- 7 hours ago
K-Everything Season 1 Episode 1
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00:20How long did you enjoy the success of that song as a singer forever?
00:31But as a songwriter, oh my god, dream and nightmare at the same time, really, how can I top
00:44this song?
00:59I'm Daniel Dae Kim, actor, producer, and proud Korean American.
01:06All right, we have to stop before I get emotional.
01:08When I was a kid, it was not cool to be Korean.
01:12Then this happened.
01:13Cultural phenomenon or Korean wave.
01:16Korean wave.
01:17K-pop along with TV dramas.
01:20Now I'm going to South Korea.
01:22It's so good.
01:24Where I was born.
01:25It's exactly what I remember as a kid.
01:28To find out how this small nation in East Asia rose from the ashes of war.
01:33The end of three years of bitter conflict.
01:36Dictatorship.
01:37And poverty.
01:38Decades of sacrifice.
01:40Years of success.
01:41To conquer the world.
01:43Parasite.
01:45With its culture in just one generation.
01:54Oh, we can go global now.
01:59From K-pop.
02:00Day ones, we love you.
02:01To K-beauty.
02:02Shake it, shake it.
02:03This is a new world.
02:04To K-everything.
02:06Everything.
02:30How many times have you listened to that drum track?
02:33I don't listen to that drum track.
02:3710,000 times.
02:39I started to add the code and the bass.
02:42Let's hear it.
02:47The pad, scenes, real lead.
02:51Instantly recognizable now.
02:53This is where the global phenomenon began.
02:56With this very riff.
02:59Golden.
03:00From the 2025 animated movie K-pop Demon Hunters.
03:04And if you're watching closely, you just might catch me in it too.
03:08Everyone talks about Golden.
03:10Everywhere I go.
03:11In America, in Korea.
03:13The song made K-pop history.
03:15Winning a Grammy, Golden Globe, and at the Oscars, best original song.
03:20The song made K-pop.
03:27Co-produced by Zoon.
03:29Lee Yoo Han.
03:30And Nam Hee Dong.
03:31Together.
03:32Known as I-D-O.
03:34I worked hard to express it very dark and sad.
03:40The writers, including EJ, who also sings the part of Rumi from Huntrix,
03:44together crafted the melody and lyrics on top of this track.
03:49Yeah, it's alright.
03:50With all due respect to Golden, because I love Golden,
03:54the first song that caught my ear in K-pop Demon Hunters was Soda Pop.
04:03Producer and singer-songwriter Vince and producer Do Min-seok worked on that.
04:13Already so cute!
04:15Next is the drum.
04:18Snare drum.
04:19Hi-hat.
04:21And then someone's whistling on the top, right?
04:23Why did you think of that for the song?
04:2424 is also another producer that worked on this.
04:27He actually went in the booth and whistled it himself.
04:33The whole song, we were trying to be cute.
04:35Like you can tell, we're not the cutest people in the world,
04:38but making this, it was a hell of an experience, for sure.
04:41My little sort of pop.
04:44K-pop, the whole song has been a part of the world.
04:49It's a bit of influence on the world to make it, so it's a bit of a good feeling.
04:52It's a pleasure to be feeling.
04:53And, when you walk on the road, Golden,
04:55they play a lot and children use a lot of cats.
04:58It's really funny.
05:02The music is very interesting.
05:02I feel like I'm having a culture of Korean culture
05:04as a music player.
05:06We are more happy and happy.
05:09You guys created something that has definitely, I think, changed our culture.
05:13For generations, the world is very happy that you did it.
05:16Thank you so much.
05:19Golden is only the latest Korean-made pop song to dominate global charts.
05:27This is the most streamed group on Spotify in history, globally.
05:33In less than two years, BTS charted four number one albums in the U.S., faster than any band since
05:41the Beatles.
05:42I was lucky enough to go to a BTS concert in L.A.
05:45Music aside, what really blew my mind was seeing non-Koreans singing along to the music in Korean.
05:54BTS!
05:55BTS, of course.
05:56BTS!
05:58That would have been unthinkable when I was a kid.
