they haven’t experienced the same growth as they once did, and their lack of an impact in the larger industry is not a good sign. It is this lack of an impact that made me want them to be better managed, and to write this essay. More people should hear about your comeback than just members of your own fandom and a few people who watch music shows live on a weekly basis.

Conclusions

BigHit started with the slogan ‘music and artist for healing,’ and their initial success with BTS reflected this well. But they started to get greedy and fearful, and started to both acquire companies and groups and neglect these companies and groups in hopes of supporting themselves and the sinking ship BTS would leave them in when they went to the military. There have been many victims of this, notably Gfriend. But I am concerned that other groups will fall to HYBE’s newfound greed - especially TXT and ENHYPEN. HYBE no longer embody their motto - while the artists continue to heal, the company is becoming less and less viewed in the public eye as a cool group of artists and producers, and more and more like the corporations whose level it has tried to pull itself up to. Now that BTS are going to the military, the future of HYBE and its groups hangs in the balance - will they be able to pull their act together and make a splash in the industry again, or will they fall apart and forever be known as a company synonymous with ‘BTS’? Let’s just say that I don’t have high hopes for any artists under the company other than Le Sserafim and NewJeans, and maybe SEVENTEEN for the next year before they too suffer the ongoing effects of the Korean War. It’s sad, but this is just the nature of such a harsh and competitive industry - people become greedy, no matter how good their intentions are (we even saw this with BTS’s attempts to gain a Grammy), and, in the end, the fast-paced kpop industry consumes all.

Anyway, stan ‘Can’t We Just leave The Monster Alive?’

Sources

Zeimba, H. (2022) ‘BigHit Entertainment’s Transformation to Influential HYBE, 2022 Overview,’ KWorld Now.

‘HYBE's Cursed History with Girl Groups - From Glam to New Jeans’ by Ploopy678 on YouTube, 2022

Shapiro, A. (2021) ‘BTS Made $200 Million With Hybe. Now Ariana Grande And Justin Bieber Are Cashing In On Scooter Braun’s Deal.’ Forbes

Yoon, S. (2022) ‘HYBE ≠ BTS after big investments in diversification,‘ Korea JoongAng Daily & The New York Times

Peoples, G. (2022) ‘HYBE Revenue Up 31% But Losing BTS Will Squeeze Margins in 2023.’ BillboardPro

‘Will BTS Survive with ONLY 3 Members? BTS Military Plan (2021 Updated!)’ by Rice Squad on YouTube, 2020

A Brief Analysis of my Sources

Disclaimer that my references above are not accurate to any referencing style in particular, since they have been changed for Tumblr’s formats, and that they are in order of appearance, not alphabetical order, as they should be.

Ayo here again comes my obsession with sources. I will discuss them in the order they appear in my source list, which is also the order they appear in the essay (although I haven’t given specific reference points). My points of discussion mostly include why I chose these sources and why it was okay for me to use them in this context (this context being a non-professional internet essay). Unfortunately, I can’t show examples of sources I discarded and explain why as I have... you know, discarded them and don’t remember where I got them from.

A disclaimer that I did use Wikipedia for this essay (gasp). I do not condone the use of Wikipedia for academic or professional essays of any level (school, undergraduate, post grad and so on). Wikipedia is only acceptable when cross-referencing well-known facts across multiple sources. In this case, I sued Wikipedia for my ‘history of BigHit/HYBE’ section, as all events mentioned are well-known facts and thus cannot be obfuscated by Wikipedia. However, I did not feel comfortable using Wikipedia for the more specific or subjective elements of this essay, which is why they aren’t my only source and weren’t really used past the first section.

The rest of my analysis may sound repetitive but is still important.

Zeimba, H. (2022) ‘BigHit Entertainment’s Transformation to Influential HYBE, 2022 Overview,’ KWorld Now.

This was largely used for basic facts, same as Wikipedia. It is a semi-professional article seemingly written by someone who does this full-time and is invested in HYBE and BTS. Thus, it was okay to use for recent and basic facts.

‘HYBE's Cursed History with Girl Groups - From Glam to New Jeans’ by Ploopy678 on YouTube, 2022

Ploopy does this professionally (aka is paid to tell the facts/her perspective). This makes her more reliable. Additionally, she makes her research and sources public for Patreons, and clearly puts effort into and ensures integrity of her sources. I wouldn’t use her for an academic essay that wasn’t about fan reactions, but for my purposes here, her work is appropriate, valid, and relevant.

Shapiro, A. (2021) ‘BTS Made $200 Million With Hybe. Now Ariana Grande And Justin Bieber Are Cashing In On Scooter Braun’s Deal.’ Forbes

This is another professional source on what is generally considered a professional and reliable business website, Forbes. I only used this source as a backup to verify some of my economic facts. Also I did some research, and I am pretty sure the person who wrote this IS NOT Ben Shapiro’s cousin/sister, so my conscience is clear?

Yoon, S. (2022) ‘HYBE ≠ BTS after big investments in diversification,‘ Korea JoongAng Daily & The New York Times

This source has questionable professionality, but I feel that it being in association with the New York Times is a good sign. I used this one for stats on BTS’s portion of HYBE’s income. Since the source is recent, it gives recent information, which is useful for an essay like this, since my essays become outdated quickly in the world of kpop (crying over the TXT one). I would not have used this source if this essay was in any way professional, but, since it isn’t, it’s all good.

Peoples, G. (2022) ‘HYBE Revenue Up 31% But Losing BTS Will Squeeze Margins in 2023.’ BillboardPro

This was another professional article, from a professional site/organisation which is known both for its relevance to the music industry, and for being accessible to and less discriminatory against kpop groups than most international organisations. It’s overall a reliable site for economic music-related news, and, as it is both recent, and written by an actual person, rather than an organisation, I feel fine using it for this essay.

‘Will BTS Survive with ONLY 3 Members? BTS Military Plan (2021 Updated!)’ by Rice Squad on YouTube, 2020

This one has questionable professionality, but is still made by a group of people dedicated to their content creation and who prioritise Asian voices (I believe the creators are mostly South Asian?). The video is extensively researched, and makes sources available. It also is pretty recent, and was updated when new information was made available to the creators. I would not be surprised if a new video was uploaded by the creators after the news of BTS’s enlistment. This video has a lot of content, including the history of enlistment and several possibilities for BTS. It’s a video that initially prompted my interest in the topic of BTS’s enlistment, and is useful for an essay like this.

Source Conclusions

Always look for professional sources, when you can. Someone who is paid to make news content is usually more likely to put effort into that content than someone who isn’t. Although that has changed with the advent of the internet.

If you read this far, thank you. I really appreciate your efforts and attention. I would really appreciate if you could reblog or like this post to show that you read it - and thank you again! <3

#txt #tomorrow x together #bts #army #moa #hybe #bighit #le sserafim #essay #one direction #enhypen #newjeans #&team

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