I saw the giant BTS mural at the HYBE headquarters and went to the trending HYBE INSIGHT! ~Korea Travelogue Part 1~ K-POP called Youth Vol. 153

I went to Korea with my wife from June 18th to 20th!

It was fun!

It was too much fun!

It was a whirlwind 3-day, 2-night trip, but

we toured the four major K-POP agencies

and also went to the HYBE portrait exhibition 'HYBE INSIGHT'

and enjoyed delicious Korean food!

I plan to report on that 3-day trip to Korea in two parts. ① Astonishing HYBE building and HYBE INSIGHT experience report ② Tour of the four major K-POP agencies

This first part is a HYBE special!

By the way, my wife is an ARMY (BTS fandom), and I am a FEARNOT (LE SSERAFIM fandom) and a flover (fromis_9 fandom).

HYBE is a comprehensive Korean entertainment company that has now become the No. 1 company in the K-POP world. Its former company name was Big Hit Entertainment. Its catchphrase is 'WE BELIEVE IN MUSIC'.

It is a giant company that now boasts famous artists such as BTS, SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN, LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans, and fromis_9, but let me briefly introduce the history of HYBE.

[2005-2010]

On February 1, 2005, composer Bang Si-hyuk became independent from JYP Entertainment and established Big Hit Entertainment.

The catchphrase was 'Music and Artist for Healing'.

In 2006, they signed a contract with male singer K.Will. He remained with the company until the following year.

In 2007, they produced the co-ed vocal trio '8eight' (which suspended activities in 2014 and reunited in 2021 after 6 years).

In 2010, they signed a joint management contract with JYP Entertainment for the male group '2AM'. The three members other than Lee Chang-min transferred back to JYP Entertainment in April 2014, when the joint contract ended.

In the same year, they produced the male vocal duo 'HOMME', consisting of Lee Hyun of 8eight and Lee Chang-min of 2AM.

In the same year, they launched the 'Hip-hop Audition HIT IT' nationwide and signed a contract with RM, who would become the first member of BTS.

[2012–2018]

In 2012, signed a contract with female singer Lim Jeong-hee. The three-year contract expired in 2015.

In 2012, in collaboration with SOURCE MUSIC, produced the four-member female idol group "GLAM." The group disbanded in 2014.

On June 13, 2013, produced the seven-member male hip-hop group "BTS." In October 2018, it was announced that their contract had been renewed and extended until 2026.

On September 29, 2017, established the Japanese subsidiary "Big Hit Entertainment Japan" (now HYBE LABELS JAPAN).

[2019]

On March 4, 2019, produced the five-member male idol group "TOMORROW X TOGETHER."

In the same year, former Chief Brand Officer (CBO) Yoon Seok-jun was appointed as co-CEO alongside Bang Si-hyuk. Yoon Seok-jun is primarily responsible for business components, while Bang Si-hyuk focuses on creative production.

On June 3, launched the service "Weply" (now Weverse Shop) to replace the existing e-commerce platform, Big Hit Shop.

On June 10, the subsidiary beNX (now WEVERSE COMPANY) launched the fan community platform "Weverse."

On July 29, acquired SOURCE MUSIC, the agency representing the six-member female idol group "GFRIEND."

[2020]

On June 26, 2020, the survival audition program "I-LAND," a joint project with CJ ENM, began simultaneous broadcasting in Japan and South Korea on the Korean music channel Mnet.

On October 15, listed on the Korea Exchange.The company made headlines and was widely reported as "BTS stock" due to its market capitalization exceeding 1 trillion yen and the value of individual BTS members' shareholdings surpassing 800 million yen.

On October 18, acquired PLEDIS Entertainment, which represents artists such as SEVENTEEN, NU'EST, and fromis_9.

On November 18, announced the acquisition of KOZ Entertainment, founded by Zico, a hip-hop artist and member of the seven-member male idol group Block B.

On November 30, the seven-member male idol group "ENHYPEN," selected through the aforementioned program, was produced by the newly established BELIFT LAB.

[2021]

On March 22, relocated the headquarters to the Yongsan Trade Center in Yongsan District.

On March 31, changed the company name from Big Hit Entertainment to "HYBE."

Bang Si-hyuk explained that by "comforting and moving people around the world through music and artists, Big Hit Entertainment will continue to bring new innovations to the business model of the music industry. Big Hit aims to become the world's best music-based entertainment lifestyle platform company.", he felt that the company name Big Hit Entertainment could not fully express the true meaning and purpose of a company that had expanded into various fields and become a multi-label entity, so he decided to rebrand to match the new image.

He also explained that while retaining the identity of "Big Hit," they established a new independent label, "BIGHIT MUSIC," in the fields of music production, artist management, and fan communication, and absorbed and separated the operations of Big Hit Entertainment. Accordingly, artists who were affiliated with Big Hit Entertainment became affiliated with BIGHIT MUSIC.

