Not All Glitz & Glamour: The Reality Of Working At K-pop Entertainment Companies
Former and current employees spill their experiences on what it's actually like working for a K-pop entertainment company.
Are you a fan of K-pop?
If you are, you may have wondered what it would be like working for one of the entertainment companies.
You have a direct influence on the music and the content they create which sounds very exciting.
Plus, there's always a chance of bumping into a K-pop idol at work.
I also dreamt of working for an entertainment company when I was younger.
But is it as glamorous as it sounds in real life? Let's find out!
Today, we'll be going through actual employee reviews posted on these two Korean websites.
JobPlanet is a website where people who work or have worked for a company anonymously share their reviews and experiences.
The option of being anonymous allows for people to share their true thoughts without sugar-coating anything.
Saramin is a website that reveals information about companies.
A corporate email is required for identity verification in order to submit a review so we know that they are credible.
HYBE
HYBE gained massive success all thanks to the global boy band BTS and has since become a very famous entertainment company.
Founded: 2005.02.04
Number of Employees: 422 (As of March 2021)
Revenue:
Reported on Saramin: 453.3 billion won (Approx. 406 million USD)
Reported on HYBE financial statements:
796.3 billion won (Approx. 713 million USD)
(As of December 31, 2020)
Salary:
Average of college graduates:
33 million won (Approx. 30k USD)
Average of all employees:
50 million won (Approx. 45k USD)
Business Size: Small/Medium
How is HYBE evaluated among its current and former employees?
A total of 91 reviews can be found on the website with a rating average of 2.4 out of 5.
Welfare and Salary: 3/5
Work-life Balance: 2.1/5
Company Culture: 2.4/5
Opportunities for Advancement: 2.4/5
Management: 2.2
According to the reviews, the company recommendation rate is 29%, the CEO support rate is 52%, and the growth potential rate is 34%.
Let's get into the specifics behind its ratings. We will translate the reviews for you!
Title
As it is still at a stage of growth, possibilities and unstableness coexist. The pros and cons are clear.
Pros
You can feel the culture and atmosphere of an entertainment startup company that's innovatively changing.
Good salary.
Cons
Too many meetings and inefficient work.
Limited communication.
No work-life balance.
Title
Recommended for workaholics who don't care for work-life balance.
Pros
Flexible hours.
Variety of drinks and food.
Overall youthful atmosphere.
Cons
The company continues to grow without much internal structure.
Overwhelming amount of work, no work-life balance or holidays.
Title
HYBE - BTS = 0. Unstructured and only the opinions of those that have worked at the company longer are heard.
Pros
The people around you will find your job interesting.
Cons
During the 6 months probationary period, they will secretly test how much the employee is willing to handle without making a complaint.
You must always be on call on weekends, evenings, and also during a vacation.
Experience the most passive and inefficient workplace where it should be the most creative.
You can feel that they lean solely on BTS for the income.
HYBE went through the process of rebranding their entire company from Big Hit to HYBE.
It was announced that they had created a culture where members with various professions can work together creatively.
Also, they rebranded the company to pay attention to the working conditions of not only the artists but also the employees.
Considering that the welfare and salary received a rating of 3/5, it can be judged as decent.
So most of the strengths of HYBE are centered around the fact that they are a fast-growing company with increasing opportunities.
Also, the welfare and salary of the company are relatively good compared to other entertainment companies.
They try to create a comfortable work environment.
However, the cons of working for HYBE reviewed by its employees seem awful!
First of all, there seems to be no work-life balance at all.
And although they emphasize that they allow their employees to have creative freedom, it seems that the employees are experiencing the opposite.
They reviewed that most of the decisions are made by the people on top and they just follow their orders.
The title "HYBE - BTS = 0" is very intense and you can feel the rage coming from the employee.
YG
What about YG?
YG Entertainment rose to the top when BIG BANG and 2NE1 debuted 10 years ago.
They're not disappearing anytime soon with the continued success of BLACKPINK, WINNER, TREASURE, and iKON.
Founded: 1996.05.20
Number of Employees: 315
Revenue: 285.8 billion won
(Approx. 255 million USD)
Salary:
Average of college graduates:
20 million won (Approx. 25k USD)
Average of all employees:
31 million won (Approx. 28k USD)
Business Size: Medium
How is YG Entertainment evaluated by its current and former employees?
A total of 257 reviews can be found on the website with a rating average of 2.3 out of 5.
Welfare and Salary: 2.2/5
Work-life Balance: 2.1/5
Company Culture: 2.3/5
Opportunities for Advancement: 2.5/5
Management: 1.9/5
According to the reviews, the company recommendation rate is 23%, the CEO support rate is 25%, and the growth potential rate is 19%.
Title
A company that makes a living out of its brand name value of being a large entertainment company.
Pros
You can brag to people that you work at YG.
Cons
Working overtime is expected even though you get paid a low salary.
Existing employees act extra pretentious and authoritative.
Title
It has brand name value so I don't need to go in-depth about the company. Has good company image.
