A recent article by the the U.K.'s BBC is receiving widespread attention, and has become one of the most talked about articles in Korea at the moment.
That's because the BBC article points out the 'dark side' of Asia, notably Korea and Japan's music industries. Some of the harsh realities inside Korea and Japan's music industries is receiving light because of TWICE Tzuyu's recent nationality controversy, as well as Japanese boy group SMAP's recent controversy of trying to disband.
The article explains how idols' personal lives can be controlled by their agencies; something that does not typically happen in Western countries. We already know how Korean agencies often ban their idol members from dating during their first few years after debuting. But it's actually even harsher in Japan, where Japanese idols can be sued for dating or getting married, as it's part of their contract.
Mark Russell, an expert on the K-pop industry, gave his reasoning for why much of Taiwan was upset over Tzuyu's public apology. He explained that Korea "puts strong emphasis on humility" but that can be "too extreme" for other countries. He says that in this case, Taiwan found it humiliating that Tzuyu had to apologize for waving a Taiwanese flag.
The article also mentioned how Japanese boy group SMAP recently publicly apologized to their fans and their agency's founder for trying to leave the agency and split up.
Japanese girl group AKB48's Minami Minegishi was also mentioned. A few years ago, she broke her agency's rule by spending a night with her boyfriend. Afterwards, she released an apology video where she cried and expressed her wishes to stay in the group.
What do you think of the 'dark side' of Asia's music industries? Do you agree with what the BBC said?
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