Upon entering a room with a wide open view of the Han River, I am welcomed by a 3-meter-tall figurine of Robot Taekwon-V, taking charge of the place as if he owned it. The real owner was wearing jeans with his bare feet shoved into his sneakers, and taking in the sights of the room while he expertly poured me coffee was a much enjoyable experience for me as a visitor.
The room was filled shelves which housed a myriad of different figurines, a Mickey Mouse with a comical expression sitting in the entryway to the balcony leading to an outdoor garden, and a life-size dog doll produced by MCM. If it weren’t for the three upscale Apple computers and sound system sitting on top of the desk, this place would have felt more like a Disney Land theme park; it is the workspace of Yang Hyun Suk who wrote the success story of YG Entertainment, often called the ‘google of Korea.’ He transformed this room in which he spends the most of his time into a space that resembled himself and all of his secretive and aesthetic sensibilities that he normally did not reveal. This unexpected image of him that is difficult yet emphasizes trust and loyalty can be seen in his interpersonal relationships and in his business style.
It’s been 4 years since Yang Hyun Suk has agreed to an interview. During this interview, he revealed for the first time the ways he’s changed since his marriage to Lee Eun Joo and the birth of his daughter. He told us of the circumstances that brought him from when he had joined the entertainment scene because he loved dancing, to setting up YG in a basement after Seo Taiji and Boys broke up 15 years ago, to the present as K-pop is in its heyday as Big Bang and 2NE1 are working up a storm in the music industry. The headquarters of YG, which have received praise from world-famous music producers such as America’s pop legend Quincy Jones and Black Eyed Peas’ leader and intel director Will.I.Am, were also revealed.
Lee Eun Joo, wears a wedding dress
Yang Hyun Suk opened up for the first time about his married life saying, “Because Lee Eun Joo wanted to wear a wedding dress, we held a small ceremony and photo shoot together with our parents and close relatives.” He continued, “Eun Joo knows my style and understands me, so I’m comfortable. There were one or two times when we had small disagreements, but we’ve never had outbursts or fights. We have fun and live like friends.”
Even Yang Hyun Suk turns into a blabbering idiot in front of his daughter Yoo Jin, who was born last September. Though he said that he developed a panic disorder as his life started to change with the birth of his child, he admits, “I play with my baby for about an hour a day, and I miss her already even as I turn to leave.” His love for his daughter is big, but he is still an awkward dad having grown up as the second of three boys. He said, “We received a stroller as a present and I started to put it together. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how it went together so I gave up. A couple of days later I asked Sean to do it for me, since he’s an expert at raising kids. It was a simple task for him, and it was complete within minutes. Sean is a family-man, and on top of that he had to take care of the house since his wife is busy as an actress, so he’s probably better than most housewives,” and refused to acknowledge his own incompetence as a new dad to the very end.
Yang Hyun Suk once said that as he revealed his 9-year-long secret relationship with Lee Eun Joo for the first time through a ‘From YG’ blog post, he wanted to ‘become a dependable protector.’ He considers taking care of Lee Eun Joo’s older brother Lee Jae Jin as part of his duty as well. The senior who Lee Jae Jin found difficult to approach during his Sechskies days had now become his brother-in-law, but now they consider each other true brothers. Yang Hyun Suk even made it possible for Lee Jae Jin to continue to take the art lessons he wanted to take.
Yang Hyun Suk reserved his words when it came to Seo Taiji’s scandal of his 12-year marriage which was brought into the limelight just one year after his own confession of his secret relationship. But he was also hesitant to take any which side. He said, “Honestly I don’t have anything to say. I can’t say that just because I’ve spent the most time with him as friends I can unconditionally understand him and take his side without even knowing his side of the story. It’s his life, and I just wish it would all just figure itself out well.”
YG Family, hard to get in but even harder to get out?
