2009: Kpop girl band's up, boy band's down

i reentered the Kpop realm on August 2009. well, not really. i mean, ever since we lost our cable connection - the only tie that binds me to Kpop - in around 2005 to 2006, i had a very hard time keeping up with the Kpop industry. during that time, looking for Kpop news and downloads are really hard. thanks to the Youtube, i was still able to watch Kpop mvs but apart from that, i have nothing else to find out what's happening to the Kpop industry or the whole Korean showbiz itself. it was only in August 2009 when my friend showed me the webside Allkpop.com when i finally reestablished myself a connection to the world of Kpop. unfortunately, whatever happened from January-July 2009 was unknown to me so i went back to the archives.

anyway, from what i have noticed, Kpop girl bands are in rage! there are girl groups everywhere! well, there are already the groups who debuted before 2009, namely, So Nyeo Shi Dae/SNSD/Girls' Generation (SM Entertainment), Wonder Girls (JYP Entertainment), KARA (DSP Entertainment), Jewelry (Star Empire Entertainment), The Grace (SM), and Brown Eyed Girls (Nega-Network). then came 2009, when After School (Sony BMG), 2NE1 (YG Entertainment), T-ara (Core Contents Media), 4Minute (Cube Entertainment), and f(x) (SM) debuted [there are still others like 7size, Pink Hearts(?) and some others but they didn't made a very huge impact] and there are still others that are set to be launch - the most recent girl group that was launched was HAM (LeeYeon Entertainmen) and there are still others like Secret (YG) and Rainbow (DSP) who are waiting in line.

so, in my opinion, the "girl band invasion" has now turned into "girl band overdose." for me, after f(x), i think South Korea already has all the girl bands it needs. but the companies are unstoppable and i was surprised the YG will launch another (Secret) to think that 2NE1 has just debuted months ago. if i were to be asked, the company that needs a new girl band is JYP since Wonder Girls are kind of old already (i don't mean it in a bad way, it's just they could offer something new, right?). as for DSP, they have only relaunched KARA so they need to focus on them only.

however, it seems that the success and the shower of various girl bands are recieving comes with a price: the unfortunate events that are plauging the Kpop boy bands. as i went back to the old Kpop news, 2009 didn't seem to be a bad year:

- Super Junior (SM) dominated the first half of the year

- TVXQ (SM) gained more popularity in Japan that was certified by their Tokyo Dome concert

- SS501 (DSP) was able to step up their game when their leader, Kim Hyun Joong, played Yoo Ji Hoo in a hit Korean drama, Boys Over Flowers (a remake of Hana Yori Dango)

but since this summer, a lot of unfortunate things start to happen starting from common accidents like SHINee's (SM) leader, Onew, accident in KBS Music Bank and Big Bang's (YG) Daesung's car accident. Back in June, Onew was hit by one of the light fixtures that got loose during the closing of the show. Then in August, Daesung got into a car accident near Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province after taping for Family Outing. they may be unfortunate but it was in August when the biggest disasters began for South Korea's beloved boybands.

July 2009 ended and August 2009 began with the news that three members of the country's - also of the Asia's - biggest boyband TVXQ filed a lawsuit against SM. it began as rumors in July but unfortunately, it was not. Kim JaeJoong, Park YooChun, and Kim JunSu shocked the whole world (not an exaggeration!) with what they did. many speculations start to arise about what will be the outcome of the lawsuit and among them is the plaguing disbandment of TVXQ which is begin feared my their over 800,000 fans all over the world. the last hearing of the case was held in Sept 11 and up until now, the court hasn't released their decision.

however, before TVXQ's last hearing occurred, the biggest issue in South Korea was the Myspace scandal of 2PM's leader Park Jaebum. comments of Jaebum saying Koreans are gay was dug up by netizens and anti-fans alike. due to the nonstop harsh comments, Jaebum decided to leave 2PM and South Korea to go back to Seattle, USA. after that, Hottests, 2PM's fans' club, began various petitions and rallies to bring him back. they have began boycotting the band's activities and products - Korean fans even gave back their CDs to the JYP Entertainment. unfortunately, JYP still stressed that 2PM will still continue as a six-member boyband.

the same day that Jaebum left Korea came the news that Kim Hyun Joong was diagnosed with A(H1N1) while in Japan causing him to stay longer in the said country. fortunately, as of now, he has finally got back in Korea. however, came another news, Super Junior's Kangin was charged with assault causing him not to be able to join Super Junior activities. in addition, in amidst of those issues, G-Dragon, the leader of Big Bang, who had just released his solo album has been criticized of plagiarism nonstop.

so...everybody's calling it the "September curse" or the "2009 curse" and everybody's hoping that it'll soon be over (i do too).

the departure of 2PM's Jaebum

i haven't heard a single song of 2PM (Korean boyband) yet but i know that their music is good - i mean, they are from JYP Entertainment (JYPE) (Wonder Girls) and they are one of the top Korena boybands along with DBSK, Super Junior, Big Bang, SS501 and SHINee. i'm planning to listen to their songs and watch their performances this coming weekend and all then the news came: 2PM's leader Park Jaebum (Jay Park) left the group and South Korea.

the whole quitting thing began just a week ago when netizens and anti-fans have dig onto Jaebum's Myspace and saw various comments in which he said that Koreans are gay. the said comments are exchanges between him and his friend from the US and they were posted in 2007. as a result, various haters have posted harsh comments about him on the net and a petition stating that Jaebum should just commit suicide surfaced. Jaebum was pulled off the variety show he's in and the activities of 2PM were cancelled. Jaebum even posted a public apology on the net. all things seem to be going nice until yesterday when JYP announced and confirmed that Jaebum has quit 2PM and that he will be going back to Seattles, US the same day.

even though i'm not yet a fan, i was deeply affected by the news. Jaebum became a trending topic in Twitter in the form of Jay, Jaebum, #jaebum, and Please Retweet. hundreds of 2PM fans, which are called Hottests, went to Incheon Airport to beg Jaebum not to go. various petitions were also circulated to make him stay. by the time that he was already at the airport, even Woohyung, his fellow 2PM member, become a trending topic in Twitter. on his last interview, Jaebum stated that he'll be studying music in the US. he didn't say anything about returning to South Korea and 2PM. moreover, all he constantly did was to bow down and apologize.

i realized that Korean fans and Korean detractors are really strong and dedicated. the fate of the Korean celebrities are in their hands. go against one Korean idol and hundred thousands are ready to go against you. however, this time, the detractors won against the fans, they were able to pull down a rising idol just like that. there are number of fans who are disappointed at JYP (the head of the JYPE) for letting all this happen, after all, Jaebum does deserve to be forgiven. fans posted various post-its on the entrance of JYPE after Jaebum's departure.

but my take on this is...Jaebum, though he is the leader of a boyband with seven members, is still a 22-year-old boy. going against such controversy at such a young age is really difficult and with his family living in the US, he can only do so much. the comments he made on his Myspace was also an expression on how much he has been missing his family, after all, he was just a teenage boy who is living in a country he is not yet familiar with even though it's his real roots. right now, he does need his family more than ever.

as of now, there are netizens, who caused this whole controversy, who are apologizing for what happened. there's also one who wanted to commit suicide (from an article i read at omgkpop). honestly? don't start something like this if you'll feel sorry afterwards. you should feel responsible of what you are doing, you should be aware of the consequences your actions might result to.

as for 2PM...let's just hope for the best. i may not yet know how's 2PM with Jaebum but i know that it will never be the same. that's always been the case...

[pictures from allkpop.com & omgkpop.com]