Pros
The new office building is awesome. Feels like working for a large company.
The company provides lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks.
Cons
Has a lot of employees who have worked at the company for a long time and acts like they're above everyone.
Even if you don't work hard, if you suck up to your boss you will be comfortable at work.
Title
A company that has a history but no records of their internal work history.
Pros
A youthful, lively company culture.
Events for new hires.
Cons
Even though the culture is overall youthful, the work atmosphere is oppressive and there is a lot of pressure.
Proper training and records of work history are non-existent. Unsure of what's right or wrong.
They don't think their employees are important so there is a high turnover rate.
Too much work. It affects your health and personality.
YG recently moved its headquarters to Hapjeong-dong.
The office building is gigantic and they are well-known for their amazing facilities.
The most famous part of their company is the cafeteria.
Not only the reviews mentioned above, but all other reviews online constantly praise the food at the YG cafeteria.
My friend also works at YG and frequently uploads on social media that he only attends work to eat.
In addition, YG has established itself as the best entertainment company in Korea for 20 years.
There are many reviews that speak highly of their brand since most people know YG Entertainment.
But YG also has its disadvantages.
Similar to HYBE, its employees have reviewed that the work-life balance does not exist.
Many people also feel that the culture is oppressive and does not allow for creative freedom.
Also, a lot of powerful statements were made that said, "Take care of your employees too, not just your artists."
Since they are an entertainment company that revolves around its artist's success, the efforts of the employees that support the artists often go unnoticed.
The reviews reflect the frustration of the employees as they feel that they aren't treated with much importance.
SM
SM Entertainment was at the forefront of K-pop when idols were first introduced in Korea.
It has since continued to rise in success and has numerous artists to this day.
Founded: 1995.02.14
Number of Employees: 498 (As of March 2021)
Revenue: Approx. 302.6 billion won
(Approx. 270 million USD)
(As of December 31, 2020)
Salary:
Average of college graduates:
31 million won (Approx. 27k USD)
Average of all employees:
41 million won (Approx. 36k USD)
Business Size: Medium
For reference, the reason why YG and SM are classified as medium-sized companies despite having lower sales than HYBE is that YG and SM have been at the top of the entertainment industry longer than HYBE and have consistently achieved high average sales.
It's predicted that HYBE will be classified as a medium-sized company in the near future.
How is SM evaluated by its current and former employees?
A total of 387 reviews can be found on the website with a rating average of 2.4 out of 5.
Welfare and Salary: 2/5
Work-life Balance: 2/5
Company Culture: 2.4/5
Opportunities for Advancement: 2.3/5
Management: 2.1/5
According to its reviews, the company recommendation rate is 25%, the CEO support rate is 40%, and the growth potential rate is 20%.
Title
A company that has a strong mindset of "there are many others that can do the job if you can't."
All positions start as contract workers.
Pros
Pays 20,000 won for your phone bill.
Pays 10,000 won for meals if working overtime.
Sometimes if an artist releases a new album, their manager will give you a signed copy.
Cons
Clocking in exists, but there's no clocking out.
Whatever the people at the top tell you to do, you do it.
They don't see the importance of people.
Title
Fun. It's fun. But only fun.
Don't start working here with high expectations.
Pros
If you love the entertainment industry and K-pop content you will have fun.
Your work efficiently improves naturally because there's too much work.
Cons
Inefficient work.
Working overtime doesn't exist, it's more like living at the company and working day and night.
Title
Very old-fashioned organizational culture. There needs to be a change. I often feel overwhelmed when work is dumped on me last minute.
Pros
Since there are so many artists, you can work on various content.
The scope of the work is very wide so you can find yourself working on new things that you didn't think were possible.
Cons
A vicious cycle of producing/planning/publishing and struggling to manage so many artists.
'Do what you're told' attitude.
Poor salary that provides no motivation.
SM was considered one of the biggest and best Korean entertainment companies before HYBE grew its success.
It has a great brand name value since they've produced numerous artists over 20 years.
However, because of this, the old-fashioned organizational culture still remains.
Like other entertainment companies, they lack an efficient system to get work done which is considered a major problem.
Also, since there are much more artists at SM compared to other companies, there's a high amount of work to get done.
This is a problem since its employees are overloaded with work.
The dissatisfaction rate seems high because the salary is low considering the amount of work.
Most reviews reflect that they are only holding on because of their love for K-pop and the industry.
JYP
JYP is one of the representative entertainment companies in Korea where various idols such as TWICE, Stray Kids, and Day6 are active with Park Jin-young in the center of it all.
Founded: 1997.11.18
Number of Employees: 246
Revenue: Approx. 130 billion won (Approx 116 USD)
Salary:
Average of college graduates:
32 million won (Approx. 28k USD)
Average of all employees:
41 million won (Approx. 36k USD)
Business Size: Small/Medium
How is JYP evaluated by its current and former employees?
Based on a total of 133 reviews on the website, it received a rating of 2.5/5.