06:02If Americans had even heard of South Korea, it was because of war.
06:08Just 40 years ago, South Korea was under military rule.
06:12Western-style music deemed too decadent was banned.
06:16Same with long hair on men and short skirts on women.
06:24And today, this is the Korea everyone knows.
06:34So how does a country go from censorship to pop culture trendsetter in just one generation?
06:46Let's start at the beginning.
06:47How would you define K-pop?
06:49Oh, wow.
06:50It's a mix of hip-hop, there's like R&B, there's like techno, dance, all these different genres
06:55from different cultures, different music styles.
06:57And then on top of that, we have our own Korean touch to it.
07:00All that is K-pop.
07:02K-pop.
07:03K-pop.
07:04K-pop.
07:04K-pop.
07:05K-pop.
07:05David Kim is an adjunct professor in media creation and a YouTuber.
07:10A couple of subscribers.
07:11This is David Kim from K-pop Herald.
07:14The Korean music industry wasn't really existent back in the 60s because we were just getting
07:20off of like the Korean War with the influence of like American troops coming in, military
07:24bases.
07:25They brought in the Western culture, the American music, such as R&B, jazz, rock, and groups
07:31like the Kim sisters just started to pop up.
07:37The Kim sisters are like pioneers.
07:40Two of the women lost their father in the Korean War.
07:43Alongside their cousin, they started singing in the 1950s to support their family, performing
07:49for American soldiers stationed in South Korea, one of the first Korean music groups to break
07:54through in the U.S.
07:56What's interesting is, even back in the 60s, they made American feats.
08:02Like the Ed Sullivan Show.
08:09Then came restrictions.
08:11So, the 70s and 80s are like a dark age for music because we had like an authoritarian
08:16administration with Park Jung-hee and like Chun Doo-hwan.
08:20So, back then there were a lot of censorships, blacklisting, and you couldn't do anything
08:25like that's like Western or too provocative in like the government's lens.
08:32When I came to Korea for the first time in 1977, my cousins, who were older than I am,
08:39they would kind of sneak me into their room and show me all their records.
08:42The first time I ever heard Aerosmith, they had like American LPs in their stash.
08:49Yeah.
08:49And so those were considered a little bit dangerous to have at the time?
08:53Some certain records or some certain groups.
08:56For example, Bob Dylan was also kind of censored too.
08:58So, if it's too progressive to our culture back then, the government was like, no.
09:07That changed in June 1987, when nationwide protests led to the end of military rule in South Korea.
09:15The culmination of mostly student-led demonstrations that began in the 1960s.
09:24The 1988 Seoul Olympic Games gave the country a chance to transform its image from war-torn dictatorship to modern
09:33democracy and economic powerhouse.
09:36When we entered the 90s, this group over here, they are like the genesis of K-pop.
09:43Sataejin boys.
09:46The band debuted their first single, Nan Arayo, or I Know, on national TV talent shows.
09:55They experimented with something unprecedented.
09:58They introduced hip-hop, very quirky dance styles.
10:03The younger generation, they were like, wow, this is refreshing.
10:07This is something we needed.
10:08They actually incorporated very creative but also liberal lyrics.
10:13They criticized society as well too.
10:15But people loved it because it was like so rebellious.
10:18Yeah, I remember being in the US when Soteji came out.
10:21I first heard Nan Arayo and I was like, Koreans are rapping?
10:26Nan Arayo was number one on Korean charts for 17 straight weeks.
10:33The lyrics in the group's 1995 Regret of the Times were banned for criticizing the establishment, leading to widespread outcry
10:41from fans.
10:43That helped pressure the government to lift censorship laws, a holdover from the dictatorship era.
10:49By 1998, Korea started investing in the creative industries, including music, as a way to drive revenue from cultural exports.
10:58This newfound openness is when the wave began.
11:09Everyone just jumped onto like the rebellious tone.
11:13These groups are a little bit more hip-hop based, dance based.
11:17And they're like in groups of like three people, four people performing in choreographies and introducing mixed genres in their
11:24music.
11:32Now it's super systemized.
