Foreign young talents flock to K-pop auditions
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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.”
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.
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 al
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