Big Bang – History of the National Idols

Are you worried about their sales? Reputation? Public image? Endorsement contracts?

If you answer yes to any of this, then you are underestimating Big Bang. I can understand why you would, after all you are in another country. You did not see them at their peak. You did not experience the “Big Bang Explosion.” You were not a part of us. You are not a K-VIP nor a citizen of our country.

But I am not belittling you. As a matter of fact, I thank you because you know Big Bang. You talk about them on Twitter, Facebook, and the Allkpop, and for that, urin Pik Peng were able to perform and visit Bangkok, Singapore City, Kuala Lumpur, many of Japan’s cities, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Belfast. If not for you and you support, our dear boys would not have travelled the world with their music. Thank you. With all my heart, I really thank you.

I thank you yes, but I also would like to explain something to you. What you read online, what you think you know, they maybe true but not at all accurate. If some people are scaring you that our people are murdering YG and Big Bang with their words, don’t let that reality fool you. Words are just words. Words, for most time, is not money. Internet is just a silly place of whatver. Hater-infested Nate, Dispatch, or Enews articles isn’t going to put an end to the career of five national idols. Not now.

We have known Ji Yong and Young Bae when they were just preteens who had no money, no food, and only had cute smiles and pride. We grew up together. We rode the Seoul Subway with them after practice. We watched them perform in the parks of 마로니에 공원 and 남산. We’ve known them since we were all just 15, thinking life was so easy. But I’m not saying we are friends, because we are not. We are just loyal fans and all I’m saying is, we’ve known them before they built their houses in Chungdam-dong or bought their Audis and Bentleys. We didn’t like them with their golden packages. We became fans because we saw their passion and pursuit and patience to become artists. And they did become succesful on a national level, that’s why we are so proud.

I was 17 when I met Seung Hyun oppa, Dae Sung, Hyun Seung, and Seung Hyun. They were different. I didn’t see in them the raw talent and passion I admired in Ji Yong and Young Bae. I felt like they had it easy. It took a while for our movement to realize that like our idols, these four young men were just searching for their dreams. As the months passed by, we saw that Ji Yong and Young Bae grew attached to the four, and like brothers, they had a very admirable and powerful bond. They exuded the energy of determined dreamers, of fighters, of a family. Ji Yong and Seung Hyun oppa always joked around, Young Bae and Hyun Seung always rode the bus together, Dae Sung and Seunghyun took a while to be closer. But it was only a matter of time for our movement to see that just like the other two, Ji Yong and Young Bae also treasured them dearly. I loved all of them even more, and each and everyday my admiration for them increases.

I am writing these long and plentiful paragraphs to relay to you what we, K-VIPS, are feeling. I am not speaking for all of us, but I can tell you for sure that what I will say is in the mind of many of us. We want you to see what we’re seeing, to listen to what we’re hearing, to read what we are knowing, to understand what is happening, and to regain your faith and strong pride in the NAME BIG BANG.

Over the years, there have been hundreds of idols that debuted in this little business. At the peak of album sales, almost 30 million albums would be sold in a year, and only about 2 million of that would be from an idol group, and just one group at that — 서태지와 아이들. At the end of the last millenium, tons of groups came to light, and SM Entertainment managed to monopolize the teenagers. I don’t know how to explain it in a global scale. Let’s just say that in the past, no one gave a damn about 13-year old singers, but Disney and RBMG hit gold with Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber. SM hit the jackpot with HOT, Shinhwa, and SES. They hit it further with BoA and TVXQ. Other companies further the iron: DSP with Fin.K.L and Sech.Kies, then Yee Hyori; JYP with god and Rain; YG with 1tym and Se7en. It was like a wide-scale machinery — every year we would produced idols after idols after idols.

There are hundreds of idols in this industry. Namjagreup, yojeagreup, namjagasu, yeojagasu, ahyidol, hundreds of them. But few of them mattered to the wide variety of people. But of the millions of them all, I can only provide you with a few name of idol singers who really MATTERED, who really shone brightest, who really impacted our culture, who really turned around the people and the game, who really set the trends, who people actually KNOW and CARE ABOUT.