11:34That was when the internet was kind of like booming.
11:37We can actually visually consume it.
11:39We can repost it.
11:40We can follow the choreographies and become like participants of the whole K-pop movement.
11:52Now it's like the explosion era.
11:55Because the internet is now so advanced in high speed and we have social media, we can actually interact with
12:02the groups like real time.
12:03I don't know.
12:14After the third generation, people started trying out new concepts, new markets, new stuff.
12:20Like maybe make a co-ed group.
12:31Where does it go from here?
12:32It's honestly uncharted territory.
12:35Nobody knows the ceiling.
12:36Like the whole world is recognizing the power of the fandom and like the reach of K-pop groups.
12:42All of this sparked by one group who also inspired a new formula for commercial success.
12:49So do you think that's when managers and labels started putting people together?
12:53Oteiji and boys, they raked money.
12:56They like fans went crazy over it.
12:58We need to systemize this.
13:00We need to make properly functioning group so that we can monetize it.
13:04Isn't it interesting though that a group came about organically and spoke openly rebelliously.
13:10Right.
13:11Then spawned the commercialization and systemization.
13:14Exactly.
13:15That group structure.
13:16Yeah.
13:29In 2012, Psy released a song that changed K-pop forever.
13:34I can't tell you the number of times I've heard this song blaring through karaoke rooms,
13:45all throughout, not just America, but the world.
13:48This was something special.
13:51I thought of all the K-pop stars that I knew, that Psy, like an older guy, not one of
14:01the teenagers,
14:02was the one who broke through to America and changed K-pop forever, was pretty amazing.
14:10I just went to the statue.
14:13Oh my God.
14:15Gangnam Style.
14:15And not many people have a statue of what they mean to the culture.
14:20I mean, personally and honestly, I'm kind of embarrassed because, wow, that statue is too big for me.
14:29And it's too big.
14:30It's appropriate because what you've done through your music is not just important to Korea, but important to the world.
14:39Gangnam Style reached one billion views less than six months after release, the first YouTube video ever to hit that
14:47milestone.
14:49I can't tell you how many non-Koreans in America came up to me and said,
14:52Hey, what's Gangnam Style? What's he singing about?
14:56Like, and so it was the first time I'd ever had non-Korean people so curious about K-pop.
15:02There's a rapper, Tiger JK, he's Korean American, 2012.
15:09He called me crying saying, I'm at the shoulder of highway.
15:15I stopped the car because I heard your song on the radio.
15:20You know what that means to Korean American, right?
15:23Yes. I'm getting emotional just thinking about it.
15:25Yeah. The whole song lyrics is Korean.
15:29And you know how high the radio barrier in the United States.
15:36This catchy song went viral as global audiences started shifting to streaming online.
15:41But even Psy, whose real name is Jaesang Park, doesn't fully understand why it broke through.
15:48At the time, K-pop wasn't mainstream outside of Asia.
15:52Conventional wisdom for idol groups like Big Bang, XO, and Girls' Generation then
15:57was polish and precision, not horse riding.
16:01Here's to being you.
16:04Psy built on that success.
16:06In 2019, he founded entertainment agency P Nation,
16:11which represents girl group Baby Don't Cry, among others.
16:14Oh my gosh, we love you so much.
16:20And his annual summer swag concert series, which P Nation says accounts for more than 10% of all ticket
16:26sales in Korea.
16:31Your summer festivals are now legendary in Korea.
16:35You've done them for a number of years.
16:37You do this in the heat of a Korean summer.
16:40That's not easy.
16:48Did they know they were going to get wet?
16:50Yes.
16:51Okay.
16:52But they didn't expect that much.
16:58When I do the show, usually do four hours.
17:01They are so great.
17:05I know, as a performer, what it feels like to feel like you're giving everything.
17:10And I think, how does he do that every night?
17:15When I was young, I felt happy when I see someone happy.
17:21So the concert is the maximum of the maximum.
17:34So when I do the concert, let's say if I have 25,000 audience,
17:39I see 25,000 happy face in front of me.
17:50And because of me.
17:58I was like, wow.
18:00I can die right now.
