A former JYP Entertainment idol opened up about his first payment settlement from the agency and the reason for leaving the agency.
On June 30th, a video titled “Finally, SM and JYP’s Dance Line Showdown” was uploaded on YouTube.
In the video, 2AM‘s Jo Kwon said, “I joined JYP in 2001, so I was with JYP very early on. I think I was with JYP for about 18 years.” Regarding why he left, he added, “If the environment had allowed me to stay longer, I would have, but personally, I desperately needed a change. I don’t regret this choice at all. JYP wasn’t too tough or anything; please don’t misunderstand.”
TVXQ‘s Changmin asked, “You can’t forget your first settlement, right? Especially you, Jo Kwon, since your trainee period was so long.”
Jo Kwon explained, “I was a trainee for about eight years, so the company invested a lot in me. Around 2008, after I debuted, the law changed, according to the Fair Trade Commission. Before, the costs invested in trainees were all the company’s responsibility, but in my time, I had to pay the company back.”
He continued, “I received my first settlement exactly three years after debut. Those three years included the time when I really blew up — during We Got Married and the ‘Kkap-Kwon’ days.”
He recalled, “What I clearly remember about the first settlement is that the statement came with no negative balance. I wondered what that meant, then saw a 24 followed by zeros, so I immediately called my mom. I told her, ‘I think I finally paid off my debt.’ It was the day we recorded Music Bank, and I told her, ‘I will check again after I get back to the dorm. How many zeros are there?’ I was so excited.”
Jo Kwon added, “After everything, I went back to the dorm and saw that the settlement was ₩240,000 KRW (about $155 USD). I was so grateful for that 240,000 won. The next day, I ran to a mobile phone store and paid my phone bill with the money I earned. That was my first settlement.”