Volume 5 2013 Chapter 894: Li Zhien's Phone Call
The idol industry is part of the entertainment industry and is essentially the tertiary industry. This industry gathers a lot of traffic and attention, as well as a lot of capital. It is a world of fame and fortune packaged as a dream.
A characteristic of this kind of industry is that it is not as indispensable as agriculture and industry.
In other words, it is highly substitutable.
Japan is the world's second largest music market with strong spending power. For Korean idols, who face a small market and fierce competition, Japan is a very important overseas market.
SM relied on BoA's success in Japan to survive the difficult years when it almost went bankrupt, and eventually ushered in the rise of TVXQ and Girls' Generation.
The Japanese market opened by BoA became the only way for K-pop to go global. After that, almost all famous Korean groups would go to Japan, not to mention those who reached the top.
Kara even redeemed herself in Japan and became one of the top three girl groups today.
For all Korean idols, the Japanese market is a good place to make money. Even Girl's Day went to Japan to make money when they were struggling.
but.
I have to say but here.
Such a good market, of course, has its own entertainment industry. Japan's local entertainment industry is also very developed, and there are a large number of practitioners.
Thanks to the mature market and various systems, Japan has a large number of idol singers, pop singers, and rock singers of high quality. These Korean idols are actually competitors who come to grab their livelihood.
Therefore, in addition to the brokerage companies and record companies that introduce these Korean idols to make money in Japan, there are also many forces .
The balance of these forces is often related to policy orientation.
Generally speaking, when the relationship between the two countries is good, making money from business is the top priority, and there is more cooperation between the two sides. But once there is some disturbance, the entertainment industry is the first industry to be affected.
Korean idols who come across the ocean to make money are the first to be affected.
Because unlike agricultural products and industrial products which are difficult to replace, service industry commodities such as entertainment stars are actually the easiest to replace. Compared with other industries, they are not important at all.
Due to well-known historical reasons, the relationship between Japan and South Korea has always been up and down.
In addition, Japan's national strength is relatively strong, and South Korea is stubborn and has a strong sense of self-esteem.
Therefore, the relationship between the two countries has always been up and down.
In 2002, Japan and South Korea co-hosted the World Cup.
However, in recent years, South Korea's political situation has undergone major changes, and relations between countries have become turbulent again.
In August 2011, South Korea's Constitutional Court made a ruling on the scope of the 1965 Japan-South Korea compensation agreement.
The Japanese government claimed that "all issues have been resolved", but the South Korean government refuted that "the issue of comfort women accompanying the army is not within the scope of resolution.
In December 2011, the issue continued to develop, and a South Korean civic group set up a statue of a girl as a "Military Comfort Women Memorial . The Japanese government protested, but the South Korean government completely ignored it.
In December 2011, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and President Lee held the Japan-ROK summit in Kyoto.
During the summit meeting, Prime Minister Noda asked South Korea to remove the monument, and President Lee asked the Japanese government to take the issue of comfort women seriously. The atmosphere of the meeting was tense.
In May 2012, Prime Minister Noda and President Lee held another Japan-ROK summit meeting in BJ.
A South Korean court ruled that "Japanese companies are liable for compensation for the unpaid wages of wartime forced conscripts."
In response to the ruling of the South Korean Supreme Court, the Japanese government expressed its opinion, saying that the "Japan-South Korea Compensation Agreement" concluded when Japan and South Korea normalized diplomatic relations in 1965 clearly stated that the issue of compensation for private property of the two countries "has been completely and finally resolved", so "if the defendant company obeys the judgment, the agreement between the two countries will be undermined."
In August 2012, President Lee visited Takeshima Island for the first time as a president.
President Lee put forward a condition for the Japanese Emperor's visit to South Korea, demanding a "sincere apology."
Regarding the Takeshima issue, the Japanese government announced that it would "recommend the South Korean government to file a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice."
In February 2013, South Korea's political arena changed and its first female president was born.
In March 2013, President Park said in a speech that the historical status of (Japan and South Korea) as perpetrators and victims will not change even after 1,000 years.
Basically, no matter who is in power in South Korea in recent years, Japan-South Korea relations have actually been deteriorating.
This change in political direction is a disaster for the entertainment industry. Even though there have been no concrete actions yet, the industry is already feeling the pressure of impending storm.
It is inevitable that the development of Korean idols in Japan will be affected .
In this situation, even if IU signed a contract with a Japanese agency and record company, LOEN didn't have much hope. After all, if the wind was not blowing in the right direction, the business would not be successful. At this time, betting on the Japanese market would undoubtedly be a very risky thing.
IU has also heard some of the rumors. Although she is just an artist, she is the only pillar of LOEN, and these things will not be hidden from her.
The girl is smart enough to understand the consequences of this major environmental change.
So she was so worried when she heard that Kim Kwang-soo decided to shift T-ara's development focus to the Japanese market and release a song like "Pastoral Diary".
Unfortunately it's of no use.
There was no way that stubborn and simple little dinosaur would listen to anything she said about the changes in the overall environment of national relations. She only knew to listen to the president and work hard.
Unlike Lee Ji-eun, who is smart, reserved, and even a little bit scheming, Park Ji-yeon, who has a cool and sexy look, is actually a girl with a bit of rough lines.
Lee Ji-eun knew this since she met her.
Perhaps it is because of this that the two became friends.
That silly but loyal girl is the one that Lee Ji-eun envies.
She had struggled in the darkness for a long time and had climbed up step by step from the bottom. She had a natural sense of security towards a reckless guy like Park Ji-yeon who she could see through almost at a glance.
Now, this guy is in trouble.
She won't do nothing.
…
…
"IUxi? What do you want to talk to me about?"
Yi Haoyan was very surprised to receive a call from Lee Ji-eun.
Apart from meeting once for a birthday celebration, the two had no other interactions at all.
Not only did they have little interaction, but there was even a small conflict between them.
The boy did not invite F(X) to his previous birthday party, and he used a suitable excuse to trick Choi Jinri, but in the end, her lie was exposed by Lee Ji-eun, so the little girl came over and got angry.
Yi Haoyan was very embarrassed at that time.
It also made him remember IU Lee Ji-eun.
"Haoyanxi, the reason I called you so has not been because of me, but because of Zhiyan..."
In fact, Li Zhien didn't want to contact Yi Haoyan. She felt that the relationship between this young master and Park Jiyan was unusual. She was never optimistic about the relationship between the young master of a chaebol and a female idol. At one point, she also wanted to keep Park Jiyan away from Yi Haoyan.
But isn't there anything that can be done about it?
Given T-ara's current situation, no one in Korea would be willing to help them. On the contrary, there are many who are ready to take advantage of them.
Apart from this young master from the Celestial Empire, she really had no other choice.
Fortunately, both parties are smart people. Lee Ji-eun directly stated her intention and revealed the current situation of T-ara and Park Ji-yeon.
"I know their situation, and I understand your worries. I have made arrangements for T-ara, but now is not the right time. Please rest assured, Jieunxi, I will not ignore it."
Although IU's call was a little sudden, her intention was clear.
Yi Haoyan did not hide anything.
In his opinion, T-ara's future was never in Japan.
