K-pop companies are the true masterminds behind your favorite Korean music groups. Bands like BTS, Twice, Red Velvet, and Blackpink would not exist if it weren’t for their companies. These multi-billion dollar agencies have immense power that comes with little repercussions; abuse, neglect, and carelessness run rampant behind the shiny, glamorous curtain that is K-pop groups and it all stems from these corrupt corporations.

These past two years have brought forth an unfamiliar phenomenon in the K-pop world, as many idols (Korean singers) have begun to sue their respective companies for mistreatment. 

One recent instance of this was the 12-member girl group LOONA under the company BlockBerry Creative. After countless reports of mistreatment, including physical abuse and being starved, the group unanimously decided to sue Blockberry Creative for a contract breach. 

Member Yeojin reported being denied food at the age of 14 and has been open about the intense eating disorder she developed during her time at BlockBerry Creative. This is all very concerning and it unfortunately happens much more than one expects.

Still, the members succeeded in their lawsuit and are now free from the shackles of their toxic past. 

Overworked idols are also a massive problem within the industry. Their tight schedules do not allow for much sleep and can often bring about illnesses, both physical and mental. Mental illness is unfortunately prominent within the K-pop world and causes idols to go on hiatus for months at a time. 

The pure evil does not stop there. K-pop companies are extremely capitalistic, which results in immense harm to the environment. 

In 2022 alone, over 80 million K-pop albums were sold worldwide. However, these are not organic numbers and instead are a result of mass purchasing by fans to get on charts. This abundance of purchasing requires a large amount of production, and with this massive amount of production, millions of albums end up being dumped into landfills and oceans. 

This harmful practice is encouraged by K-pop companies because as the industry grows, more and more merchandise is pumped out. Online Korean Personality Jung said, “We tend to blame fans for bulk-buying but I don’t think fans should be the target of criticism… As long as the fundamental system encourages them to buy mass amounts, we can’t blame fans for wanting to meet the idol they love so much or trying to get a photo card of a certain favorite member. From the fans’ perspective, they have no other choice.” Jung’s statement is nothing but the truth because when it comes down to the basics, the loyal fans are not at fault for the harmful activities taking place.

This issue may be resolved in the future as K-pop companies are slowly starting to make an effort to be more environmentally friendly in their practices. The colossal powerhouse YG Entertainment, who are behind some of the biggest names in K-pop such as Blackpink and BigBang, recently took action to make their album packaging recyclable. 

Although an extremely modest start at cracking the code, it is still something. Now it seems all we can do is hope that it rubs off on other companies.