Deep-lying cultural differences set human beings apart, which is more evident when we study the Korean pop industry. The music industry is invariably sensitive to the culture of places it operates. Music is a business meant to generate profit and to do that; it has to align with the target demographics’ views and beliefs. The task of creation lies on musicians, but whether they will succeed or not depends on the environment in which they operate. This then limits their agency and shows that the power lies in the hands of the people and production agencies.
Agencies have to design their products to meet the people’s expectations and always look to create the ideal product that would sell as much as possible. Sometimes the creation of the ideal product conflicts with the realities of human nature, as displayed in the K-pop industry. Musicians desire a normal life but their agencies, managers and people involved in the creative process want them to live according to the public’s expectations. A musician’s success and indeed all participants in the K-pop industry, depends on how well they align with the people’s needs, desires, and expectations, and their failure is usually a result of violating the same.
Given this context, people should always understand that K-pop’s cultural products are meant to display the ideal, fantasy even. We should understand the meaning of K-pop by looking at the background of the reality of the industry. The products revolve around what should be appealing to the whole nation, which is a far cry from reality. It is not possible to please everybody without significant, often detrimental self-deprivation. This point has been illustrated by the various exposes by Korean paparazzi that show that K-pop celebrities’ lives are not what their fans think they are.