-pop has been decidedly unpleasant. A scandal centred on “Burning Sun”, a glitzy nightclub in Seoul, South Korea’s capital, saw several male-pop stars and industry executives accused last year of sexual abuse, procuring sex for business partners, drug-peddling and bribery. Later in the year two female idols committed suicide in the space of a few weeks. Both had been subject to misogynistic abuse for years.
Such behaviour resonates with fans in South Korea and beyond. “The message they send is so different from other boy bands,” says Lim Hyun-jee, a 26-year-old from Seoul. “They talk about growth, mental health, bullying and anything that we can all relate to,” she gushes. “And they get along so well, it’s very appealing.”’s success stems partly from the hope they offer a generation of fans worn down by the pressure to compete and conform in their education and careers.
Some Korean feminists speculate that the band’s woman-friendly image is too good to be true, given the sexist norms of the industry in which they work. Others take it at face value. At the very least,’s success has shown that niceness is a marketable quality, which may encourage others to give it a try. The numbers speak for themselves. After teetering on the brink of bankruptcy a decade ago, Bang Si-hyuk, who founded’s production company, Big Hit Entertainment, is now a squillionaire.
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