S.E.S became our national role models. They were a role model to our youth with their clean music and inspirational messages, and the old wanted them to be their daughters.

Fin.K.L became our national rebels. They projected strong females who fought for their dreams, and their messages was received well by our youth and our parents.

BoA became our national idol. She was the ultimate inspiration to our young dreamers, and every parent wanted a daughter like BoA.

Yee Hyori became our national fairy. Her music and dance inspired our youth, while her charisma and attitude endeared her to our old. Like a fairy, she brought light in our dark days.

Ivy became our national syndrome. Her appeal was something unheard of, and her forward image caused a national syndrome.

Wonder Girls became our national sisters. Their freshness and innocence influenced our young, and enterained all our old, men or women.

IU became our national little sister. Her innocence and soft voice is a quality that everyone likes, and all her songs are popular among every one.

So Nyeo Shi Dae became our national idol group. They set all kinds of legendary records and trends, and their music and beauty is widely admired among every kind of our people.

HOT, Shinhwa, TVXQ, Super Junior, Shinee, god, 2PM, Sech.Kies, SS501, 1tym… For years we have seen uniformed men with robotic movements debut and create ruckus among female teenagers. I admit I am one of them. They have made a niche among the minority of preteens, teens, and young adults — all female. They have perfected the art of seduction, obsessions, fanaticism, devotion, loyalty. Their good looks, their costumes, their hair styles, their dance moves, their bodies, their heights, their either effeminate or beastly nature have locked up the support of a sure niche. There’s no going wrong with a male idol group, because just as sure as the United States will support Twilight, and Europe will support Harry Potter, female youth will support male idol groups.

But none of them created an impact. None of them were catapulted to national ranks. None of them set any kinds of new trends. None of them veered away from the formulaic ratio of good looks, dance moves, and pop music. Well, god did for a while, but after two hit songs, god couldn’t go farther than a one-hit-wonder. It’s JYP’s fault, because Rain stole their thunder. None of our male idols created whatsoever to even matter to the Korean people who are not 18 and are not female. For years, female idols stole everything, from #1 song, to #1 fashion, to #1 television ratings, to #1 radio airplay, to #1 newsmaker, to #1 syndrome, to #1 popularity surveys, to national star status. All male idols locked in their hands were album sales and female fan count. Up until now, male idols have dominated the album sales and fandom, but our female idols have always reigned on public image, popularity and other avenues of sales.

South Korea has an unfair stigma for male idols – robotic, manufactured, cheesy, shallow, unrealistic, no substance.

I guess that stigma stems from such high honors and pedestal we put on our male musical artists. We have a higher standards for male singers because of legends such as Jo Yong Pil, Yee Seungchul, Yoon Doo Hyun Band, and Seo Taiji and the Boys. These are strings of musical acts, NOT IDOLS, who have become such important cultural figures in our society, that such male idols who debuted seemed like little stars compared to the sun like our legendary male singers. This is why Rain, amidst being an idol, shone among our public. Not since Seo Taiji and the Boys have we even cared for an idol. But 10 years after, there came a male singer who became our national pride. Rain appeared in television and movies and spearheaded the maintenance of Hallyu. He was such a catalyst to the spread of our culture, that even if he wasn’t as musically talented as Lee Seung Chul or Kim Gunmo, the Korean society viewed him as a world star. Not since the strings of male singers I mentioned above have we cared for male performer, and an idol at that, on a national scale.

Rain became our national star. He is our world star, and he became such an integral star among the nation not because of his music, but because of his international achievements.

But still, with the list of all the national idols I have mentioned, there seems to be one type of singer missing — a male group. The high and double standards continued, because up until the peak of boy groups such as TVXQ and SS501, still people from different walks of life did not give a rat’s for these male groups much like how my grandma knew Fin.K.L’s songs, my friends’ parents sang to the Wonder Girls, my uncles admired Hyori, the ahjussi who drove the bus danced to SNSD, and the ahjummas selling ddeokbokki wanted their sons to marry IU.

No care at all.

NOT UNTIL 2007 and 2008, when the universe exploded with what would be known as the BIG BANG.

SOURCE: YG UNITED