18:02Because this is fucking awesome.
18:06From reality to heaven.
18:26Like any good art form, K-pop comes with contradictions.
18:30For starters, K-pop stars aren't like the rock stars I grew up with.
18:35They're known as idols.
18:39Not quite worshipped.
18:42But certainly adored.
18:44The hardcore faithful show their devotion everywhere.
18:50And fandoms truly can make their favorites famous.
18:57Some spend thousands of dollars a year on music, concerts, and merch.
19:10Right next to the CD, you have a QR code to download an album.
19:15The past and the future.
19:18The K-pop industry is now worth $10 billion.
19:23It's so cute.
19:24It's great merch if you're at a concert.
19:26It's expensive.
19:27If you're a real fan, it's a really playful way of showing how much you love this group.
19:33I think it's better than a poster.
19:37Unlike the rebellious rappers that started this movement,
19:40K-pop groups today rarely form organically.
19:43They're made.
19:45Chosen and managed by a handful of entertainment agencies,
19:48trainees get a crash course in singing, dancing, rapping, languages, and more.
19:56Lessons and evaluations can go long into the night.
20:00Creativity curated from within a commercial machine.
20:03Though many here will tell you that is what makes it work.
20:10They'll also say there's no one formula to make it in K-pop.
20:14But image is key.
20:18You also have to perform.
20:21Choreography is highly synchronized.
20:24Perfected over years of training.
20:29Lastly, you need an earworm with music that can transcend borders by blending multiple musical genres.
20:38Meow debuted in 2024.
20:41Gawon, Soo-in, Anna, Ella, and Narin.
20:48You like to rap, right?
20:49You're the rapper of the group.
20:50Do you rap in English and Korean?
20:52Yeah, but I feel like when we rap, English has like the natural rhythm.
21:01But when I rap in Korean, I feel more powerful. I don't know why.
21:05Oh, interesting.
21:06Yeah.
21:06This is your second year, right? As a group?
21:08Yes, it is.
21:10When did you first think, oh my gosh, I think I might be famous now?
21:14At the airport, when we went to Beijing.
21:17Mm-hmm.
21:18Like our pom-poms, our fans were waiting for us at the airport and there were like lots of pom
21:24-poms.
21:25Because it was really late at night.
21:27Ah, right.
21:28It was like probably in the AMs, right?
21:30Yes.
21:31Yeah.
21:32We were like, we were shocked.
21:33You came here right now for us.
21:35And they waited all that time.
21:36Yeah.
21:37Yeah.
21:38That's a big deal.
21:41One year after debuting, Meow reached more than one million followers on Spotify.
21:49They're managed by the Black Label, known for cultivating creative freedom with its artists.
21:56Yeah, like that.
21:58Let's go here.
22:00The same studio behind Golden, Sodapop, and Bonafide Music Royalty.
22:07Left rainbow.
22:11That dropped.
22:13That's gonna get people up out of their seat right there.
22:16I hope so.
22:16I hope so.
22:17Member of Big Bang and chart-topping solo artist, Taehyung.
22:26Taehyung, he's the man.
22:28Taehyung, he's the man.
22:28Taehyung, he's the man.
22:28Taehyung, he's the man.
22:34Debuting in 2006, Big Bang was one of the first K-pop groups to go on a global arena tour.
22:40And the first to chart on the U.S. Billboard 200 with an all Korean album.
22:46You've had such a long career, you know, and you're considered prince, right?
22:51You're a prince of R&B.
22:54I would like to say he's the king.
22:56Because in my eyes, you're so young still.
23:00But in the K-pop world, you're much older now.
23:03So...
23:03So old.
23:06So old at what, 37?
23:08I'm 37, yes.
23:09Oh my, sold, 할아버지.
23:36Today, Taehyung is recording his latest solo album.
23:41and preparing for Big Bang's 20-year reunion.
23:46You're not only appealing to an older generation, but today's generation.
23:51How does it feel to kind of go back and get back in touch with that part of your career?
24:09You need to do something new, and you need to do something new, and you need to do something new,
24:19and you need to do something new.
