[Is this what Korean idols are like?]
「(GIF of Kurosawa Yuri dropkicking Takashi)」
⤷ If a Korean hit a Japanese person, it’d become a diplomatic issue, but since a Japanese person hit another Japanese person, I guess it’s just simple assault
⤷ Takashi’s acting is insane too. I seriously thought some right-wing old man was throwing a fit lol
⤷ I thought he was just an old guy who only spewed insults all the time, but there’s a reason he’s a famous geinin. I seriously thought he’d actually passed out
⤷ This Oshaberi was fun. It felt like the raw atmosphere from the early days for the first time in a while
⤷ Right? Lately it’s always just famous celebrities coming on, so it feels like they’re just being catered to
⤷ More importantly, who even are those girls? They’re Korean idols, but are they famous?
⤷ One of the most popular idol groups in Korea these days
Slide.
Sanghyeok moved his finger, carefully reading through the posts appearing on the smartphone screen one by one.
Although his Japanese was nowhere near Raon’s level, enough to pass for a local, he had often needed to cooperate with Japan since his days at KJ Media, so he had studied little by little over time. By now, he could read most things without issue.
And so, after spending a long time reading posts related to Iam, Sanghyeok realized something.
Surprisingly, the response to Iam’s Japanese expansion had far exceeded what he had expected.
As soon as the Oshaberi Iam special aired, posts about Iam were climbing into trending topics everywhere, from 2ch, which could practically be called Japan’s biggest community, to Twitter, the nation’s representative social media platform.
-How do you sign up for the Iam fanclub?
-What’s the name of the cute member in the middle?
-Anyone interested in Iam absolutely has to watch Idol Ground 100
And the numbers were significant enough that it was clearly going beyond the interest of a few K-POP fans and drawing the attention of the general public.
'It makes sense.'
Honestly, it was not strange.
A rookie Korean idol group not shrinking back from the abusive remarks of Takashi, one of Japan’s famous veteran geinin, but instead responding with dropkicks and elbow drops was definitely the kind of thing that would become a hot topic.
'Oshaberi became the turning point.'
Reading the reactions from Japanese communities, Sanghyeok felt a fresh sense of emotion.
Japanese expansion.
For idols, Japan was the place they absolutely had to enter if the opportunity ever came.
After all, true to its reputation as the world’s second-largest music market after the United States, it was a land of success that promised wealth and fame on a scale Korea could not even compare to.
But that attractive Japanese market was also a trap filled with countless dangers.
In reality, there were innumerable idols who had pushed recklessly into Japan hoping for success, only to fail both in Korea and Japan alike.
Japanese tastes that were similar to Korea’s, yet different.
There were cases where singers wildly popular in Korea received a reaction so cold in Japan it was shocking, while on the other hand, singers with little popularity in Korea exploded in popularity in Japan.
And that was not the only problem.
Because of the sensitive emotions between Korea and Japan, even a small incident could be blown up by the media and instantly freeze the atmosphere, leading to suspended activities.
If things went wrong, one’s image could be damaged so badly that they became stranded on an isolated island, unable to work in either Korea or Japan.
That was why everyone coveted Japanese expansion, yet could not rush into it easily. And even if they did, the established belief was that success required a long period of careful groundwork.
Yet all those worries looked ridiculous in Iam’s case, because they were already generating more buzz than expected.
[Iam records No. 1 on Japan’s Oricon Chart! Iam’s influence reaches Japan!]
「The survival girl group Iam recorded No. 1 on the Oricon Singles Chart on the 8th, firing the starting gun for their Japanese activities.
Joining hands with Japanese agency Unibex for their full-scale Japanese expansion···」
⤷ I saw an article recently saying they were expanding there, but they already hit No. 1?
⤷ Feels like media play. Iam only got first on the daily chart this time, so it’s easier than you think. The real thing is the weekly and monthly charts
⤷ It’s comparatively easier, but it’s still impressive. Even Kira took over a year to hit daily No. 1 when they expanded into Japan back then
⤷ I saw clips on YouTube where they were doing dropkicks on a talk show. What exactly are they doing over there?
⤷ Did Lee Sion dropkick someone again this time?
⤷ Nah, Yuri did it this time
'They’re writing promotional articles for us without us even asking.'
Most entertainment industry news articles were promotional pieces fed to reporters directly by agencies.
Upcoming dramas, new album releases, and other things the public was curious about were handed over as material. The reporter got an article, the agency got publicity. A mutually beneficial relationship.
But the articles appearing in Korean news right now about Iam’s activities in Japan were different. Even without being asked, reporters were personally bringing over Japanese news and spreading it themselves.
This situation was almost like—
"Are you really just going to sit here, sir?"
"Please calm down a little, PD Raon."
"No, seriously, doesn’t this piss you off?!"
—Raon during the height of her prime years, currently screaming in fury in front of him.
"Just give the order. I’ll take the kids and storm Unibex myself and wreck the place!"
"PD Raon, Iam are not hired gangsters."