Surprisingly, 2.5 is the highest score among the four entertainment companies.
Welfare and Salary: 2.3/5
Work-life Balance: 1.8/5
Company Culture: 2.6/5
Opportunities for Advancement: 2.7/5
Management: 2.4/5
According to its reviews, the company recommendation rate is 26%, the CEO support rate is 55%, and the growth potential rate is 13%.
Title
A company I would recommend if you want to work in the entertainment industry because they care about ethics.
Pros
It varies from each department but usually, you're free to use your vacation.
Delicious foods at the cafeteria.
A welcoming atmosphere that values the opinions of their employees and tries to accommodate them.
Cons
Vacation is more like working from home.
Work-related calls even on weekends.
Title
The atmosphere and culture vary depending on each department.
Recommended for those that are passionate about the entertainment industry.
You don't get to rest on weekends or at night during busy seasons. One of the very few entertainment companies that stick to ethical principles.
Pros
Delicious meals.
They don't make you do anything unethical.
Will quickly increase your understanding of the entertainment industry.
Cons
No work-life balance.
Very low salary for new hires.
Work-related calls even on weekends.
Title
Among entertainment companies, they are one of the very few that think of their employees.
The name Park Jin-young says it all.
Pros
Book purchase fees are provided.
Company welfare is not bad for an entertainment company.
The representative is not authoritative.
Cons
Long work hours and a lot of work.
Physically more tiring than mentally.
Low salaries
If you're a fan of JYP Entertainment, you've probably heard of Park Jin-young's strong stance on ethical principles.
Park Jin-young has always emphasized good character and ethics not only for the artists but also for the employees.
In the past, he appeared on a program and revealed that he once told his employees, "The moment you walk into an establishment where women are there to serve and entertain, consider yourself fired."
This was a surprise since there are many other companies that will let unethical things slide behind closed doors.
But thanks to these values upheld by Park Jin-young, JYP's work culture seem to be relatively good compared to the other companies.
The company culture and opportunities for advancement are rated higher than others.
Unfortunately, like other entertainment companies, JYP Entertainment also doesn't seem to have a work-life balance.
Even though they say that they are allowed to use their vacation freely, you can get a sense of the intensity of their workload from their reviews of receiving work-related calls on weekends and holidays.
Like other companies, the salary is also pretty low.
The K-pop Entertainment Industry
Do the issues only apply to big entertainment companies such as HYBE, YG, SM, and JYP?
Absolutely not.
In fact, the problems listed above all apply to other companies in the entertainment industry.
We looked at the results on JobPlanet when you search for different entertainment companies.
Pledis Entertainment, Jellyfish Entertainment, Cube Entertainment, and Woolim Entertainment all received low ratings ranging from 2.3 to 2.5 out of 5.
You can see that other companies are even worse than this!
Let's summarize the main issues at entertainment companies:
1. Too much workload.
2. Your evenings, weekends, and vacation is not guaranteed.
3. Low salaries.
4. No proper system in place.
5. All decisions are made by the top and passed down.
6. They prioritize their artists and don't treat their employees well.
This is the reality of most entertainment industries.
So people that love K-pop and the glamorous entertainment industry enter the company with big dreams, but they end up leaving within a few years.
They feel that the mental and physical stress is not worth their small paychecks.
Earlier when introducing the four major entertainment companies, I mentioned the average annual salary of college graduates and all employees.
For college graduates, the average salary is around 31.3 million won (Approx. 28k USD).
According to Job Korea, the annual salary of new college graduates in large companies is about 41.21 million won (Approx. 36k USD) as of 2021.
As for smaller companies, the average salary is about 27.93 million won (Approx. 25k USD).
It can be said that the average salary of college graduates at an entertainment company is a little higher than a small/medium-sized company.
However, considering the overwhelming amount of workload and long working hours, their salary is considered to be low.
Apart from the people in higher positions, it is said that the longest an employee stays at a company is less than 5 years.
Therefore, it gets difficult to set a proper system in place and the culture becomes very authorative.
The reputation of working at these entertainment companies is not great.
Even when I went in for a job counseling session at my college, they advised me to not even look in the direction of entertainment companies.
It's shocking to hear that the 4 major entertainment companies in Korea that I introduced above are considered the best out of them all.
In order for K-pop to develop further and produce more creative content, of course, the artist's talent is important but the employees that work behind the scenes at these companies are important too.
If the issues are not resolved, it's going to be an endless, vicious cycle of its workers getting burnt out thus affecting the quality of the content produced.
Source: sedaily
There are various jobs within an entertainment company, such as management, content planning, production, and marketing to name a few.
If you want to know more about what it's like to be a manager of a K-pop idol, you can read our blog here.
Were you shocked reading about what it's like behind the scenes working for these K-pop entertainment companies?
Growing up I had dreamt of working for one of these companies as I'm a huge fan of K-pop, but the more I learned about what the work culture was like, I was devasted.
As much as I support K-pop idols, I also hope that their employees will also see a change in the work culture and their days of being unappreciated will come to an end.