24:24Ten years ago, we were trying to make the biggest song in Korea, but I feel now our approach is
24:31a little different.
24:32And even the lyrics-wise language, it doesn't have to be fully Korean now.
24:37Rarely is it fully Korean now.
24:38Rarely it's fully Korean now, but I think that's one of the biggest reasons why is because it has so
24:44much international fans.
24:46Even sound-wise.
24:54How we see people from Korea and Asia have changed.
24:59This is a kind of power that lawmakers don't have, teachers don't have, only entertainment has.
25:06To have someone say, like, I want to be a producer like Vince, or, you know, I want to be
25:10like Taehyung, I want to do what he's doing. He's my role model, you know?
25:15Do you ever feel pressure about that kind of thing?
25:17If there's no responsibility, then it's a shame.
25:19It's a shame.
25:21Of course, I have a lot of responsibility.
25:26I have a lot of responsibility.
25:32And I have a lot of responsibility for that.
25:36I have a lot of responsibility for that.
25:44so you can't be living your rock star life.
25:49You can't live a rock star life even though you're a pop star.
25:52So the two things are very different.
25:54Two things are very different.
25:55You got to know it's a lot of little kids
25:58that are looking up to you as a role model
26:00and can't give them the wrong image.
26:02It's not for everybody, for sure.
26:04You, of course, have to be a great performer and a singer,
26:06but it takes a lot more than that to be an idol.
26:09It seems to me it's quite different, right?
26:12my concern, is I know I'm a fan,
26:18but I'm because a singer this day
26:20of everything that he looks after.
26:20with the fact that it's just human.
26:22You can't give them themselves
26:24nobody who takes care of going into that room.
26:30They must affect your creativity as an artist
26:33if you don't feel flexible in the way that you can live,
26:36the way in the way that you can write or perform
26:38must feel a little bit closed off.
26:40Yes, yes.
26:41I have to experience different things, but I don't think we can continue to create a small environment.
27:07It's so satisfying.
27:09Yeah.
27:10You know?
27:10I hope when I hear the final track.
27:13Yeah.
27:13It stays that way?
27:14I hope so.
27:14We might get impatient.
27:16I know.
27:17Yeah, you never know.
27:19Yeah.
27:20Yeah.
27:22Yeah.
27:22Yeah.
27:23Yeah.
27:24Yeah.
27:24Yeah.
27:27Yeah.
27:29Yeah.
27:31Yeah.
27:39Yeah.
27:41I'm ready.
27:42That's roughly 4% of South Korea's entire population.
27:45I won't forget.
27:46Don't worry.
27:47Bye-bye.
27:48But aspiration alone isn't enough.
27:50Getting to this stage takes years of sacrifice, discipline, and unwavering focus.
27:59You sure you could keep them?
28:01One's all kind.
28:03One's all kind.
28:04One's all kind.
28:04One's all kind.
28:05One's all kind.
28:06All day project debuted in 2025.
28:15Oh, it's because we have to sing it.
28:17Oh, it's because we have to sing it.
28:19That's why it's here, and it's like this.
28:21They don't have to sing that part.
28:22So that's why I've been doing it.
28:24Hi, guys.
28:25I'm Daniel.
28:26Hi.
28:26Nice to meet you.
28:27Nice to meet you.
28:28I'm excited to meet you guys.
28:31There's Annie, Bailey, Youngseo, Woochan.
28:37No.
28:39No.
28:39And Tarzan.
28:41My whole life, I want to be a rapper, and then I'm living my dream as my boy.
28:46Yeah.
28:46Why are you guys listening?
28:48No, no, no.
28:48Every time they have their little, like, like, bromance, like, brother moment, we're always
28:53like, oh, my God.
28:54Come on.
28:55Y'all doing that, too.
29:02It's very unusual for you guys to be a co-ed band.
29:10It's like a five-sibling situation.
29:16Everywhere we go, everyone's like, you guys are, like, so loud.
29:21We're backstage at NBC's Music Core, a weekly competition show where All Day Project just
29:26performed their third single called One More Time.