"The way they act is basically the same thing!"
It was hard to imagine while watching her say she would storm into Unibex with the Iam members and smash Agaragi’s skull for what he had pulled against them this time, but—
A few years ago, Raon had unquestionably been a superstar in both Korea and Japan.
'Back then, it was similar to this too.'
Perhaps because there had still been a strong perception at the time that Korea lagged far behind Japan culturally.
When a Korean female singer rose to the top in Japan, every broadcasting station had rushed to organize news reports and programs about Raon.
There had even been a period when they aired documentaries and broadcast every little thing she did.
"What? Why are you looking at me with such a creepy expression?"
"···It’s nothing."
Though by now, the image of her active years had long since vanished, and all that remained was KJ Entertainment’s producer, reborn as an incarnation of violence and rage.
Anyway, while watching Raon, who still looked ready to destroy anything that entered her line of sight, Sanghyeok quietly analyzed in his head the factors behind Iam’s popularity in both Korea and Japan lately.
And his conclusion was simple.
National pride.
In Korea, there was a growing expectation that after G.G, Kira, and TWXQ had once created the second-generation Hallyu wave following Raon, Iam might reignite the Korean Wave that had quieted down for a long time.
Meanwhile in Japan, the fact that a K-POP idol group receiving reactions not only in Korea and Japan, but recently in China, Southeast Asia, South America, and Europe as well, had a Japanese member in it likely felt new.
[Japan can make idols like Korea too]
「Kurosawa Yuri from Iam is Japanese, but she’s the main vocalist of a Korean idol group, right?
She’s talented and pretty too. Japan can make idols like that as well」
⤷ I thought Korean idols were too high-level to compete with, but after watching Yuri’s stage this time, I think maybe it’s possible
⤷ Why is everyone acting like Korean idols are so amazing? Japan has plenty of idols too
⤷ The ones who can’t even properly sing one song live?
⤷ Honestly, Japanese idols barely deserve to be called singers
⤷ I used to think there wasn’t much difference either, but after watching this concert footage, I realized it’s incomparable
⤷ Japanese idols are built around the concept of growth, so I don’t think they can really be compared
⤷ They’ve debuted over ten years ago and they’re still “growing”?
⤷ WWW At that point, you might as well just have a kid and raise them into an idol
Japan possessed such an independent cultural ecosystem that it was often called the Galápagos, so when something new entered from outside, the impact was extraordinary.
Compared to existing Japanese idols, Korean idols, who possessed a skill gap on the level of professionals versus amateurs, were practically ecosystem destroyers to young female audiences.
And lately, one video uploaded online in Japan had delivered an enormous shock.
[Tokyo Reverse Budokan Concert Footage]
「(Video of Iam performing Black Pearl fully live at Budokan without AR)」
⤷ This is insane!! That was live from beginning to end, right?
⤷ Wow... I’m getting out of breath just watching. How are they dancing and singing this live?
⤷ I got chills after watching this. Please, can someone give me a proper version of this video?
⤷ The official concert footage might get released later, but that’ll probably take months
⤷ The audience looks just as shocked as I do right now
⤷ I’m so jealous of anyone who got to see that live
⤷ I’m a Tokyo Reverse fan, and after the concert ended, my friend and I talked about nothing except Iam on the way home
⤷ Kurosawa Yuri’s high-note part can only be described as art
The Tokyo Reverse Budokan concert where Iam had appeared as supporting guests.
As soon as the concert ended, word of mouth started spreading among the fans who had attended, and then, as if on cue, a short one-minute stage clip uploaded to Twitter spread uncontrollably.
And not just short clips. If one searched even a little, full videos of both songs Iam had performed were already easy to find.
Originally, this was an extremely serious issue.
Normally, videos fans filmed at concerts with their phones were not supposed to be shared, except for private keeping or perhaps short clips uploaded as fanservice.
To begin with, the footage itself belonged to the singers and agencies as intellectual property, and fans who paid expensive ticket prices were hardly going to enjoy people who had not attended watching the concert for free through videos.
So the uploaded footage of Iam’s guest performance was definitely an incident that could become a problem.
However—
“I don’t think PD Raon will need to storm in after all.”
“Huh? Why not?! Do you know how rude and dangerous the things Unibex pulled on us were?! And you’re saying we should just let it go?”
“That’s not it···we already sent someone.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Wouldn’t it be best if the people who suffered the damage received the apology personally?”
After speaking, Sanghyeok quietly looked out the dorm window.
The moment he received word that a problem had happened during the Japanese activities and he should come urgently, he had immediately flown to Japan.
'Honestly, I expected something like this.'
Even while remaining in Korea and handling work, Sanghyeok had suddenly gotten the feeling that something would eventually explode and force him to go to Japan.
After all, assuming Iam would behave quietly in Japan would have been negligence at that point.
Still, even after mentally preparing himself, Unibex’s scheme had shocked him when he heard the full report.
“Just sitting there and taking it isn’t my style.”
