Ultimate K-Pop Survival Guide: JYJ

K-Pop. The first thing that will come to mind when people hear that word probably is a bunch of boys or girls who have good-looking faces, attractive and glamorous life. What they do not know is there is a dark side in K-Pop world which most of people never think about.

            K-Pop is an extremely competitive genre, a small country with a population of merely 50 million people produces artist literally almost every day. The industry is like a ruthless stepmother; once you make a serious mistake, it might cost you, your career and more. Career ups and downs are normal in an artist’s life but in K-Pop, once you reached the lowest part, it is very difficult or almost impossible to climb up the mountain again. Ultimate K-Pop survival guide will be a short series on artists who have managed to turn their failing career from point zero back again or who had gone through a lot of hardship and still managed to remain successful. Not only rookie artists but we, the audience, can also learn a lot from them.

TVXQ (before the split up) Left-right: Junsu-Yoochun-Jaejoong-Changmin-Yunho

JYJ (left-right: Junsu-Jaejoong-Yoochun)

            Avoid them as if they were lepers.

            The first installment of the series is dedicated to perhaps the biggest survivors of the dark side of K-pop: JYJ. Everyone knows what they have been through, but it doesn’t hurt to summarize and focus on how they actually managed to cope with the situation.

            For the uninitiated:

 Once there had been an idol band we can possibly call one of the greatest successes of K-pop ever and the legendary band which no one in Korea don’t know about ; DBSK, or in Japan as TOHOSHINKI or TVXQ by their English abbreviation. The five members boy band, consisting of Kim Jaejoong, Jung Yunho, Park Yoochun, Kim Junsu and Shim Changmin, was among the first successful Korean artist to set foot in Japan, sang Japanese songs, built their fan base from zero and with blood and tears, they worked their way up the ladder, from performing to a mere handful of fans to filling the 50,000 seats Tokyo Dome in rows, from an unknown foreign band to acknowledge as a pure Japanese group without riding on hallyu wave. Their fandom, Cassiopeia, was certified by the Guinness Book of Records for being the largest fan club in the world. They reached unimaginable heights in Asia, thus their break up, when the three of the band members (Jaejoong, Junsu and Yoochun) decided to leave the agency was probably one of the biggest shocking events ever to shake the world of K-pop. Not because boy bands are supposed to last forever, but because they were at the height of their careers and were known to be close to each other. When the news broke out that Jaejoong, Yoochun and Junsu started a lawsuit against their agency S.M ENTERTAINMENT to nullify their 13-year contract which people called it as a slave contract and the unfair payment because they only paid about  0,2%-1% from their album sale and many other , at first everyone hoped there could be a settlement but in October 2009 the Seoul court ruled in favor of JYJ, and as a result, the Fair Trade Commission then use of ‘model contracts’  to prevent agencies from having artists sign excessive deals.

            Though the social impact of their lawsuit was huge, industry players were forced to rethink the ways they were treating their artists, and JYJ emerged as a moral winner, the real hardships were to begin just then. S.M ENTERTAINMENT appealed against the court decision and a three year desperate battle took off. Not long after JYJ (Jaejoong, Yoochun, Junsu) announce the establishment of their new band, their primary supporter in Japan, AVEX, suddenly had a change of heart, claiming sole rights to manage the band in Japan, dismissing the claims that JYJ’s new management company, C-JES ENTERTAINMENT, had any rights to organize events for the band on Japanese ground. They too, ended up in a long lawsuit. During which JYJ was denied any kind of rights to perform in Japan. At the same time, all doors in Korea closed as well. The industry suddenly started treating the three young men as if they had leprosy. In silent agreement, major broadcasting stations denied their appearances as musicians. Some were claiming that they did not wish to get entangled in court related issues.

            “At the time, we had no one to speak for us, and we could do nothing but silently stand our ground”---Kim Jaejoong.

C-Jes Entertainment thus had to build a different strategy to promote JYJ. With no possibilities to appear on televised programs, the usual promotion cycle was out of question. The possibility of failure also lingered in the air, with the artists preparing themselves for the worst; that they might not be able to stand on stage again.