29:33So you guys, you just finished your taping, and then you do your live later today.
29:39What do you do in between that time?
29:41This is a time when we generally eat or sleep, because I don't think any of us have slept in
29:48the last, like, 30 hours or so.
29:50These tournament-style shows are fiercely contested.
29:53You guys must be so tired.
29:55You all right?
29:56We're surviving.
29:58What time did you start today?
29:591 a.m.
30:00We got ready at 1 a.m.
30:02Yeah, we have another one of these at a different channel tomorrow.
30:06South Korea is one of the most competitive places on earth.
30:11Many here still bear the scars of a brutal recession that crippled the nation's economy
30:16three decades ago.
30:18With corporate jobs scarce, making it in music and the arts became seen as a viable career path.
30:24Back then, in the late 90s, the early waves of K-pop started rippling throughout Asia.
30:317, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
30:351, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
30:38It's also very competitive.
30:40Do you feel that pressure to succeed, or is it all just fun?
30:44Obviously, I would be lying if I say there's no pressure, but I think we try to focus on
30:48what is our thing that we can do best, rather than compete with other people.
31:11I was the girl who would save two, three hours in the shower.
31:17I love dancing, I love performing and singing, but my dad, I guess, saw it.
31:23It's coming.
31:24Okay.
31:25This is Jeon Somi.
31:27Her dad, Matthew Duma, is hosting us for lunch at his restaurant.
31:31Oh, that's beautiful.
31:33It is.
31:34It's very good.
31:35Oh, yeah?
31:35That's your favorite.
31:36Mmm.
31:38You know, I've seen a lot of your music and heard a lot of your music.
31:42Yeah.
31:42And the one thing I would say about you is that you're a survivor.
31:49Now 25, Somi auditioned for JYP's trainee program when she was 12.
31:54What years were you in the trainee program?
31:56When I was in fifth grade is when I started.
32:00An intense schedule at an early age is nothing new for most Koreans.
32:04The country has one of the most rigorous education systems in the world, where academic success
32:09is tied to upward mobility, and high school students often prioritize study over sleep.
32:16Looking back, I'm like, how did I do that in such a young age?
32:20And the working hours, like, I didn't even think it was hard work because I was too young.
32:25And that's when I started to get bullied a lot.
32:27Picked on school because I was like a heffy.
32:31She means Korean on her mom's side and Dutch-Canadian on her dad's.
32:36Unfortunately, Korean kids are no strangers to bullying.
32:40So the training system was actually the one place that I felt comfortable.
32:44Because at school, I'll get bullied.
32:46But here, it's only with skills.
32:47If you're good at dancing, if you're good at singing.
32:50It doesn't matter.
32:51It does not matter.
32:51Yeah.
32:52So that was really the charm for me to push myself forward into my skills and creating art.
32:59Would you say that the fact that you were bullied kind of taught you how to fight for yourself?
33:05When you said, I'm a survivor, I was like, hell yeah.
33:10Survivor and a fighter for sure.
33:12Do you have another song you want to sing?
33:14Many wait years for their chance to debut.
33:17But just a year into her training, Somi took part in this 2015 reality TV show.
33:2316 trainees competing for a spot in a new girl group.
33:28Somi was eliminated in the final round.
33:30Just missing out on joining the band called twice.
33:36She went back into the training pool.
33:39That was the hardest thing as a parent to see for her.
33:42And we tried not to show her.
33:45We'd pick her up and she'd just be exhausted.
33:48And she'd get in and we'd drive home.
33:50The training system was pretty rigorous and it's pretty regimented.
33:54That for me as a dad was the hardest time seeing you anguish and obscurity of where she's being pulled.
34:01Because she's still a trainee but not a trainee at the same time.
34:04Yeah.
34:05Because she's had some outside experience.
34:07She's ready.
34:08You're ready at this point, right?
34:10You feel ready.
34:11I want more is what I've been feeling like.
34:15We just really want to make it.
34:17In 2016, Somi joined another K-pop survival show, Produce 101.
34:24This time, Somi won first place and became the leader of project group IOI.
34:31The whole country watched it.
