Volume 5 2013 Chapter 893 IU's Concerns
"What can I do? I'll be glad to have some singing."
The girl on the other end of the phone looked tired.
Idols who are in the comeback period are already tired, and T-ara is the hardest working idol.
They just released a Japanese single in March and returned in Korea at the end of April. As a member of both the sub-unit and the main unit, Ace Park Ji-yeon traveled between Japan and Korea without much rest for two consecutive months.
As the most popular member of the team, she receives the most attention, but this also makes her the most conspicuous target when facing online attacks.
Although Jiyeon is no stranger to online comments after debuting for many years, the intensity of the online attack this time was extraordinary. Even the brave little dinosaur felt tired. Coupled with the high-intensity activities of the group, she was exhausted and really had no mood to explain to her good friends.
"You can't do that! What on earth was President Kim Kwang-soo thinking? The online attacks on you guys have finally subsided a little bit, and lyrics like this are simply directly irritating the netizens!"
Lee Ji-eun is not so calm. Having experienced low points before, she knows very well what consequences such lyrics will cause.
"They will definitely see this as a provocation, and then you, as a popular member, will definitely be scolded again!"
The name of "Pastoral Diary" seems to be a lyrical song, but it is actually a disco dance song with a strong rhythm, which is also the typical style of T-ara's hit song.
The members' stage costumes are all cool street style, with colorfully dyed hair, looking cool, and dancing with intense moves.
This style and attitude, coupled with lyrics that are easy to cause misunderstanding, is a direct response to the online and public opinion attacks some time ago!
Park Ji-yeon also has a line in the lyrics, "Mind your own business!"
This is simply stimulating public opinion that has already calmed down a little!
Of course IU would be worried!
"You can scold me if you want, whatever you want... Anyway, we ..."
Park Ji-yeon probably thought about all this, but she couldn't care less.
T-ara's decline has been obvious since the incident.
2012 was actually the year when T-ara reached its peak in the overseas market.
They became the first Korean girl group to hold a concert at the Nippon Budokan. Their first concert tour in Japan successfully mobilized more than 40,000 people to participate. In addition, their annual record sales exceeded 300,000 + double platinum certification, making them the de facto third Korean girl group in Japan.
Although there is a clear gap between them and Kara and Girls' Generation, they are still far ahead of other girl groups.
But at the same time, they suffered a great impact in South Korea because of Liu Huaying's incident.
The obvious internal problems of the group all came together, with the help of peers, public boycott, and even the counterattack of certain political forces, and CCM was completely unable to cope with it.
Even CJ Entertainment, the backer behind the group, had to do its utmost to protect itself after losing in a higher-level game and had no time to care about T-ara at all.
The consequence of long-term overfishing is that once problems arise, it means complete collapse. The most direct reaction is the decline in T-ara's local performance.
Even though the previous comeback "Sexy Love" can maintain the performance of their debut, the gap with other girl groups is obviously narrowing, and the trend is obvious.
Faced with this reality, Kim Kwang-soo made a choice.
Since the Korean mainland cannot recover in a short time, CJ, the backer behind it, is now unable to take care of itself, and the Japanese market is performing so well, it would be better to shift the focus of activities to Japan like Kara did.
Kara's agency DSP had previously lost its strength due to internal strife and had long since withdrawn from the ranks of the top three agencies. Therefore, Kara's development in Korea was always mediocre, until it went to Japan and soared to become one of the top three girl groups today.
A typical example of flowers blooming inside the wall but smelling good outside.
Now Tará can follow the same route.
Of course the Korean market needs to be maintained, but it only needs to be maintained. Japan has plenty of money to make and does not need to care about the attacks from those who are watching the joke.
This decision and mentality may be the main reason why Kim Kwang-soo chose to return with "Rural Diary".
He felt that he had a way out and had the confidence to openly fight back against the attacks on him on stage.
Although Park Ji-yeon didn't know these details, she also knew that the group's future development focus would be on Japan.
Therefore, even though the public opinion reaction in South Korea is predictable, I don’t really care about it…
Curse if you want...
"Don't think like that. You are different from Kara seniors! Kara was just not that popular in Korea at the beginning, and no one boycotted them. And after they became popular in Japan, they did not give up the local market. Instead, they paid more and more attention to it. Don't confuse the priorities!"
IU was very anxious about the little dinosaur's indifference.
"Besides, the Japanese market is not that easy to deal with."
"It's okay. We did very well in Japan, and we should be able to do better if we work hard. Although we can't compare to Girls' Generation and Kara, we should be able to maintain a good performance, at least to get through this crisis."
Park Ji-yeon is very confident. She is a natural optimist and a little bit carefree. Even though she encountered a career crisis and went through a lot of hardships, it did not change her cheerful and generous personality.
Indeed, they are very popular in Japan now. Liu Huaying's withdrawal did not affect the Japanese audience's love for them.
“Don’t worry, Jieun. I’m your senior in Japan. When the time comes, come over here and I’ll take you around! Hohoho~”
IU and T-ara are signed to the same record company in Japan, so Park Ji-yeon said that.
"You! Just take care of yourself! I always feel a little uneasy."
IU is not as optimistic as the little dinosaur and seems worried.
"It's okay, it will be fine after a while."
…
…
After ending the call, IU was still worried.
Unlike Park Ji-yeon, who was born with outstanding talents and had a smooth career since her debut, Lee Ji-eun became famous after going through many hardships.
It was difficult for her to even become a trainee, let alone make her debut.
Moreover, after his debut, he experienced a long period of obscurity and was met with contempt and cold faces in almost every aspect of the entertainment industry.
Different experiences have shaped the two girls' different personalities.
Park Ji-yeon is carefree, optimistic and positive, and always full of energy.
IU does not show her emotions on her face, is reserved and delicate, knows how to protect herself, and does things carefully.
She is a very smart person. Although she didn't study much, she never stopped learning.
The girl is not as optimistic about the Japanese market as Park Ji-yeon.
Although she signed a contract with a Japanese record company, IU's development focus has always been on Korea. In fact, although LOEN is not a very good agency, it is one of the monopoly giants in Korea as a distribution company.
Singers like IU who win with their music of course put local roots first. And as the backbone of the company, LOEN also got some news through SK, the backer behind them.
The Japanese market is not as stable as it seems.
