BTS, the boyband septet from South Korea who have proved themselves to be the cream of the crop in the K-Pop genre, have made the most of the wave of success that they were met with during 2015, riding it high and gaining immense popularity. Although you might think that any managers and staff around them would be on best behavior, one of their early managers stepped over the line with the singers, leading to drastic consequences.
The BTS manager that was fired threatened and lost his temper with multiple members of the group, even going as far as raising his hand to Jungkook, leading to his firing. There was no violence, but the aggression was enough grounds for dismissal.
The manager that got fired was completely out of order in his treatment of the boys, far overstepping any boundary between artist and manager. The fact that there was also video evidence of his excessively angry and out of control behavior meant that Big Hit Entertainment, the representatives of BTS, had him removed from the management position almost immediately.
The Confrontation
The root cause of the confrontation between BTS and their manager isn’t exactly clear, but what is clear is the fact that the argument had been steadily escalating to the point where violence was on the horizon. It almost sounds too outlandish to believe that a manager might threaten the up and coming stars of the group, but not only was it true, but there was also a video to back it up.
On one of the BTS DVD’s, the “2016 Seasons Greetings” DVD to be specific, there was a making-of segment showing some behind the scenes footage. What must have been a mistake or an oversight during the editing process led to there being a small clip left in, a brief snippet of the manager making a motion as if to hit one Jungkook, one of the singers.
With the fierce following that BTS has, fans immediately answered a collective call to action and took to various social media platforms to express their concern for Jungkook and the rest of BTS. In an industry that relies so heavily on public image, BTS representatives Big Hit pounced on the issue and started investigating.
Their initial response was fairly calm and measured, requesting that fans hold on for them to gather evidence in an attempt to better understand the situation. Barely a week had passed before their next public statements, however, whether due to the outrage or evidence that they had collected, they dismissed the manager in question.
Big Hit took a strong stance against the alleged actions of the manager, making multiple declarations that they were going to make efforts to check other reports of similar situations and keep track of the behavior of their other staff members. They doubled down on this sentiment, expressing that their number one priority is ‘respect and trust’ for their artists.
A New Manager
Clearly, Big Hit wasn’t bluffing when they made a promise to ensure that a similar scenario would never occur again. From one extreme to the other, the new manager Sejin that was appointed to BTS has managed to build a reputation that is a far cry from the previous one, almost becoming as much of a fan-favorite as the boys themselves.
The love for him has reached a point where some even describe him as the ‘8th member’ of the group, a real testament to just how much he has solidified himself in the BTS fandom. Earning the respect of such fiercely devoted and loyal fans was surely no easy feat, but from all the candid footage that has been caught of his interactions with the group, the respect and trust are well placed.
Walking In His Shoes
Perhaps some of the sympathy and understanding for the managerial position was boosted by the release of BTS WORLD, a simulator with the aim of letting fans know how it feels to manage one of the most popular K-Pop groups in the world.
If the game is anything to go by, the manager position must be one of the most stressful imaginable, constantly having to manage multiple big personalities through whatever storm comes their way. Still, the pressure is no excuse for what happened before, but thankfully their new manager seems to be safe hands to be in.