The sibling duo Akdong Musician is debuting officially this week under YG Entertainment.

However, the siblings have already debuted, and the fact that they're debuting again with YG Entertainment is a bit odd. Akdong Musician already has a following, thanks to their popularity from their win on K-pop Star 2.

However, entertainment companies represent most major entertainers in Korea, so without the backing of one of the major agency, Akdong Musicians would possibly suffer.

The unfortunate fact about this situation is that other musicians from music competition shows probably have no real shot at international stardom, not if a popular group like Akdong Musician cannot even debut properly without the support of an entertainment company.

Lee Chan Hyuk and his sister Lee Soo Hyun were developing their skills even prior to K-Pop Star 2, and had been working with another entertainment company at the time. They then went on to K-Pop Star 2 and wowed both the audience and the judges - who are influential representatives from the 'Big 3' South Korean entertainment agencies (SM, JYP, and the one they ultimately signed with, YG).

After they won the show, the duo released music distributed by LOEN Entertainment, and started advertising quite a bit.

But in Korea, they still need the official backing of a management company. Without it, they don't have the funding and production value that they need in order to compete with other K-Pop acts. Although Akdong Musicians are not like typical K-Pop idols and fit more into the café music scene that is popular in Korea, they have popularity that needs to be managed just like other popular artists.

The fact that Akdong Musician needs the support of a major company is a nod to the intense competition in Korea among singers. Although K-Pop is internationally very popular, the market in Korea is relatively small and flooded by new musical acts every year. In order to keep its popularity, Akdong Musician has to be competitive, which it will be with the aid of YG Entertainment.

This fact ultimately reflects very poorly on music competition shows in Korea.

In the United States, music competition shows like The Voice and American Idol not only award contracts to the winning artist, but also gives the musicians the publicity that they need to start their career.

In Korea, shows like K-Pop Star and Superstar K technically do those things, but because of how the Korean music industry works, it is hard for the contestants to maintain their popularity after the show ends, unless they constantly promote. And promoting is difficult without the support of major companies.

Yet, at the same time, many of the contestants do not get offers from companies, or else decide to go to smaller, less financially sound companies so that they can maintain the integrity of their music.

The music system in Korea is very different from many other entertainment industries, so it is almost a necessity for Akdong Musician to re-debut with YG Entertainment. But until the system changes, music show contestants will struggle to maintain their independence from the major entertainment companies, which will affect their style of music.

Akdong Musician officially kicked off promotions for their new album Play today with an outdoor performance at Seoul Forest, a large park in Seongdong-gu, Seoul.  Play will be released online April 7 and hard copies will go on sale offline on April 9.