The street view outside the Japanese window he was looking through now appeared extremely peaceful and relaxed.
However, the inside of Unibex headquarters right now was surely nothing like this idyllic scenery.
After all, the hunting dogs who had already been granted freedom of action by Sanghyeok had been unleashed.
***
“Gyaaaah!!! This is insane! I think I might spill everything I’ve ever done today!”
“What are you babbling about, you little imperialist!”
Seeing Agaragi getting enthusiastically beaten with a toy hammer by a girl who looked about high-school age right in front of him, Haruto let out a sigh.
'That idiot is my rival?'
Division Head Agaragi.
One year senior to Haruto, and someone who had once worked in the same department as him, though now they were fierce rivals competing for a director position.
Certainly, Agaragi had a lot of rough edges as a person, and because he focused heavily on results, he occasionally crossed the line, but even so, someone who had climbed to division head at a major corporation like Unibex was not someone whose ability or connections could be ignored.
Haruto himself had suffered at Agaragi’s hands several times while dealing with him, so he had considered him a dangerous opponent who could never be underestimated.
Yet—
“Gah! You hit me with the handle instead of the hammer part just now!”
“What’s this old man babbling about?”
“He said Korean power is only this much, Sion.”
“So he was a man with spirit after all.”
Watching Lee Sion smiling while Agaragi screamed, Haruto could not help feeling self-loathing at the realization that he had been competing against an idiot like this all along.
Squeeeal!
The Unibex division head’s office reminded him of the Korean expression “a pig being slaughtered.”
Watching Lee Sion happily beat Agaragi down with the toy hammer, Haruto suddenly thought of his seven-year-old son back home.
One day, Haruto had given him a water gun as a present, and afterward the child had wandered around the house day and night shooting at Haruto and his wife with innocent mischief.
Lee Sion’s {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} expression right now looked exactly like his son back then.
“Everyone···please calm your anger now···.”
Whoosh.
No matter how idiotic the man’s actions had been, Haruto felt it was getting a little too pitiful watching a middle-aged man get beaten so miserably, so he tried to stop them.
However, the moment he attempted to intervene, he met the gaze of a predator that still looked hungry, and he could not continue speaking.
“Please continue. It’s unhealthy to keep anger bottled up inside.”
“Haruto, you son of a bi—ugh!”
Agaragi glared at Haruto with resentment as though asking how he could possibly do this, and Haruto did feel a little sorry for him, but honestly, this was entirely self-inflicted.
-One of our members received orders from Division Head Agaragi and tampered with Iam’s stage.
-Fukuda, are you insane?! Do you even realize what I know—
-I don’t care whether you expose it or not. That bastard Kenji is no longer part of Tokyo Reverse. We already finished talking with the members too. We can overlook someone causing trouble, but we can’t stay with someone who does filthy things like this.
-W-What?!
The bombshell statement dropped by Fukuda, the leader of Tokyo Reverse, immediately after the concert ended.
Fortunately, he had told only the Iam members instead of revealing it publicly, so it had remained an internal matter, but the aftermath was still enormous.
-I only did it because Agaragi requested it in Unibex’s name.
Haruto himself had already known Agaragi was scheming, so he had quietly investigated and uncovered the truth behind what had happened on Oshaberi.
'That lunatic seriously thought this wouldn’t get exposed?'
Once the Unibex chairman learned the full situation, he flew into a rage and tried to fire Agaragi on the spot, and to make matters worse, KJ Entertainment also learned the truth, throwing Unibex into a double crisis.
Fortunately, Haruto had urgently met KJ Entertainment CEO Kim Sanghyeok, explained the situation from beginning to end, and discussed how to clean up the aftermath, managing to settle things for now.
But in the process, Unibex had been forced to yield and give up quite a lot to KJ Entertainment.
And finally—
-The important thing is apologizing to the members. Thankfully they didn’t suffer any actual damage, but considering the emotional distress the members went through during the process, I think they deserve a proper apology.
CEO Kim Sanghyeok had made sincere apologies to the Iam members the final condition.
And as a result—
-We don’t need much. We just want to hit that Agaragi old man a little.
-I-I understand how you feel, Miss Sion, but violence is rather dangerous—
-No, I don’t mean really hit him. A toy hammer! I feel like I’d calm down if I hit him with a toy hammer just a few times.
-Are you serious?
-Yes!
The Iam members had said they would let bygones be bygones if they could just hit Agaragi a few times with a toy hammer.
And Agaragi, declaring that if it was only being hit with a toy hammer, he would gladly endure it like a true Japanese man and take responsibility for what he had done, had stepped forward himself.
“Gaaah! Blood! My forehead’s bleeding right now! I surrender! Full surrender! Please stop hitting me!”
“He still refuses to surrender? Truly worthy of a Unibex division head!”
“Sion, hit the back of his head too! How dare he interfere with Yuri’s return!”
“Okay, request accepted!”
It seemed the discussion regarding compensation for this incident would have to be postponed for a while.
No—not a while. A very long while.