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K-pop Fandoms and Protest Culture

Joseph Hwang In the 1980s, South Korea achieved democracy through a constitutional amendment that allowed direct presidential elections in response to civil resistance against military rule. This constitutional shift came at a significant cost, with ordinary citizens sacrificing their lives so that future generations could establish a nation grounded in their cherished values. Today, the older generation of South Koreans plays a pivotal role in this democratic legacy, as the freedoms and values they fought for have nurtured the global rise of K-pop. For this generation, protests are ingrained in their culture, yet they believe such actions should not be necessary. The term “martial law” is particularly sensitive for them, as they are acutely aware of the oppressive military dictatorships in South Korea’s history, where it was a tool for controlling dissent. Just hearing the phrase triggers memories of the violence that occurred during pro-democracy protests. However, on December 3, 202...
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Posted by Joseph Hwang

A&R: The Core of the Music Business World

Joseph Hwang


* This article is based on the “2023 Music Industry White Paper” published by the Korea Creative Content Agency, part of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea.


A&R is a term that combines the first letter of the artist and the repertoire. This A&R means a core person in the world of the music business who further matches an artist and songs and then manages the artist to debut or come back, including the entire recording process. The possibility of hitting a song is very much assigned to the role and ability of an A&R. A&R constantly analyzes, evaluates, forecasts, calculates, and decides how to make the artist’s big success through hits.


In the early days of the music business industry, the boundary between an artist manager and an A&R was not definite. As the industry developed, the role and character of A&R became increasingly distinguished and now specialized and specified, except for small companies.


The A&R should maintain the musical and media publicity senses and observe and catch changes in public trends and emotions. First, the A&R should be able to see through human beings’ merits and defects, including their mental and psychological states, to remarkably bring out the artist’s attractiveness more than anything.


A&R always treats and deals with repertoire information among the pool of songwriters or publishing companies. For this task, A&R must renew the updates of this information around the communities. Also, A&R should be able to get the latest news on who can become the jackpot as the new face artists and composers. Even though the small points shouldn’t be missed unless possible, they should be trained to think differently than others.


The role of A&R, who belongs to a bigger company, is becoming clearer. This means that the role of A&R, including the promotion in charge, is certainly distinguished from that of the specialist in publicity works in larger companies.


However, many people wonder how to be an A&R in the K-pop industry. Unfortunately, there is still no way to enter the official or authorized organizations for education. There is only one way to enter K-pop companies: applying for recruitment opportunities and learning the job under the seniors as an apprentice after being hired.


* References and quotations:

https://welcon.kocca.kr/ko/info/trend/1953646

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