The words that are automatically linked with the SM ent - JYJ lawsuit: slave contracts.
I am not going to touch on the profits and earnings portions, or even the length of the contract. What I am going to touch on is the point of "fair and right treatment" which JaeChunSu have quoted as part of the reason of wanting out.
For this post, I am not going to do a "to speak for HoMin, to speak for JaeChunSu, to speak for SM" style. I will just write freely.
Just how packed are the boys' schedule?
Honestly, I do not know because I am not their manager. But, I remember watching them appear on a few Japanese programs in their History in Japan (can't remember which was it, 1,2,3 or 4, most probably was not 1), and they were wearing the same clothes. That means it was on the same day. I think it was Jaejoong's birthday, because he treated them to a meal in a Japanese restaurant. You may say, ah, those are not really long programs, not like they attended 10 programs, one after another with each lasting 1-2 hrs. But hey, do you really know how much time is needed to shoot for a 10 minutes program? I don't know, but definitely not 10 minutes. Plus, the programs are all at different venues. Travel-prep-shoot-look good-smile (you can't look tired or sad in programs)-be charming, witty & funny. Rush & repeat for who knows how many times. And if they are promoting songs, they would be singing and dancing to the same song over and over again for who knows how many times. Though I admit, that is part of their job, they are humans too, not machines.
Do they have vacation?
I don't know. I read somewhere, and I couldn't find it now, that their yearly vacation is really pathetic. In a certain year, it was only 1 day. The longest was never more than 1 week or 10 days in a year. Now, I don't know how true this is. But looking at it. These boys' schedules are jam packed. And they have to study, they are Koreans who could speak Japanese remember? They don't need a translator when they go on shows or do interviews. They have to have hot bodies, so they need to work out. Their dances are all very difficult, imagine they amount of practice needed? Talent is one thing, hard work complements it. Voice training that is.
They work like slaves every single day?
No. I really don't think so. Some fans have claim that these boys only get 3-4 hrs of sleep a day or was it 2-3 hrs. I somehow do not think it is everyday, maybe it is true when they are in the middle of album promotion, concerts or activities, but not every single day in a year. Why? Because, the boys themselves have mentioned that they go for drinks, I think it was Jaejoong & Yoochun. If you don't even have enough time to sleep, do you go for drinks? Will your manager let you out of the house? Don't think so. Also, they mentioned before while on a show, how they got freaked out by a fan who appeared outside their apartment. I can't remember what the fan did, but the boys clearly said that they were watching a movie together. In a separate shows, they have also mentioned, they got interested in an online game together, and would gather at the living room, with their laptops and play games together. Not to forget, these boys also read a lot of manga and watch animes. Although, yea, it was partly to learn Japanese. But if they really do not have even enough time to rest (on a daily basis), I doubt their manager would let them learn Japanese through manga and anime. It would be a proper tutored style of learning. So overall, I don't think they had to survive on a 2-3 hrs or 3-4 hrs sleep everyday. The rest of us, who are not idols, who lead normal lives, would have had our fair share of over-worked stories. I once worked a full day (from 8-ish am to 6-ish pm), went back home to "rest" (as if I could sleep, and don't forget, time was spent commuting to and from workplace), got back to work at 10pm and worked all the way to 2pm the next day. My brain was practically dead. Well, I was not promoting album or having concerts ^.^, I had an important project at work T_T
Were they abused?
Hmm, this one is really fuzzy. Because I really don't know. There are rumors that manager does hit them and were careful about not hitting their face, so that it won't be noticed. For a moment, it seemed really absurd that in this modern days, this type of physical abuse can exist. Sounds very unbelievable. Even more impossible to imagine it happening to these glamorous DBSK boys who have so many fans supporting them. Let's just say, there are 10 people in the company that hits them. But they have at least 800 000 Cassiopeia members supporting them. So that is 80 000 Cassie to 1 SM ent member. If each Cassie gives them a punch, they will be dead or at least lying in ICU for weeks. So yea, it seems impossible. But...just because it seems impossible, does not mean it won't happen. Think of it this way, parents usually try to teach children by talking to them nicely. If it does not work, talking turns to lecturing, then it turns to yelling and soon the caning/ hitting with a ruler/ slapping comes. If parents can do that to their own offspring, what makes you think the company can't do that to these boys and other idols?
So that is the physical abuse part. How about mental abuse?
I came across a clip in YouTube, where the boys were in China (was it Beijing), and they were yelled at. For not doing something, not touching the sponsor's tag or mic or whatever. And that yelling was caught on video. I have no idea what sort of words the yelling contains. But the boys look visibly shaken. Mental abuse can be as lethal as physical abuse. Everyone have their threshold. Life is hard enough as it is, and yes, I believe idols and celebrities have hard times too. Because they are humans too.
Were their creativity restricted?
In short, Yes & No.
No, because they have released self composed songs before. But I think this may been agreed by SM ent to appease the boys.
Yes, because I believe, in order to maintain general appeal, SM ent will want to ensure their music stays main stream. And this objective will take top priority over any other creative attempts by the members. Any musicians worthy of their 2 cents would be irked by this. Because, they will not able to grow musically if they kept getting blocked. Especially if they have proven their worth as composers and lyricist. And at this point, I have to make a note that, the ones who displayed more composing talent here is Yoochun and Jaejoong. So, to say that they felt really suppressed in SM ent, would make perfect sense. Again, remember, these blog contains my opinions, not the law ^.^
I remember watching DBSK House Tour in AADBSK2, and Jaejoong was showing his Bisco in Couple piece on the keyboard. But, was that ever release? However, to be fair, there is always 2 sides of the coin. It could be SM ent didn't like it because they felt it would not appeal to all, would not sell. But it could also be because Jaejoong couldn't complete it. Or, he completed the score, but not the lyrics. I don't know. Only Jaejoong and SM ent knows.