34:33We got so much love for them everywhere.
34:36Mm-hmm.
34:37And the team went on for a year and then we disbanded.
34:41When I watch these young girls debut, there's a little bit of me like that feels very paternal.
34:48Like you must have times ten.
34:49She's a minor.
34:50She's a minor, right?
34:51You know, when she's in a company, they're basically in charge of her.
34:55I can't help her now with what she does because she's so far beyond anything I can guide her.
35:00But what I can guide her with is just my life experiences up to this point.
35:09She's now a solo artist who's charted top ten singles in Korea, the US, and beyond.
35:16We have this song that I wanted to punch a few lyrics to.
35:25She's gone through this regimented training system and now she's able to bloom.
35:30Go play the entire night from your grass to fueled.
35:34Now looking at where you are in the K-pop landscape.
35:39Are you happy with your place?
35:41Do you feel like that ambition that you have has been satisfied?
35:45I don't think the impression is satisfied.
35:47I'm just here as a soloist, trying my best to prove a point.
35:55My background, my dad, my mom, the culture,
35:58just being a girl, I'm trying to prove a point.
36:01I've been learning a lot, so I'm just soaking everything in.
36:05So let's see where I go from now, but I'm excited for me.
36:10Well, I'm excited for you too.
36:11I'm excited for you too.
36:13Let's raise a glass to that.
36:14Let's raise a glass to where you are now,
36:18how far you've come, and where you're going.
36:20Thank you. Cheers.
36:34Where are we?
36:35You and I are not good at directions.
36:38I'm a tourist.
36:39You've lived here for how long?
36:41It's pretty here though.
36:42It would have been nice to bring Yoda.
36:45These red ones are amazing.
36:47I know, right?
36:48I'm catching up with my friend, singer-songwriter, Ezna.
36:55A Korean-American born and raised in L.A. who moved to Seoul in 2010.
37:01How long was it before you got your first taste of success in Korea?
37:07Success isn't it.
37:09It was just...
37:10First taste.
37:11It took three years.
37:12One of my friends introduced me to one of the top producers, and he recognized, I guess, the
37:20talent that I had for writing.
37:21And he was looking for someone that didn't just sing, but could also write and produce songs.
37:26Right.
37:27Your hands look chilly, so one is peppermint, one is chamomile.
37:30Peppermint, please.
37:34After signing with WA Entertainment, now Rainbow Bridge World, Ezna wrote and composed hit
37:40singles.
37:42There was a song that I did called Aup with a collaboration between me and Mamamoo.
37:48And it was only a two-week promotion.
37:50And this is a song that was completely written by me.
37:57In 2015, Ezna and Mamamoo, who were managed by the same label, performed the song for a
38:02promotional tour.
38:04Just days later, Ezna says the company pulled her.
38:09What reason did they give you that they were removing you from the tour?
38:13They had read some comments made by netizens saying, Mamamoo can do this song by themselves.
38:19Why is she doing it with them?
38:21She looks older than the girls, like they shouldn't do it together.
38:25None of the comments that were negative were about my talent or my ability to perform.
38:32It was all very image-based.
38:34Many came down to size.
38:37Is that in a contract where they can specify that you stay a certain weight?
38:42I have never seen it in a contract, like explicitly written.
38:46So that was given to you as the reason you were not going to appear.
38:50Yeah.
38:51How did that make you feel?
38:53You know, weight is something that I have been battling throughout my whole life.
38:58When you're trying to be on TV, they want you to look a lot smaller so that you look good
39:06on TV.
39:06You know, and to us, to people that are from America, that's actually really, really underweight.
39:13And I thought about it with my company a lot because I was like, I'm not trying to be
39:18an idol.
39:19Like I'm, I'm a singer.
39:21There are expectations, right or wrong, that idols uphold traditional values and sometimes
39:26unrealistic beauty ideals.
39:28But it's not just the labels, fandoms have an outsized influence in Korea.
39:35Some fans have launched coordinated campaigns against singers and their companies for perceived
39:40mistakes.
39:41How would you compare the internet trolls of Korea to America?
