SM Entertainment appointed producer Hong Jong Hwa as its first principal for the 'SM Universe' K-pop school.

SM Universe is an educational facility established in April by SM Entertainment in collaboration with Jongno Academy and Esteem. It is a program open to people from all around the world and garnered attention even before its launch. 1,200 individuals have applied to the 8-week pre-SM Universe.

During a recent interview, producer Hong Jong Hwa revealed how the school was operated and how the classes were conducted. He explained, "The classes operated with a capacity of 60 students each. The regular course has not yet started, and the trial course has been offered free of charge for 8 weeks from the beginning of May. Graduates from Seoul Institute of the Arts and Dong-A Broadcasting Arts University are full-time teachers and we also had special lectures."

The producer also explained, "About 1,200 applied to the program, and 59 students passed the second audition. There are four majors in our school - vocals and dance, producing, modeling, and acting."  He also added that the applicants were chosen based on their ability and their possibility of becoming a celebrity. Since the students are to possibly enter the entertainment world, he explained that the age group of the applicants was young - Students in their 3rd year of middle school - 1st year of high school.

The pre-SM Universe was conducted from May 9 to July 1, and producer Hong Jong Hwa explained the results were great. He explained, "A team was created through SMU training. It's a team called 'UNIS(Z),' and they named the team themselves. As a personal wish, I hoped that only one SM trainee would appear. However, I got a call from the SM Casting Center saying that they wanted to audition all five members of the team. The head of the casting center said they have a friend who applied as a trainee in the past, and they improved a lot through SMU education. So it was meaningful in itself."
 

The SMU principal also explained that the school will add additional curriculum once it officially launches. The producer explained there were many talented students who applied to the pre-SM Universe, and so he felt the necessity to update the curriculum. He explained, "In a way, I was worried because it could be slightly higher than the level of middle school and high school students. But when I met the students, they could already set up a basic music work environment at home on a computer and practiced making tracks to some extent. In the case of vocals, there were many friends who were prepared through a practical music academy. So we wanted to let them know exactly what we do in the SM trainee system."

While there are many who are seeing the SM Universe in a positive light, there are some who are concerned that SM Entertainment seems to be venturing into a different field rather than focusing on managing their artists. 

Netizens commented, "They need to treat the artists they have better," "So this was just another way to find more trainees," "I think this idea is okay," "Sounds like fun, wish they had a program for older people," "They are starting a school?" "Why are they starting a school?" "They should just focus on the artists they have," "What are they teaching in the school?" "They are getting into just about anything lol," and "Aren't they just training them like trainees?"