recently sat down for an interview to talk about his thoughts on the spread of Kpop and the roles his artists have played. What especially caught the attention of fans was some of the information he mentioned regarding upcoming plans for the artists of Pledis.

He said, "I believe that Hallyu will go past the fad stage and earn a more matured place as a genre. From an American or a European point of view, k-pop could be seen not as Korean music, but Korean culture, or even Asian culture... K-pop's popularity isn't simply relevant to just one country's culture. It has to become strong enough to fight as a content anywhere. Something that differentiates Pledis starts with the development of concepts that are different from everyone else."

He further explained, "After School and Orange Caramel are the center of foreign export in Pledis. Although languages may be different and there aren't many chances for overseas fans to meet them compared to domestic fans, in the end we have a synergy effect of giving them twice the satisfaction. If you enjoyed the powerful and sexy After School last month, then this month you can cheer for the cute and lovely Orange Caramel. That point itself is different... I believe countries such as Japan or those in Southeast Asia are saturated with Korean boybands. Therefore, NU'EST's musical style is being developed to fit the global frame. We're aiming to venture into the American and European markets. If you are like everyone else, you can't succeed. NU'EST will appeal to everyone globally as the 'ambassador of the teens'."

He revealed that Pledis is also planning an overseas concert called 'Happy Pledis', and is also looking at setting up collaboration stages with overseas artists further down the road. Some of the dream collaboration examples mentioned were between Kahi and Eminem, NU'EST and Justin Bieber, and Orange Caramel and AKB48.

In addition, the upcoming 17 member boy group, Seventeen, is said to be scheduled for debut next year.

Source: Hankooki
Tip: pledislovers