39:47I don't think there's a comparison.
39:49They can cancel someone in a minute in Korea.
39:52That's how fast it spreads.
39:54All in all though, you feel like there's still hope here in Korea.
39:59You'd rather be here than anywhere else and that the industry is something worth pursuing.
40:04Yes, because I still have a passion for, for wanting to sing and wanting to act and dance
40:10and be in front of the camera.
40:12We reached out to Esna's former company multiple times to hear their side of the story.
40:17They did not respond.
40:21We've known each other for a long time.
40:23We've talked about these, some of these things privately.
40:26But you want to share this publicly now in the midst of K-pop becoming a global phenomenon.
40:33Why?
40:35Because I think it's important for people to know that K-pop just didn't blow up out of
40:39nowhere.
40:40Because that's all you see is the, the outcome of what they made.
40:44made.
40:45The product.
40:46Manufactured.
40:47Basically, that's what we are.
40:47We're products of these companies.
40:50But I want fans to know that we're all people, you know, and we're not a product.
41:09Wait, this is so cool.
41:14Oh, hi.
41:15You all right?
41:16How are you?
41:16How are you?
41:17I'm good.
41:18I'm just looking at all of your merch.
41:20It's our first time seeing all of this too.
41:22We haven't even seen this yet.
41:22Is that right?
41:23Yeah.
41:23Wait, so this is Tarzan.
41:25Tarzan.
41:25Yeah.
41:26This is Bailey.
41:27So are these like boxers are like sewn in.
41:31It's connected.
41:32Basically Tarzan's like signature style to layer pants.
41:35I hate to interrupt.
41:37Wow.
41:39That's cool.
41:39Wait, that's really cool.
41:43It's a big day for the Five Members of All Day project.
41:48They're releasing an EP.
41:50Their first.
41:51Six new tracks.
41:53That means more marketing.
41:57Media.
41:58And a whole lot of new merch.
42:19Let's go.
42:20This is a special private listening party for a few lucky fans before the EP officially drops.
42:27In Korea, they call this a comeback.
42:29No matter when a group's last music was released.
42:40When we see them at fan signs and like people who come frequently to these events,
42:46we obviously recognize them.
42:47It's just comforting to see familiar faces.
42:51Like Stacy.
42:52Now you came with a bunch of signs that you wrote for them, which they read.
42:56Yeah.
42:57Through the window there.
42:59That's exciting, right?
43:00Yeah.
43:00They made my day.
43:01Yeah?
43:02Basically.
43:02Yeah.
43:02I'm just so in love with them.
43:04I listen to their music like for 4,000 times every day.
43:10I don't think I've ever been obsessed with a band like this.
43:13The thing that reminds me of is Beatlemania.
43:16These clean cut boys from England and there was a lot of teenagers cheering for them.
43:20There's a lot of cynicism in the world today.
43:22There are a lot of things that are a little darker.
43:24There's nothing wrong with the brightness and the innocence of like a teenager just loving music and loving musicians who
43:32make it.
43:38That same night, All Day Project's One More Time shot up to number two on Melon's Top 100 chart.
43:45And not long after, this.
43:48All Day Project.
43:50The idols won Rookie Artist of the Year at the 2026 Golden Disc Awards, a Korean equivalent of the Grammys.
43:58All of that in less than one year from debut.
44:06Things move fast in Korea.
44:10It started with a popular movement.
44:12Koreans demanding their voices be heard.
44:16Now, they're singing in the streets of Seoul.
44:20Literally.
44:21And it's not all commercially produced.
44:23There's indie, metal, and more.
44:27The global reach of Korea's music industry is a source of pride here.
44:34K-pop comes with contradictions.
44:38Success requires commitment and sacrifice.
44:42With no guarantees.
44:47That's one reason fans connect so deeply with those who do make it.
44:52An aspirational pursuit.
45:00When I was growing up, only Western music reigned supreme.
45:06But no longer.
45:10Korean storytelling is resonating globally like never before.
45:16And it's not just music.
45:18And it's not just music.
45:18It's still music.
45:22It's just music.
45:22It's not just music.
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