SM Entertainment CEO Kim Young Min: "The Future of Hallyu is Bright"

In the aftermath of the second round of SM Town concerts in Tokyo, held at the prestigious Tokyo Dome, SM Entertainment Chairman Kim Young Min spoke about the future of Hallyu.

According to the SM Entertainment chairman in an interview with Sports Chosun, “The future of Hallyu is bright. It should be okay for the next 3~5 years.” However, he was quick to add that, “Unless we are a team of national athletes we can’t speak for Hallyu’s identity or current being but K-Pop started 10 years ago with BoA.” Sales of Hallyu DVDs and and videos were apparently at a peak this month, surpassing even American-produced movies, but according to Kim Young Min, “The market is still growing.”

In line with this, he talks of expanding outside of Korea and Japan, where Hallyu is strongest at the moment. “We have taken our place in Japan and we are interested in the Chinese market as well. I hope we become the main in not only Korea, China and Japan, but in Asia.”

He also uses DBSK as the prime example of the ultimate goal of SM Entertainment and the Hallyu wave. “We are not targeting short-term benefits. For example, what DBSK did is amazing, therefore they’re still here despite what they went through. This opens doors for newer acts – it’s not about being ‘number one’ but about being ‘powerful’.”

Sounds like a plausible plan. Do you agree with SM Entertainment?