[NEWS] Korea’s Kara: Big in Japan, But Breaking Up (The Wall Street Journal)
By Yuri Tomikawa
From Japan Real Time
South Korean pop group Kara has won the hearts of Japanese boys and girls with its translated songs and sassy dance moves. Since debuting in Japan in August 2010 with the single, “Mister,” the new sensation has followed a now familiar route for Korean showbiz stars here, racking up over 470,000 single and album record sales and winning the top industry award for international newcomers. The Kara girls even landed their own midnight TV drama on terrestrial station TV Tokyo.
Now, the group has a real-life drama to deal with: It’s on the verge of splitting, with three of the five-member group saying they will terminate their contract with their management agency, DSP Media. According to Korean news reports, legal representatives for the three rebels said the group’s agency forced the idols to perform in unwanted activities and signed various contracts on their behalf without informing the members of the details.
Luckily for Japanese fans, TV Tokyo has said that its 12-episode drama series “Urakara,” which began to promising ratings on Jan. 14, will continue as planned. Each week, the girls follow through with their given mission: to seduce and catch the hearts of target men. The drama series’ homepage is already number one on the TV station’s website access ranking.
The K-Pop boom has engulfed Japanese of all ages with films, dramas, and songs as Korean groups continue to expand their fan range throughout Asia.
But this is not the first time that Korean pop acts have become big in Japan and then run into problems with management back home. In 2009, three members of the already popular K-pop boy band TVXQ terminated a contract with Korean agency SM Entertainment, renamed itself JYJ, and soared to ultimate stardom through its Japanese agency Avex, hitting the charts with highest weekly sales for its album and DVD. An ongoing lawsuit between the boys and their Korean agency has yet to be solved.
From Japan Real Time
South Korean pop group Kara has won the hearts of Japanese boys and girls with its translated songs and sassy dance moves. Since debuting in Japan in August 2010 with the single, “Mister,” the new sensation has followed a now familiar route for Korean showbiz stars here, racking up over 470,000 single and album record sales and winning the top industry award for international newcomers. The Kara girls even landed their own midnight TV drama on terrestrial station TV Tokyo.
Now, the group has a real-life drama to deal with: It’s on the verge of splitting, with three of the five-member group saying they will terminate their contract with their management agency, DSP Media. According to Korean news reports, legal representatives for the three rebels said the group’s agency forced the idols to perform in unwanted activities and signed various contracts on their behalf without informing the members of the details.
Luckily for Japanese fans, TV Tokyo has said that its 12-episode drama series “Urakara,” which began to promising ratings on Jan. 14, will continue as planned. Each week, the girls follow through with their given mission: to seduce and catch the hearts of target men. The drama series’ homepage is already number one on the TV station’s website access ranking.
The K-Pop boom has engulfed Japanese of all ages with films, dramas, and songs as Korean groups continue to expand their fan range throughout Asia.
But this is not the first time that Korean pop acts have become big in Japan and then run into problems with management back home. In 2009, three members of the already popular K-pop boy band TVXQ terminated a contract with Korean agency SM Entertainment, renamed itself JYJ, and soared to ultimate stardom through its Japanese agency Avex, hitting the charts with highest weekly sales for its album and DVD. An ongoing lawsuit between the boys and their Korean agency has yet to be solved.
