It’s no secret to many fans of K-Pop that the relationship between artist and agency can oftentimes be problematic. There is probably much more bubbling under the surface than many of us are aware of, but it’s usually ignored in favor of harmony in the community. These problems are something that every fan keeps in the back of their head, so when certain news finally boils over onto the surface, we are forced to face some of the true ugliness of this industry. 

The most recent controversy comes from popular band The Rose, a group formed in 2017 under the small agency J&Star Company. Members Woosung, Dojoon, Hajoon, and Jaehyeong formed in 2016 on the streets of Hongdae, where they were indie band buskers under the name Windfall. About a week ago, each of the members released a statement on their social media declaring their intention to file a lawsuit against J&Star, stating that the company had yet to pay them since debut and had enforced a rigorous promotion schedule that included extremely tight tour schedules, often culminating in performances every other day. As expected, the company has come back to deny these claims, accused the members of defamation, and stated they will take all necessary legal measures. 

This is not a new story for veteran (or generally knowledgeable) K-Pop fans. Rewind six years and you’ll find exactly the same formula in the struggles of popular boy group B.A.P with their agency, TS Entertainment. Aiming to nullify their contract with the agency but remain together, B.A.P claimed that they were working under “slave” conditions and had yet to be paid for their work. There’s no denying that agencies put their idols through extremely grueling and more often than not ridiculous schedules, so it’s not a stretch to believe that the members were telling the truth about their situation. 

For B.A.P, a settlement was reached about 10 months later, and they returned to scheduled activities without so much as speaking about the incident. Ultimately all members chose to leave the agency once their contracts were up, going their separate ways despite how many believed they would remain together. 

For something that was so explosive at the time, it’s hard to imagine how it all faded into the background and TS continued to make money off the group before their contracts expired. Fans often face a challenging decision in choosing to continue to support their favorite groups or not having the desire to continue to give money to an agency that mistreats its groups. You’ll often find the two different factions fighting online about which side is the right one (spoiler: there is none). 

So what does that mean for The Rose? We’re still in the very early stages of the situation, only a week into the breaking news, and there’s a back and forth between member representatives and the agency, which will likely result in lots of talks behind the scenes. It’s hard to think that the members are lying about their allegations, given that agencies have a history of treating their idols as property, but whether or not those allegations have legal standing in court remains to be seen.

Many questions have been raised in the last month about the possibility of predictable situations changing (see Wonho returning to MONSTA X), but the hope for change in an industry that has long held the same practices despite obvious malpractice is scarce. Time and again we’ve seen history repeating itself with different idols, and so far the same outcome has been present. We can only hope that for once, things will go in favor of The Rose, and the tide will begin to turn on the treatment of idols.