On April 2, they announced the establishment of "HYBE AMERICA" as a foundation for expansion into the United States. On May 7, they absorbed and merged Ithaca Holdings, which is home to Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande and led by American music producer Scooter Braun, into HYBE AMERICA.

On July 1, following a leadership reorganization, Bang Si-hyuk and Yoon Seok-jun stepped down as co-CEOs. Park Ji-won was appointed as the new CEO.

Bang Si-hyuk assumed the position of Chairman of the Board, and Yoon Seok-jun became co-CEO of HYBE AMERICA alongside Scooter Braun. Additionally, Lee Jae-sang, HYBE's Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), was appointed as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of HYBE AMERICA.

On the same day, HYBE SOLUTIONS JAPAN changed its company name to "HYBE JAPAN," and HYBE LABELS JAPAN and HYBE T&D JAPAN were absorbed and merged. Han Hyun-rok, former representative of HYBE SOLUTIONS JAPAN, was appointed as the CEO of HYBE JAPAN.

On November 12, they announced the establishment of a new subsidiary label, "ADOR," and appointed Chief Brand Officer (CBO) Min Hee-jin as its CEO.

[2022]

On May 2, LE SSERAFIM debuted with their 1st mini-album "FEARLESS."

On July 22, Min Hee-jin debuted the girl group "NewJeans" from ADOR.

[2023]

In February 2023, they acquired shares of SM Entertainment (SM) from its founder for 420 billion won. With a 14.8% stake, they became the company's largest shareholder and had planned to acquire the company, but in March of the same year, they announced they would abandon the acquisition due to an intensifying management dispute at SM, including a tender offer (TOB) launched by the IT company Kakao.

On June 30, they began broadcasting "R U Next?," a program to determine the final members of the next-generation global girl group by "BELIFT LAB," a joint venture label between "HYBE" and "CJ ENM."

I will report on the company building, which is like a symbol of the rapidly growing HYBE, and HYBE INSIGHT, an exhibition that seems to condense the concepts of HYBE and the brilliance of its artists.

First, I went to the HYBE building on June 18.
It takes about 20 minutes from Myeong-dong, where my hotel is, to the nearest station, Yongsan Station.

Yongsan Station is so cool!

There is a K-POP shop with a great selection on the 5th floor of the station building called i-Park, and there was also a cafe with a nice view ☕️.

We headed there by bus, but when I rode a bus in Korea for the first time, the driver was shouting "Ajusshi! Ajusshi!" at someone who got on wrong, and my wife and I were nervous thinking he might be talking to us, haha.

If you are using the bus, take bus 400 or 502 from the "Yongsan Station" stop located near Exit 1 of Yongsan Station on Subway Line 1 and the Gyeongui-Jungang Line.

For both routes, get off at the "Yongsan History Museum / Yongsan Railroad High School" stop, and from there, it is about a 5-minute walk to the HYBE office building.

The bus 🚌 ride was about 4 minutes long, covering 2 stops.

And so, we arrived safely in front of the HYBE building!

Man, it was a spectacular sight!

I'm so glad we were able to go at this time!

Then, the next day, we headed to HYBE INSIGHT.

HYBE INSIGHT is a space designed with various features to allow visitors to personally experience the great power and emotion that HYBE's music provides, by implementing HYBE's mission of "We believe in Music" through diverse exhibition spaces and content.

It is a portrait photo exhibition featuring various content created with the participation of HYBE label artists such as BTS, SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN, and LE SSERAFIM. The concept this time was "The Daydream Believer."

Dates: June 9, 2023 – August 27, 2023
Location: 606 Bongeunsa-ro, Gangnam-gu (Nearest station is Samseong Station).

It was right in front of the station, and since we had a little time before opening, we went to a nearby cafe. The bread was delicious!

And finally, it was our reserved time!

There was a small area where photography was allowed, so I'm posting those photos.

Photography is prohibited in many parts of HYBE INSIGHT, but it was a blissful time surrounded by a beautiful space decorated with stage costumes and various portrait photos of each group.

Then, at the merchandise corner, my wife bought a huge amount of BTS goods for her ARMY friends, and I bought some LE SSERAFIM goods before we left the venue.

My overall impression of the venue was that each and every photo was carefully woven together, bringing out the maximum charm of each artist.

Even though I was only focused on LE SSERAFIM, there were many moments where I was captivated by the many beautiful portrait photos of HYBE's male artists.

The charm of HYBE artists is truly diverse,

and the joy of immersing myself in that world was irresistible!

I definitely want to go to the HYBE building and HYBE INSIGHT with my wife again.

We are now completely a couple that supports HYBE.

Having said that, on the day we went to HYBE INSIGHT, we also went to JYP and SM Entertainment and had a great time, haha.

I will introduce that in detail in the next special feature, 'Touring the 4 Major Agencies'!

Well then, fighting today too!