This post will be updated. I don't think I have typed out everything I have in my mind. But I really need to stop and pack, as I will be going away for 2 days.
Meanwhile, I have looked at my stats and realized that yes, there are people visiting this blog. Though I am not sure if they came and read, or just came and left, that would be really sad T_T
If you came, and you read, I would appreciate if you have any comments. Or if you have any suggestions on what you would like to see me write. But please keep the request to a non bashing topic ^.^
*So I am back, to add some more things here.
Were they made to do things which they feel were not right?
I am going to have to thread really carefully here and some people may get offended by what I write. So again, I reiterate, I am writing down my opinions, I am not saying they are facts, and if you choose to read what I write, I offer you the complete freedom to agree or disagree
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Have anyone heard of young female celebrities, or young-female-celebrities-wanna-be sleeping around with people of influence in order to get a break in the entertainment circle. These type of speculations/ rumors have been going around probably since they day entertainment became a business. These young females could be aspiring singers, actress, models or etc. The people who gets to bed them? Could just be a composer, lyricist, entertainment company board of directors, director or even someone rich enough to invest in them. As absurd as it may sound, I won't put down my money and say this type of "transactions" never happened and can't be true. Extremist who thinks only black & white can exist in this world will always say, "show me the evidence". Well, do you really think there would be evidences for things like this? You mean you honestly think, there will be a contract inked, with something along the lines off "I, xxx, hereby offer my nubile young body in exchange for yyy to invest in cutting out an album for me", and then have it validated by a lawyer in a reputable law firm? Come on, we know that is impossible.
In case you are wondering if I lost my orientation after being away for a day or two, I assure you, my dear blog, my dear diary, I have not. What I wrote above, is leading on to what I am going to write about DBSK.
I am not a fan who have been following them since their debut days. But since I discovered them this year, I have also been looking back at their pass music videos, shows and performances, here's what I can say:
2004-2005
Sorry I didn't do much research, but I think they made it pretty big back home in S. Korea. Their image in general, is more of a cute image. Its like a somewhat asexual image. Of course, they are boys and their fans are 99% females, but its just not the sexy, manly image. They were in their teens, Changmin the youngest was 16 and Jaejoong the oldest was 18.
2005-2007
They left for Japan in 2005 and debuted somewhere in April. Most notable song was probably Rising Sun. Dived into Asia market in 2006 with their first international, which is the "Rising Sun 1st Asia Tour". They won awards, amassed a huge fan base all over Asia; Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, China. Their image during this period have obviously matured compared to their debut "Hug" days. More boyish charms came out, but fans mostly still find them to be cute and often use the word "dorks" to describe them. Fans also said they exude charisma. So, overall, it still is not about being manly or sexy (even if there was sexy, it was not the main point and it was a fleeting moment, not part of their concept)
2008-2009
The main highlight here is Mirotic. Even the lyrics was supposedly considered to have too much sexual connotations, although I don't agree. I won't listen to the words "Under my skin" and decide I need to go sleep with the next male I see. Their image, is all about manliness, being sexy and having the girls all under their spell. And I believe Yunho & Jaejoong nailed it. Junsu, a little maybe, if I can get pass his Oyaji gags ^.^, Yoochun not really (but that's just my opinion), and Changmin, I have forever imagined him to be a younger brother, so its not possible to link him with the word sexy.
So, I still didn't get to my point yet. What if, the boys were made to entertain? I can imagine, they would have already be entertaining even before this. But decent entertainment, for example, having drinks with potential clients to negotiate product endorsement, CF deals etc. Those are acceptable business mingling and entertaining. But what if, with their new Mirotic image, some high power, filthy rich ajumma (or god forbid, ahjussi) is interested in the boys and she (or he T_T) can cut the "company" a deal they cannot refuse? I'll not write down what "interested in the boys" could mean, you can think it yourself, it can be very innocent or very indecent. But regardless of whether it is decent or not, it feels morally incorrect to me. So, what if the boys need to do some "toy boy" kind of entertaining? Honestly, I kept typing and stopping, because this is too disturbing. Again, don't ask me to prove it. I have no proof to show whether it happened, but neither does anyone have proof that it did not happen. And, I am not even keen on believing it happen, this is just a pure speculation. Could something like this be part of the "unfair treatment" that JaeChunSu speaks of? I can already imagine there would be people questioning, "hey, if it is, why is it not spelt out in the lawsuit?" Because if I am the boys and this really happened, I would not want the whole world to know, that I am not a singer, not an artiste, not a composer, not a lyricist, not a performer, not even an idol, I was a toy boy. These boys still have a long road ahead of them, they have friends and families they need to protect, they are humans like you and me. Get it? And besides, even if JaeChunSu is willing to bare it all, they would be dragging HoMin down with it. Could you do that to your best friends/ brothers?
I am going to stop here. The next time I write, it should be a new post. This was a very disturbing post for me to write. And a post that I believe will receive a lot of flack (if it is read by any JaeChunSu bias or HoMin bias). They would call me crazy for even imagining their oppas have to do these things. But like I say, I am not saying it is true. I am writing down a different perspective. And just as I do not have proof to show it is true, no one have proofs to refute it either. The world is really not just black & white. Especially the entertainment world...
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