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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.

Jihyun Lee
3 years ago

Korean entertainment company HYBE, YG, JYP, SM

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!
Job Planet, Saramin logo

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 artists wearing black photoshoot

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

BTS wearing tuxedos with HYBE founder

How is HYBE evaluated among its current and former employees?

Saramin HYBE employee review in Korean

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!

Saramin HYBE employee review in Korean

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.

Saramin HYBE employee review in Korean

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.

Saramin HYBE employee review in Korean

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.

Founder of HYBE Bang Si-hyuk black and white image

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.

HYBE Entertainment building

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.

HYBE Entertainment building interior

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


BLACKPINK girl group photoshoot

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

TREASURE poster YG Entertainment

How is YG Entertainment evaluated by its current and former employees?

Saramin YG employee review in Korean

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%.

Saramin YG employee review in Korean

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. 

Saramin YG employee review in KoreanTitle

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.

Saramin YG employee review in Korean


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 Entertainment building at Hapjeong

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. 

YG Entertainment cafeteria

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. 

YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-Suk with BIGBANG and PSY

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.

YG Entertainment founder Park Hyun-suk

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 Artists group picture

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

SM boy group group photo

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. 

SM Town Live 2018 concert

How is SM evaluated by its current and former employees?

Saramin SM employee review in Korean

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%.

Saramin SM employee review in Korean

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. 

Saramin SM employee review in KoreanTitle

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.

Saramin SM employee review in Korean

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 Entertainment communication center sign

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. 

Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment

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. 

SM Entertainment building interior

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 artists group photo in the hallway

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

JYP Twice group picture pink concept with gold background

How is JYP evaluated by its current and former employees?
Saramin JYP employee review in Korean

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%.

Saramin JYP employee review in Korean

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. 

Saramin JYP employee review in KoreanTitle

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.

Saramin JYP employee review in KoreanTitle

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

park jin-young, founder of JYP Entertainment

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.

JYP Entertainment company interior

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.

Park Jin-young with TWICE members

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


K-pop concert fans holding light sticks in the dark

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.

Korean JobPlanet website screenshot of entertainment companies

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!

men working behind desk in Korea at night

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.

Girl holding her head reading though papers

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.

Girl stressed holding up her bank account

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).

Animated image of girl working behind desk with laptop with low battery

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.

image of boss giving bad idea and two employees agreeing it's a great idea

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.

Stage with beaming lights at a concert

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.

BLACKPINK on stage

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.

BTS Jin with his manager infront of a black carSource: 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.

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