            The rules of survival for JYJ were as follows:

1.      KEEP SILENT! Despite the constant rumors, the extensive media coverage, part of the torn fandom accusing them of betrayal, former label mates openly criticizing them for their decision, JYJ kept silent. As they expressed in their 1000 day anniversary magazine, they decide to work silently and not to be shaken by accusations and rumors.

2.      If you can’t enter through the door, climb through the window. As they were denied the chance to promote through television, JYJ had to look for other ways of reaching their audience. They started separating activities, Yoochun and Jaejoong became involved in television dramas and movies, gaining wide following as actors. Junsu began to appear in musicals and in a mere three years’ time, he went from being looked at as “box office bringing tool” to a highly praised and critically acclaimed musical actor on his own right.

When the nation’s main broadcasters were not willing to talk to them as musicians, ironically they became the sweethearts of the government, appointed as goodwill ambassadors and promoters of national and international scale events like the 2014 Asian Games, and were among the few selected artists invited to perform at President Park Geun-Hye’s inauguration. The latter marked their first televised performance in three years in their home country. When local record labels were unwilling to assist, they went to the US and started working with American producers, despite their lack of English skills. 

3.      No regret, no complaints. In their 1000 day anniversary magazine, the band members expressed that despite all the hardships, they did not regret their decision, not once. Having faith in your decisions is important for obtaining and maintaining the strength needed to survive. They have also never complained of unfair treatment or the lack of opportunities because of the silent ban in Japan and Korea. They just did what they had to do: work hard and smile. I believe that having a positive attitude and being able to smile at their fans was an important factor in their success. Instead of giving in to striking waves of depression and self-pity, they rose above hard times by sticking together and supporting each other.

4.      Don’t lose your trust. When unfortunate events happen, people can easily feel they are no longer able to trust the other. JYJ had gone through this period as well. When Baek Chang-Ju (CEO of C-Jes Entertainment) offered his help in 2009, they did not trust him, it took them months to open up and accept his helping hand. C-Jes Entertainment was established exclusively to steer JYJ’s boat through trouble waters and it went from a one person venture to a serious agency that employs over 40 people with sales amounting to ₩ 33 billion (won) (roughly U$ 30 million USD) in only two years‘ time.

JYJ’s legal fights have just recently ended, but their battle is far from being over yet. Broadcasting stations are still treading carefully. Despite all the unfortunate events that had befallen them (appearances denied, concerts canceled last minute, accusations, rumors, some of their own fans turning their backs on the band), JYJ never once gave up.

Their album (JYJ), In Heaven, sold over 500,000 copies and became the best album of 2011, Junsu’s Tarantallegra was one of the most successful solo albums of 2012, Jaejoong’s MINE was the only one solo album on the top ten list Best Selling Albums of 2013; exactly at the 3^rd place, despite lacking of promotion. JYJ’s world tour, Jaejoong’s and Junsu’s Asia tours were completely sold out. JYJ comeback concert at Tokyo Dome after three years in April 2013 had attracted 210,000 fans altogether.

Besides part of the Cassiopeia fandom still supporting them as much as they support the duo TVXQ (Yunho and Changmin), JYJ gained a firm and enthusiastic new fan base as well, through their group and individual activities. Jaejoong’s two limited edition albums became a huge success, Yoochun is acclaim as the most successful idol turn actor on the market and Junsu cemented his name as one of the best singers ever born in Korea as he became a highly praised musical actor (he’s an artist who has the greatest voice in Korea until now and there isn’t another singer could replace him yet, with Jaejoong come at the second place due to professional vocal trainers analysis). Now, they are wealthier than most artists under their former agency (S.M Entertainment), including their former band members, Yunho and Changmin.

Were they lucky? I would not think so! Many of us would have given up such a grueling and frankly, seemingly hopeless battle against giant obstacle. What we can learn from JYJ is that you need to keep your faith, grind your teeth, work hard and believe in your own abilities. Only then you will be able to turn all unfortunate events into glistening success.

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Taken from : JYJ3.net