When Kang Seung Yoon, who received the most love-calls from entertainment companies upon the completion of SuperstarK2, chose to sign with YG, there was a lot of mixed feelings. Though some believed that it was the best decision for him, there were others who worried about when he would be able to debut on stage. This is because it is well known that from Se7en to Big Bang, all of the artists with YG spend a long and grueling 6-7 years as trainees before being able to debut. Kang Seung Yoon knew this well. When questioned, he replied, “I’m making progress daily so I don’t think it will take that long.”
“It’s hard to get in, but it’s even harder to get out.”
This is what is said about Yang Hyun Suk’s HR style, which is famous for being high.
There are many former stars amongst the YG staff. Kim Jinu of Jinusean, who is known for his exceptional English-speaking skills due to his time spent in the States and his good looks and social skills, is in charge of international affairs. Sean, who is the icon of Noblesse Oblige along with Kim Jang Hoon, is helping with YG’s WITH campaign. The WITH campaign is a good will project that began in 2009, in which YG artists would donate 10 cents per album sold and 1% of all other profits to charity. It is an enterprise-level voluntary campaign of the kind difficult to find even in large companies. At the end of the year, YG stars and artists volunteered their time to deliver coal briquets during the winter. When disaster hit Japan, YG donated about $500,000. Teddy, who produced 90% of Park Bom’s recent album, is formerly a member of 1TYM and is one of YG’s forefront producers.
Not only are their formers stars amongst this entertainment business, but also those who have been a part of the staff for over 10 years. It is common to find stylists, choreographers, etc. who joined YG in their teens, gathered much experience, and are now quite renown in their respective fields.
At the beginning of last year, Yang Hyun Suk’s successful resigning of Big Bang to his company became a big deal. In addition, Se7en renewed his contract and joined the ranks with those who also worked with YG for over 10 years. You can hardly count with one hand the number of times someone would leave the company after making it through their training period and becoming a star.
After renewing Big Bang’s contract, Yang Hyun Suk said that, “We gave them the treatment befitting their name and level,” and that, “We’ve extended their contract for another five years, but unforeseen circumstances could arise that might limit their activities. We designed the contract to cover such things, no matter what.” He added, “I have thought about whether I would be able to make another group like Big Bang. I think it’s going to be very difficult finding individual members with personality and talent, like the members of Big Bang. That is how precious this team is not only to me as the producer, but to the music industry.”
A funny press release was distributed that was written by Yang Hyun Suk himself back during the debut of Big Mama, who are now disbanded after leaving YG. In his introduction of Big Mama, he had criticized society’s prejudice about appearances by writing, “If they undergo plastic surgery, this provides enough grounds to terminate the contract.” People began to wonder what standards he used for his artists.
“The most important thing at auditions is exceptional talent, but I look for hidden potential. In Big Bang’s case when Daesung first came out, people would say funny things like, ‘That kid must sing really well.’ A lot of people objected, but I thought Daesung’s smiling face was really attractive. I saw an emotion that was able to make everyone around him feel good.”
Yang Hyun Suk’s unexpected images as ‘president’ and ‘hyung (older brother)’ can be seen when Se7en, Big Bang, and 2NE1 appear on television. There are those who meet him for the first time and say, “Ah, it’s really the same.” When he sees his company’s artists imitate him, he says, “I think it’s funny too. I can’t help but laugh when I think that that’s how my character is portrayed to everyone.”
Though usually notoriously difficult, he also revealed his plans to open the doors to YG auditions even wider in order to be able to discover new stars.
“It’ll be difficult to do this year, but by next year we’ll bring out some rookies. I enjoy seeing the kids happy as they practice. We’ve tried open auditions but the probability drops. I want to do a differentiated audition so we’re planning for that. It’ll be a 1-on-1 audition, where the participant will upload their materials online and only I will be looking through them. This means that they might be accepted immediately without a second or third round of auditions. I think we’ll be able to pick out even one promising applicant out of hundreds. This system is especially designed for those who haven’t been able to gather the courage to audition in front of currently active artists due to self-consciousness.”
To be continued…
Source: Herald (Published May 26, 2011)
Translated by Seungie
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