3 weeks ago
21
After taking a look at K-pop’s biggest agencies, I’d like to turn my attention to the smaller (but still important) players in the K-pop game, three at a time.
Disclaimer: As with my write-ups on K-Pop’s biggest agencies, this is written from an outsider’s perspective. I’m not privy to any business-related financial information beyond what any other fan would know. The purpose of these articles is to examine how well these agencies are serving their artists and the general K-pop fan-base.
WM ENTERTAINMENT
I’m really only keeping WM Entertainment as part of this feature because I have great fondness for their history of music. The agency hasn’t been particularly ambitious over the past few years. They gained major points for handling ONF’s enlistment so well but the group doesn’t feel like a central part of the industry anymore. Their 2024 was relatively quiet, though they did strike out on an international tour that I was very happy to attend.
Oh My Girl remain the biggest “what if?” in WM’s roster. They had all the makings of a top tier girl group, but for whatever reason the agency just kind of gave up on them. Their sole Korean comeback was their lowest charting since 2016 and the group just isn’t given the promotional oomph they deserve. It’s sad to see because they have such a strong discography. Member YooA released a solo album early in the year, but it fared even worse than the group comeback.
Soloist Lee Chaeyeon also struggled to match former comebacks with her only album of the year. It’s mystifying because the agency’s star power is there… and the music is there… but WM just can’t seem to push any of its artists further into public awareness. They used to be better at this. Just ask B1A4 (who unfortunately came and went with an early-2024 album).
C-
YUEHUA ENTERTAINMENT
Yuehua Entertainment has a Chinese branch as well, but this will solely focus on their Korean work.
To start off, the agency flunks 2024 due to their treatment of Tempest’s Hwarang. He was essentially booted from the group for… visiting a club. There have been many problematic “controversies” in K-pop, but this must be a new low. It just shows an utter contempt for their own artists. Apart from a stint on Road to Kingdom and some less-than-amazing Japanese releases, the group remained mostly out of the picture following their March mini album.
Meanwhile, Yuehua continue to feed Everglow scraps, giving them one forgettable comeback after nearly a year of silence. On the plus side, Zombie charted relatively well for them. But it’s clear the group is an afterthought for the agency.
The one bright side for Yuehua is soloist Choi Yena. Her success and quirky sound pull the agency out of “F” territory… but just barely.
D-
143 ENTERTAINMENT
Well, currently their CEO has sexual misconduct allegations leveled against him that have forced idol Gaeun out of her group (MADEIN) just weeks after its debut. So… things are going pretty well, right?
This agency is also home to iKON, who didn’t release a thing this year (they toured instead). That leaves us with those sexual misconduct allegations being 143’s biggest “achievement” of the year.
English (US) · 