Young Foreigners Flock to KPOP Auditions

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[sorry if this is in the wrong section, move it if you need to ]

 

Oct 22, 2012

 

In global auditions in Canada and the United States last summer, Korean talent scouts were awed by the number of non-Korean participants. They expected ethnic Koreans but there were many different ethnic groups and races including Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, and Southeast Asians.

“Non-Koreans made up 60 percent of the participants,†Yang Min-suk, CEO of YG Entertainment, was quoted as saying by Chosun Ilbo. “We intended to select a range of new talents with an open mind but it was a surprise that so many foreigners showed up. They participated in auditions after taking into account the possibility that they could become international stars through Korean management companies.â€

According to YG Entertainment, over half of the participants who entered auditions in Seattle, London, Berlin, and New York in the summer were non-Koreans.

The phenomenon is attributed to a surge in the number of young foreigners who wish to become trainees with major Korean management companies like SM, YG, and JYP amid growing interest in K-pop stars such as Psy, Big Bang, and Girls’ Generation.

 

Miss A, a girl band of JYP Entertainment. Fei and Jia of Miss A are Chinese (photo: Yonhap News).

 

Local management companies are also considering creating multiracial boy or girl bands and pursuing related projects. SM Entertainment, a leading management company, has been regularly holding auditions outside Korea especially in the United States and Japan.

“The number of foreign participants in auditions continued to start rising two years ago,†Kim Eun-ah, a spokeswoman at SM, told Chosun Ilbo in an interview. “Not only non-Korean Asians but also white, black, and Hispanics sometimes account for nearly 70 percent of all participants in auditions.â€

SM started global auditions in 2006. Over 30,000 took part in the auditions between January and March. A talent search manager at JYP Entertainment said until five years ago, Koreans or ethnic Koreans made up all participants in auditions but their percentage declined to 60 percent this year.

Foreign talents who passed such auditions and became trainees account for 20 percent of all trainees at SM, 40 percent at JYP, and 10 percent at YG. Their nationalities are diverse, from China, Japan, and Thailand to the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

 

EXO, a 12-member boy band of SM Entertainment. Kris, Luhan, Tao and Lay of EXO-M are all Chinese (photo: Yonhap News).

 

Talent agencies already are creating boy or girl bands aimed at the global market. There is a boy band created to specifically target ethnic Chinese fans in Asia: EXO-M created by SM.

EXO, a boy band with twelve members, consists of EXO-K and EXO-M. Kris, Luhan, Tao, and Lay of EXO-M are all Chinese. EXO-K (K means Korean) is based in Korea while EXO-M (M means Mandarin) is in China. The two groups in EXO wear the same outfits, dance the same moves, and sing the same songs but in their respective languages.

“Recently, China’s entertainment market has developed more and there is a growing preference for those from their own country and it is not as easy as before for us to export successful singers in Korea to China,†a SM official said in an interview. “EXO-M is part of our new strategy.â€

 

Nickhun (center), a member of 2PM, is Thai (photo: Yonhap News).

 

Victoria of f(x) and Fei and Jia of Miss A are Chinese while Nickhun of JYP is Thai. They are already famous and have become international K-Pop stars. Victoria and Kris joined SM through its global auditions in recent years. “Most of the trainees are Asian but their ethnicity will become more diverse,†a talent agency official said. “If there are talented applicants, we are going to train them no matter if they are white or black,†Jeong Wook, CEO of JYP, was quoted as saying by Chosun Ilbo. “White or black applicants often lack understanding of K-pop compared to Asians but there will be strong applicants in the near future.â€

Experts say that amid the K-pop sensation around the world, there is a growing interest in Korea’s star management system and there would be more foreigners knocking on the doors of Korean management companies.

“Scooter Braun, an American talent manager, recruited Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen from Canada and Psy from Korea and has had a huge success,†Yang said. “We are going to produce new stars by signing up talents regardless of their nationality or ethnicity.â€

By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer

source

[abra]

Chocolat were the trend setters

[randall]

Nobady gon sign them

[dinolover]

lol girls dont bother 

they're not going to pick you if you're not east asian.

[kinjiki]

Why would talents in countries like US, Canada, UK etc want to be a popstar in a derivative entertainment/culture ghetto like Korea?

[PanShip]

ooooh ... 

a friend of mine went to the audition in berlin ... she failed 

[timpa]

If you aint Asian(this includes part-Asian) don't even bother. You're not going to be selected.

[ShawolSONEexo]

lol at non asians trying... they are not gonna pick you  

[kissxkiss_baby]

IF YOU AREN'T ASIAN YOU DONT HAVE A CHANCE

 

jfc

[PALEMOCHI]

lol i went to an audition for sm and when a non-asian girl went up to sing the judges just didn't look interested...

[kinjiki]

SM will make a girl group full of Miranda Kerrs and slay.

[tsuki2]

If you're not asian, half asian or even 1/4 asian don't bother going to these auditions, save yourself the time, money and embarrassment

[kissxkiss_baby]

My goodness couldn't they pick a better picture of Miss A

[Symphonyâ„¢]

Why do non-asians even try?

[Get The Job Done]

SM will make a girl group full of Miranda Kerrs and slay.

OH YEAAAAAAASSSS

[lilya]

If you're non-Asian, your just wasting your time & money to get to the audition.

[Nihilus]

Why do non-asians even try?

Why WOULD they want to try?

[CALICO CAT]

I don't get why they would think they would get picked

unless you're mindblowingly awesome, there's probably hundreds of koreans with the same skills willing to be a yg trainee who are more likely to get picked

 

if they really want to be performers, they can build their own careers in their respective countries

[Symphonyâ„¢]

Why WOULD they want to try?

They wannabe like they oppas and unnies...duh

[iiiiiiiii010101101iiiiiii]

Why do non-asians even try?

Because they want to be the very first of their own. They want to be regarded as that foreigner who broke barriers and broke into a predominantly Asian industry! Then afterwards she'll have a documentary sob story about her hardships as a foreigner in the industry, how she felt ostracized and discriminated, blah blah.

 

Ot: don't bother. Your talents will be much more appreciated in your respective countries.

[sane]

I feel bad for the non-Asian auditioners... they should go for Japan if they actually want any hope of debuting.

[CALICO CAT]

I feel bad for the non-Asian auditioners... they should go for Japan if they actually want any hope of debuting.

 

uhm I've actually seen more non-korean asians in big kpop groups than popular non-japanese idols (unless they're halfies)

[versace]

cant wait for a 13 member all white kpop boy group

koreaboo trendsetter oppa~

[Japanese Bonus Track]

would it have been better to go on Xfactor? I mean what's so special about the Kpop industry. haven't the testimonies from the idols tell you something? it's pure hell.

 

edit. and wtaf is this all white kpop boyband?! just have 1direction sing a song in Korean.

[ñyan]

Even if you tell them they won't get picked, they would go anyways, so let them be and learn by themselves that fact

 

 

I think everyone here knows why they go to a KPOP audition instead of going to any other American audition