K-pop, J-pop 가수들은 지금은 세계적으로 특히 한국과 일본에서는 모든 10대들의 우상이다.
그들이 떳다하면, 그들은 환호하는 10대들에게 "온갖 상상의 꿈을 파는 직업"으로 알려져왔다.
이들이 활동하면서, 수천만 달러를 벌어들이는, 명색상 보호자겸 관리회사는 배를 채우지만, 실제로 돈을 벌어들이는 구룹멤버들은 정해진 월급을 받기에, 밖어서 생각하는것 처럼, 풍부하지 못하고 일반 십대들, 또는 사회생활하는 사람들의 씀씀이와 별반 다를게 없다.
아이돌 멤버들은 관리회사의 엄격한 룰의 적용을 받아, 친구들과의 데이트도 허용안되고, 오직 "아이돌"이 될수있는 방법을 강요당한다. 특히 일본에서는 친구와의 데이트도 허용안되고, 심지어 사랑하는이와 결혼하기위해서는 사전에 허락을 받아야 한다.
"데이트 허용안됨"의 구절이 계약서상에 엄연히 적혀있어, 만약에 이를 어겼을 경우에는 이들 스타들은 관리회사로 부터 명예훼손으로 고소를 받는다. 2년전 일본의 AKB48 밴드 구룹의Minami Minegishi양은 하룻밤 남자친구와 지냈다는, 계약사와의 계약사항을 위반하여 스님처럼 민둥산처럼 머리를 잘렸으며 눈물어린 사과를 했었다.
이렇게 계약사들이 "구룹멤버들의 사생활을 일일히 간섭하는 독재는, 서구의 연예사들에서는 일어났다는 얘기를 들어본적이 없다"라고, Billboard Magazine의 편집장, Rob Schwartz 씨는 한탄한다.
한국은, 일본보다는 많이 후한 편이다. 이성친구와 데이트 또는 결혼하는것이 일본보다는 훨씬 후한 편이나, 계약회사는 그래도 그들의 일상생활에 대해서 철저한 관리를 한다.
또한 구룹의 스타들은 때로는 성형수술도 타의에 의해 받아야만 한다. 또한 정치적으로 민감한 반응표현은 절대로 허용이 안된다. 최근에 대만출신 스타 Chou Tzuyu(16세)는 대만기( Taiwanese Flag)를 흔들었는데, 많은 사람들이 그가 대만의 독립을 지지했다는 행동으로 비화되여 많은 문제점을 일으킨바 있었다.
지구상의 어디에서든 마찬가지이지만, 우상화된 스타들은 특히 일본과 한국에서는 어린이들에게 커다란 영향을 끼치고 있다. 그러나 최근의 비극적인 사건들을 보면서 어떻게 해서 이들 연예계의 실상이 무엇인가를 토의하기 시작했으며, 우상화된 이들 스타들이 어떻게 대중들에게 잘 보여져야 하는가에 대한 꿈은 현실과는 너무나 멀리 떨어진 괴로움의 산물임을 알아야 할것 같다.
They are known as "idols" and their job is "to sell dreams". For decades, the young pop stars of Japan and South Korea have been the envy of teenagers.
But behind the glamour, the lucrative industry is run by talent agencies with an iron fist. Two recent apologies by Japan's popular band SMAP and Taiwanese star Chou Tzuyu have highlighted just how much power they have.
Both J-pop and K-pop - as Japanese and South Korean pop are known - are multi-million dollar industries yet most of their stars are on salary and do not earn very much.
They are also bound by strict rules on how to be idols. In Japan, for example, many are not allowed to date and getting married requires permission.
The "no dating" clause of the contracts has resulted in some idols being sued for breaking it, accused of damaging their reputations. Two years ago Minami Minegishi from popular girl band AKB48 shaved her head and wept in apology, after breaking management firm rules by spending a night with her boyfriend.
Manufactured boy or girl bands are nothing new, but Tokyo-based Asia Bureau Chief of Billboard Magazine Rob Schwartz says "it's unheard of in the West for the agencies to control their personal lives".
"It's possibly comparable to the situation in the 1940s in the US when film studios had huge control over their movie stars but even then, they may have been encouraged not to date or marry but there was less coercion," he added.
"They are very concerned about how their talents are perceived, in part because of several infamous scandals in the 1990s," said Mark Russell, an expert on the K-pop industry.
"If you go to the agency, every young trainee will give you a very polite bow and there are notices with the company rules on the wall to remind them how to behave."
There is also speculation that some young stars are advised to undergo cosmetic surgery.
Discussing politics is one of many taboos - recently, waving a Taiwanese flag got Taiwanese star Chou Tzuyu, 16, into trouble as critics argued that she was supporting independence.
Her video apology was posted online by her South Korean agency, JYP Entertainment.
What the agency failed to realise, however, was how it may be perceived in other markets where K-pop is also popular. Her apology triggered an outcry in Taiwan where many considered it humiliating not just for the young star but for Taiwan.
"Korea puts strong emphasis on humility but it can come across as too extreme outside the country," Mr Russell explained.
A few days later in neighbouring Japan, the members of the ageing boy band SMAP - all dressed in black - bowed deeply in a sombre apology on their weekly programme SMAPxSMAP.
Their sin was trying to leave their agency, Johnny & Associates.
The apology was not only addressed to their fans, for rumours that they were considering splitting up, but also to the founder of the agency, 84-year-old Johnny Kitagawa, one of the most powerful and controversial figures in Japan's entertainment industry.
He has been recognised three times by Guinness World Record, once for the most singles produced by an individual. He was behind 232 Number 1 Singles between 1974 and 2010, just one small measure of the virtual monopoly he has had on the creation of Japanese boy bands.
At the far left was Masahiro Nakai - the group's leader who has usually been placed in the middle of the band. Such subtleties may be lost on many readers, but the symbolism is powerful for Japanese observers. The tabloid newspaper Nikkan Gendai headlined it: "Nakai's public execution."
Others saw the similarity between SMAP members and Japan's so-called white collar salarymen, unable to disobey their employers.
The word "corporate slaves" started trending on social media and when Twitter went down for 15 minutes at around that time, Japanese fans speculated that it was traffic from SMAP that brought it down.
Fans also complained to the country's media watchdog, citing power harassment.
But interestingly, mainstream media stayed away from the controversy and only reported the sense of relief that fans expressed at the news the band was staying together.
This led to accusations that they were afraid of criticising powerful Johnny & Associates as it represents many other popular talents.
The BBC approached Johnny & Associates about the controversy, but they declined to comment. South Korea's JYP Entertainment also did not respond to requests for comment on the Chou Tzuyu incident.
"Journalists who work for mainstream Japanese media clearly understand what they're allowed to and not allowed to write so they operate on self-censorship," said Mr Schwartz from Billboard Magazine.
In South Korea, while there is no single talent management agency which has the same iron grip on media, K-pop expert Mr Russell says "there was a lot more mutual back-scratching between the agencies and media before". The coverage of scandals has since changed, largely because of the liberating force of internet reaction on social media.
Like elsewhere in the world, the glamour of pop stardom is a huge appeal for Japanese and South Korean children.
But these latest incidents show that even among fans, there is a debate about how the reality of the industry is quite far from the dream that these idols are supposed to be selling.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
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