Volume 1 2009 Chapter 16 Dreams and Reality
Being a Korean idol has never been an easy career.
When Asia suffered a financial crisis in the late 1990s, South Korea's traditional manufacturing industry was hit hard. The South Korean government realized that a single industrial structure would inevitably lead to economic fragility, and therefore wanted to take the path of diversified development and find new economic growth points.
After Kim Dae-jung became president in 1998, he proposed the strategy of "building a nation on culture", and determined to support the cultural industry with low consumption, no pollution and based on innovation and creativity as the key industry for national economic development in the 21st century. After the goal was determined, South Korea immediately launched policies, regulations, organizations and funds to support the cultural industry in many aspects, pushing it onto an orderly and rapid development path.
Data shows that for every $100 increase in Korean cultural industry exports, Korean mobile phones, home appliances and other IT (electronic) products will increase by an average of $395, among which Korean dramas have the greatest impact on the sales of IT products;
Among the components of Hallyu, Korean dramas and movies play the strongest role , reaching 73%. The second place is Korean music K-POP, which is 62.8%.
How to extend the life of "Korean Wave", expand its influence and increase its added value has become a major concern for the South Korean government. To this end, the Cabinet has held many meetings to assess the status of the policy support for "Korean Wave", discuss the policy direction of the globalization of "Korean Wave" and direct it from a strategic perspective.
For a time, the Korean Wave swept across Asia and radiated across the globe. Countless Korean Wave stars emerged, attracting people's attention and wallets and being sought after by thousands of people.
Bae Yong-joon, Song Hye-kyo, Won Bin, HOT, Lee Hyori, and TVXQ are all dazzling. The rise of entertainment companies such as SM, JYP, and YG has attracted countless Korean teenagers to flock to major economic companies with the dream of becoming a star.
Debuting as an artist has become a trend in Korea.
However, under this surging wave of cultural development, the cruel reality is covered up by the gorgeous bubble.
South Korea has a total population of about 50 million. The metropolitan area consisting of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province accounts for almost half of South Korea's total population. Seoul has 10 million people, accounting for one-fifth of the total population. Seoul only accounts for 0.6% of South Korea's area, but its GDP accounts for 21% of the country's GDP. Entertainment is always inseparable from the economy, and the main activity area for Korean artists is Seoul.
Under the policy support of the culture-based nation, entertainment companies of all sizes have emerged, and a steady stream of young people who dream of becoming stars have provided a wealth of "raw materials" for each entertainment company. Under the trainee system, these children, after sufficient or inadequate training and cultivation, are packaged like commodities on an assembly line and continuously pushed into the market.
In a small market environment, the cruelty of competition is magnified exponentially.
According to incomplete statistics, there are 80 to 100 groups debuting in South Korea every month, but only a dozen groups of singers can perform on the music programs of the three major Korean TV stations, KBS, MBC, and SBS each time. Most of them are famous singers, and the remaining groups or less well-known groups can only appear on the streets and in commercial activities.
Due to the existence of the assembly line-like trainee system, Korean artists are highly replaceable. A large number of new faces are replaced every few years, and even among famous groups, only a handful of them have lasted more than five years.
Actors have a relatively longer lifespan, but their peak period is also short. Many actors who become popular with a drama disappear within a few years. Coupled with the universal military service system for men and the marriage and childbearing tradition of Eastern women, many artists debut at the age of 17 or 18 and gradually withdraw from the mainstream before the age of 30.
These are the outstanding ones who are lucky enough to become famous. The groups described above that are unable to reach the top often have to disband and fend for themselves after wasting a few years of their youth.
Since they did not learn a skill in the best years of their lives, these people find it difficult to find jobs in businesses and factories, and end up choosing to work in fringe professions such as agents, dancers, makeup artists, assistants, etc. and stay in the entertainment industry.
On the other hand, due to the small market and fierce competition, newcomers have almost no income. Apart from food and accommodation, the income from activities must be used first to cover the company's training and operating expenses. It often takes several years after debut before they can earn any income.
For famous groups, they often spend several years of their peak period without sleep to earn a lifetime's worth of money. For those groups that are not famous but are struggling, it is common for them to save money and have their families pay for them. It is not ruled out that they may choose to go astray due to pressure to make a living.
Because there are too many artists, the public often turns a blind eye to them.
Unlike China, Korean artists do not have a high social status and their income is unstable, so their social credit rating is often very low. For example, the loan conditions for buying a house are very harsh for artists.
Korean society has extremely high moral standards for highly exposed artists, and the country's netizens are also extremely sensitive, often criticizing artists' behavior, which has given rise to Korea's unique anti-culture against artists.
In short, in Yi Haoyan's opinion, being an artist in Korea is not a very promising job due to the high pressure, poor environment, short career, low income and being unpopular in mainstream society.
However, even though the reality is so cruel, the desire to stand on the stage is still addictive, and the feeling of being the focus of the spotlight and receiving everyone's admiration still makes all those who love the stage unable to stop.
As the music came to an end, the trainees' dance steps entered the final stage.
After a series of complicated movements, they gathered together and struck an Ending Pose to form a circular flower shape.
The center of the flower is the lead dancer, Kang Seul-ki. The intense exercise makes her chest heave, and her sweat-soaked hair sticks to her forehead, making her look a little embarrassed. With a smile on her face, it can be seen that she is trying hard to control her expression and not let her rapid breathing affect the effect of the ending movement of the dance. After all, the Ending Pose is also an important part of a perfect stage.
The dance was wonderful and the teacher was very satisfied. What impressed Yi Haoyan the most was the enthusiasm and infectiousness shown by the trainees throughout the dance process. Yes, not just Jiang Seqi, but the entire dance group.
It can be seen that before Yi Haoyan came, they had been practicing for a long time and their physical strength had declined a little.
But when the music started and the rhythm came out, the expressions and eyes of these trainees changed, some were arrogant, some were charming, some were cold, all kinds of charms were expressed through different expressions, eyes, postures and movements, like violent lightning tearing through the night, accompanied by sound waves vibrating the eardrums, strongly impacting Yi Haoyan's senses.
For a moment, they seemed to be in the center of the stage of a concert with tens of thousands of people, surrounded by countless spotlights and the enthusiastic cheers of the audience.
Every movement, every word sung, and even every look will cause countless cheers and crazy screams. The feeling of being admired and worshipped by thousands of people accelerates the secretion of adrenaline, increases the heartbeat, fills the body with passion and confidence, and makes people fall into frenzy and intoxication.
This is not a practice, it's an enjoyment.
Enjoy the stage that may come in your dreams, of course this stage may never come.
Seeing this and feeling this desire and enthusiasm, Yi Haoyan understood why there are endless numbers of children dreaming of becoming artists and stars.
This is the passion and impulse unique to young life, and it is the surging and jumping dance music of youth. As for the various difficulties in reality, in the eyes of these dream chasers, they are all the ladders leading to the paradise of dreams, which are worth climbing with life.
