Chapter 62

S·M Company is the only talent agency in South Korea that can simultaneously promote two individuals or a group, which is a testament to its formidable strength.

Even Lee Hyo-man, who is a sworn enemy of Lee Soo-man, has to admit that S·M Company has an incredibly solid foundation. It usually keeps a low profile, but once it needs to, under the leadership of the strong CEO Lee Soo-man, the entire S·M machine can start operating at full speed, generating power and influence that is both terrifying and helpless.

Lee Hyo-man himself has to admit that if he were to really go head-to-head with S·M Company at the same time, in terms of public opinion and promotional resources, DSP is currently no match for S·M.

In fact, not just DSP, but probably any talent agency in the Korean entertainment industry, including those for film actors, would not be a match for S·M Company in terms of promotion and hype.

It's no exaggeration to say that S·M Company has a monopoly in the area of promotion and hype. Normally, you can play around, and I don't care, but when my new artists debut or my singers release new albums, you all need to step aside, whether you want to or not.

HOT: "BOA is the most outstanding and promising trainee I've ever seen in my life. I believe BOA will definitely become the brightest star in the future."

SES: "BOA says she is our fan, but we also want to say that BOA is our idol."

Myth: "We are fortunate that BOA will focus mainly on Japan in the future, otherwise, there might really be no place for us in Myth."

Like DSP, S·M Company also uses its most popular signature groups to praise BOA, even to the point of brainless, excessive flattery. This obvious promotional strategy, arranged by S·M Company, was definitely not approved by the members of the three groups. But it doesn't matter; at least currently, Lee Soo-man's control over S·M Company has reached its peak. If he says so, that's how it is.

Although everyone knows that Lee Soo-man's use of the company's official website to flatter BOA is a promotional tactic, the members of HOT, SES, and Myth are definitely not happy about it. However, under the absolute tyrant's aura of Lee Soo-man, and with their good relationship with BOA and their high regard for this junior, the three signature groups of S·M Company ultimately cooperate with S·M's promotional plans for BOA in various settings.

As long as you're not a fool, you can see that this is S·M Company's promotional strategy, and it's a particularly nauseating one. But regardless, with this series of promotions, Lee Soo-man is quite satisfied with the results.

With S·M Company's series of promotions, everyone's attention and focus quickly turned to BOA. Adding to this, S·M Company occasionally released videos of BOA's training period, gradually increasing her attention and popularity.

It must be said that S·M Company's promotional tactics for its artists, especially new ones, are truly nauseating and even reckless. Just look at Girls' Generation; they almost collapsed due to S·M's excessive promotion. Fortunately, the nine girls united and overcame the difficulties.

Seeing that the public's attention was drawn to BOA by Lee Soo-man, Lee Hyo-man was naturally unhappy. His dissatisfaction led him to frequently take action, using various methods and means to shift the public's attention and focus back to Kim Yoo-jeong.

Similarly, Lee Soo-man would not let Lee Hyo-man have his way and continuously used various methods and means to keep the public's attention on BOA.

Lee Soo-man and Lee Hyo-man, like martial arts masters, began their battle from a distance, with their orders as moves and their agencies as weapons. For a time, both sides were fiercely competing.

For a whole week, the most attention-grabbing event in South Korea was undoubtedly the debuts of Kim Yoo-jeong and BOA, along with the confrontation between Lee Soo-man and Lee Hyo-man, and S·M Company and DSP Company.

For a whole week, the entertainment industry's new faces were almost entirely dominated by the two yet-to-debut stars, Kim Yoo-jeong and BOA, which made many senior artists very jealous and unhappy.

However, being jealous and unhappy was of no use; no singer dared to provoke Lee Soo-man and Lee Hyo-man. As for venting their anger on Kim Yoo-jeong and BOA, forget it. Just look at how S·M and DSP are currently clashing; it shows that the two have a high status in their respective agencies and in the eyes of their CEOs.

If you want to bully Kim Yoo-jeong and BOA based on seniority, you have to consider whether you can bear the wrath of Lee Soo-man and Lee Hyo-man. Besides, both have senior artists in their agencies who will protect them, so there's probably no chance to act.

After a week, Lee Soo-man and Lee Hyo-man stopped their battle in unison, and the hype around BOA and Kim Yoo-jeong's debuts slowly subsided.

But considering the positions and relationships between S·M Company and DSP Company, and between Lee Soo-man and Lee Hyo-man, everyone sighed, "BOA and Kim Yoo-jeong's lifelong enemies have finally appeared."

The relationship between their respective agencies and CEOs determined that the two would only become lifelong enemies, a fact acknowledged by everyone.

It's important to note that the Korean music industry is not as casual and relaxed as it will be in a few years. Artists from opposing agencies have no chance of collaborating. The biggest competitors can truly avoid each other for life.

So, everyone believes that Kim Yoo-jeong and BOA will consider each other lifelong enemies, and this view is indeed correct.

However, Kim Yoo-jeong is very clear that in a few years, especially with the rise of the second-generation idol groups and the expansion into overseas markets, the tense and hostile relationships between major Korean agencies will gradually ease, and they may even become allies overseas due to the vast and profitable overseas market.

Because, no matter what the outside world and the media say about him and BOA, Kim Yoo-jeong remains calm. Instead of worrying about these things, he focuses on how to shoot the MV well.

Although the plot is simple, acting is not as easy as he imagined. Over the past few days, Kim Yoo-jeong has been harshly criticized and scolded by Lee Myung-soo almost every day. Each time he is scolded, Moon Geun-young, like an angel, comes to his side to encourage and comfort him.

Surprisingly, with Lee Myung-soo's scolding and criticism, and the increasing familiarity with acting, Kim Yoo-jeong's acting skills have significantly improved. According to Kim Ji-deok, Kim Yoo-jeong used to have 90 points in theoretical knowledge but was probably failing in practice. Now, with his own adjustments and dedication, he has reached 80 points.

80 points, what does that mean? It means that unless it's a drama that requires extremely high acting skills or relies solely on one person's performance, Kim Yoo-jeong is now qualified to be the lead in any Korean drama.