Does K-Pop's future lie in China?

Besides Korea, K-Pop's next emphasis is not Japan, not America, but China. Following the major agencies that have prepared to enter the Chinese music market, even mid-sized companies are eyeing China. Some have determined that Japan has been saturated as much as it will ever be, and that America has good potential but is showing slowed growth. Compared to these two countries, China is spotlighted as being a market with endless potential. Agencies are moving fast to secure experts in China.

China is known to be a country where once a singer or group of singers rises to popularity, it is loved for quite a long time. For singers who experience severe up and downs in popularity, this aspect of China is quite appealing. Since the territory is quite large, it requires a much bigger time and money investment. However, once you get through, the return is significant. That's why celebrities have a hard time returning to Korea once they've been established in China. One idol group rep stated, "Certain idol group members that were popular 10 years ago are still receiving a warm welcome in China. China is a country that still shows loyalty despite the current trend."

Even the way they treat the stars are unconventional. Japan treats artists very dearly, which is different from the Korea, where broadcasters are still the stronger power. Not only that, the salary is quite different in China. Nowadays there's more more interest in the entertainment industry, and contents are receiving hefty compensation. One music rep stated, "Stars will make several hundred thousand dollars with just one broadcast appearance. It's quite different from Korea, where singers don't make as much."

Large agencies see entrance into China as a must. SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and FNC Entertainment have all established offices in China. A PR team is given, and it's very common to see Korean employees learning Chinese. SM was the first of these agencies to open its eyes to China. Early on they recruited Super Junior's Chinese member Hankyung and decided to debut a Chinese unit group, which was met with tremendous popularity. With EXO, they recruited Chinese members off the bat to create EXO-M.

YG is looking into full-scale entry into the United States market, and their aggressive expansion extends even to China. YG established YG Asia in China as well as YG Beijing. They're planning to hold large-scale auditions in China. Recently K Plus and other modeling agencies have invested in the agency. It can be said that they're getting a head start on the luxury fashion market, which will be targeted to China.

JYP released miss A with a Chinese member and is reaching out to China with this girl group. The girl group stated, "China is a very large territory so we need to hold a lot of promotions. As such, the response doesn't come right away, but we feel as if our fans are slowly increasing." Cube Entertainment is also participating in idol producing and testing the waters in the Chinese market. FNC recently established a company in China.

However, it's a unanimous opinion that entrance into the Chinese market is not easy. It's not as easy as expected to get settled down in China. Established singers receive love for a long time from loyal fans, but it takes much longer to get to that point, more than in other countries.

It's also been made known that Korean artists' concerts aren't doing as well as expected in China. One group held a concert in China, but the results were lackluster compared to expectations. A related rep shared, "Just because a group is popular in Korea doesn't mean they can enter the Chinese market right away. Instead, they must stay with locals for a long time and have some close contact with their fans to have a successful concert." That doesn't mean they're going to give up on the Chinese market. It means they're going to increase their activities in China.

Another thing that's a big concern is piracy. There are countless copies of actual products being sold openly, but it's not easy to regulate that. There's concern as to what can be done about this matter.

It's also quite challenging to obtain business partners in China. One agency is looking to actively enter the Chinese market and currently doing its research. A rep from the agency stated, "Small and mid-sized companies can only watch large companies such as SM and YG and follow carefully behind. That's why we're only now beginning to do our research. It seems as if China is a market in which you're cheated 10 times, and on the 11th you see success. It's hard to find Chinese partners that we can trust and work with. That's why we keep getting delayed."