Feb 01, 2021 (Korea Times) - It is common to see non-Korean members in K-pop groups these days, but they were not really considered by the agencies that create such bands until recently.
Many of them were from Asian countries such as China, Japan and Thailand, or the United States. They are fluent in both Korean and their own languages, and mainly took charge of promoting the group in their homeland.
However, over the last few years, non-Koreans, especially Japanese members, have become more important in the groups, especially when targeting the second-biggest market in the world for the Korean wave ― Japan.
On Jan. 11, T1419, a nine-member boy group from MLD Entertainment, made its debut. The agency of Momoland joined hands with international companies Sony Music Entertainment and NHN aiming to target Korea, Japan and the U.S. Consisting of five Korean members and four Japanese members, it drew attention from many even before its debut since it was novel for a group to have such a large number of Japanese members.
Boy band TWICE as well as IZ*ONE, a project girl group from M-net, have three Japanese members each, while TREASURE, a 12-member boy band from YG Entertainment had four when they were revealed Aug. 7.
The Japanese members now actively promote themselves to Japanese consumers, even making Japanese-only content.
Prior to its debut, T1419 released original videos on YouTube in Japanese with its Japanese members taking the lead in the series supported by Korean members who spoke Japanese.
TREASURE is planning to release its first full album in Japan, March 31, after already dropping the single "Beautiful" that was used for the Japanese animated film "Black Clover."
NCT, a 23-member boy group from SM Entertainment, added two members last year, including Shotaro, a Japanese member, who joined a compatriot Yuta.
The move came after some K-pop groups with Japanese members gained huge popularity in Japan in recent years, in addition to the boom of Korean entertainment such as K-dramas.
