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Recent years have witnessed a tremendous success of k-pop industry.The total revenue of three dominant k-pop companies,SM entertainment,YG,and JYP amounted to a record of approximately $155,889,608 in the first half of 2013.In comparison to the approximate $102,815,053.60 in 2012.The company managers not only make money through the release of albums,but also find touring and merchandise sales even more profitable.

Through strict selection process,long training time,and professional appearance management,k-pop stars swept across Asia,Europe and North America and become household names.Rain,a leading k-pop singer in Korea, was recognized as the most influential person of the year by Time magazine.Also,music band Big Bang reached the top 10 album chart on US iTunes.

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However,behind the prosperity of k-pop industry is the cruel and unethical treatment to idols.Little care is given to the safety and health of the idols.They are forced to perform nonstop and work as hard as possible in order to survive the fierce competition and remain popular in the market.Despite the excessive exposure and overload,idols are still required to sing and dance on stage during illness and injuries.Krystal,a member of f(x) in SM entertainment company was reported fainting immediately after performance due to over-time working.Besides,Idols get little shares from the revenue they earned at the expense of health after recoup of managers.Once exposed by the media,k-pop company is blamed by the public and some fans even propose to resist on purchasing albums produced by SM entertainment.

From my point of view,k-pop company should take triple bottom line into consideration and create shared value between company and idols.Enough attention should be given to the health of idols by extending rest time and offering physical examinations.Also,increasing the earnings of idols to give them more incentives to make more profit for the company.This enhances the reputation of company and does good in attracting more fans.

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http://www.allkpop.com/article/2013/08/earnings-of-sm-yg-and-jyp-for-the-first-half-of-2013-revealed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13760064