As K-pop globalizes, the case around girl group VCHA shows there are risks
As a member of JYP girl group VCHA exits the band and files a lawsuit, can we expect to see more legal battles?
(Girl group VCHA. KG, far left, has announced her departure from the band. Photo credit: JYP Entertainment)
*Trigger warning: content discusses issues around mental health, self-harm and suicide*
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When I first started this newsletter, I didn’t expect to be covering so many contract and labour disputes. But as 2024 comes to a close, another major K-pop agency is making headlines. This time, raising the question around the K-pop industry’s eagerness to expand globally and the risks involved when working with minors in North America.
On December 7, KG announced she would be leaving the girl group VCHA and terminating her contract with JYP Entertainment after “experiencing incidents of abuse and mistreatment by certain staff members.”
In a statement posted on her Instagram page, KG alleged JYP Entertainment did not provide a good environment for her mental health. She also claims the working conditions encouraged “eating disorders and caused members to self-harm”, as well as led a member of VCHA to attempt suicide.
“I am worried for the girls who remain in VCHA, my friends, who I truly love and care for,” she added, writing that she has since accumulated a “massive” amount of debt to JYPE while being underpaid and having “extreme” limitations on her and her members’ personal lives.
In addition to her departure announcement, KG, 17, has also filed a lawsuit against JYP USA to terminate her contract.
In response to KG’s allegations, JYP USA had this to say: “We deeply regret KG’s decision to file a lawsuit and make unilateral public statements containing false and exaggerated claims. This action has caused significant harm to the other members of VCHA and JYP USA who have been working diligently on their upcoming album and projects for early 2025.” Read full statement here.
Contract disputes are not new in the world of K-pop, but the case involving KG is uncharted territory. KG filed her lawsuit in California, and is directed towards JYP USA, a subsidiary of JYP Entertainment. That will mean any law proceedings will take place in America.
According to California’s Labour Code, minors cannot work more than four hours on school days or eight hours on non-school days, with a maximum of 48 hours per week. Minors must also be paid the state’s minimum wage. KG claims she was subjected to over 12-hour workdays without proper compensation. And if the court rules in her favour, that could result in legal and financial consequences for JYP USA.
(KG, a former member of VCHA)
It’s clear the optics of this case do not look good for JYP Entertainment as a whole. But it also highlights the risks any K-pop label may face in an effort to globalize and expand operations outside of Korea.
In recent years, labels like JYP and HYBE (home to BTS, Seventeen, LE SSERAFIM) have been eager to expand given K-pop’s rising popularity.
VCHA is the result of this, after being formed by the reality competition series A2K, which sought auditions across the USA to build JYPE’s first North American girl group.
KATSEYE, the global girl group formed under HYBE and Geffen, debuted a couple months after VCHA. Like their predecessors, KATSEYE was also formed under the reality competition show format. Since the release of the Netflix docu-series Pop Star Academy, many fans have also criticized the ways in which teen contestants vying for a spot on KATSEYE were pitted against each other for the sake of entertainment.
If you have followed K-pop in the last 20 years, the things trainees and idols have to endure should come as no surprise. There are numerous reports of idols being tied to so-called slave contracts to their companies. On top of this, many artists have admitted going on strict diets in order to fit certain beauty standards, or even injuring themselves after pushing their bodies to the limit during performances. Fans often lament over the media’s reporting of these issues as “the dark side of K-pop.”
VCHA is a case of sending trainers from Korea over to America to recreate the K-pop system. K-pop has long upheld strict standards on trainees to push through whatever they have in order to become the next big star. But while keeping quiet and respecting those above you is a norm in East Asian cultures, that doesn’t seem to be working quite so well for trainees and idols across the pond. KG’s allegations is proof of that.
While many have suggested the idea of forming a union in K-pop, getting that up and running may encounter a number of complications. It requires all artists to work together in a unified approach around work hours, wages and profit sharing. Not to mention, the number of NDAs signed by artists make things even more complex. (For more on this topic, read my recent interview with professor CedarBough Saeji)
That being said, KG’s case being filed in the United States has the potential to send a real wake up call to K-pop companies on the challenges that may arise when it comes to globalizing. While it may not completely overhaul the harsh conditions of trainee life, KG has said she hopes her speaking out can foster better work environments for all artists in the future.
“I hope that my leave can encourage the K-pop system to make changes for the better, in hopes of protecting the idols and trainees that remain in these companies’ hands.”
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