Is being sustainable really sustainable for the South Korean music industry?

K-Pop: South Korea’s Most Dynamic Export

On April 4th, the presidential transition committee met to discuss ways in which to maximize what has become one of South Korea’s most dynamic exports, K-Pop. The closed door meeting was attended by industry experts and CEOs representing entertainment companies, including SM Entertainment, to provide insight to President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol as principal industry stakeholders who could resolve the difficulties faced by the country as a result of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

The committee meeting was preceded by an additional conference with representatives from the performing arts division to consider how to construct a “sustainable environment for K-Pop artists amid the COVID-19 pandemic…with government support for building infrastructures such as concert halls and K-pop museums to further promote the K-pop boom both at home and abroad” (Ye-eun, 2022). A supplementary meeting is scheduled with the entertainment company CEOs to further solidify what this will look like in the future.

While news of this committee meeting should be a source of joy for fans of the music genre, attention to other aspects of sustainability for K-Pop artists in the industry has also been drawn to how K-Pop affects their greater physical environment.