Breaking a long silence, Yang Hyun Suk, the general producer of YG Entertainment, spoke to the media for the first time in over five years. Having almost completely cut off contact with the press for a long time, Yang did not respond even to the annual greeting texts sent by reporters, until he suddenly answered a call.
“You’ve been sending messages for years, and I felt I should at least greet you… In recent years, I only attend one or two external appointments a month at most. I feel at ease when I’m holed up in the studio, working day and night. I’m just eager to bring the next GD (G-Dragon) and Jennie out into the world as soon as possible.”
Now ranking at the very top even among world-class artists, BIGBANG’s G-Dragon was a prodigy discovered by Yang through Hongdae’s underground hip-hop scene when G-Dragon was just 13 years old. Jennie of BLACKPINK, who currently dominates the global K-pop market, was also directly scouted by Yang himself outside of the group’s regular auditions. His renewed call for the glory and revival of YG auditions marks his return to front-line, hands-on leadership.
Yang is directly involved in filtering the tens of thousands of candidates worldwide who have applied for YG’s current audition. Considering that the special audition deadline is at the end of February, the number of applicants is expected to rise further. It’s typical for applications to surge just before the deadline in auditions hosted by major entertainment companies.
Especially since Yang is personally taking the lead, audition officials anticipate that the special audition will be packed with unprecedentedly strong participants. Accordingly, Yang made it clear, as the person responsible for leading K-pop’s YG, “I will do my utmost in the selection process, understanding the feelings of parents who entrust their children to us.”
“Since parents trust YG with their young children, I feel I must personally oversee this. These idol hopefuls are going through an extremely tough and competitive process—like a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Therefore, a rigorous screening process and proper support must follow. I want to give them the possibility to “succeed” and the faith and trust that we will stand by them until the end. The passion I had when searching for young talents like GD and Jennie is now burning brightly once again within me.”
In this sense, this YG audition is a crucial test for Yang. He is meticulously reviewing every detail of countless candidates’ paperwork from head to toe.
He said, “K-pop has become mainstream in the global pop market, and aspiring artists from around the world flock to major Korean agencies. But if you just sit in the office and wait, a second GD or Jennie will never be born. An experienced fisherman of over 30 years doesn’t just go out to sea unprepared. Based on accumulated experience and knowledge, he predicts and analyzes fish movements before setting out. It’s the same with discovering talent—you need ‘action,’ not ‘waiting.’”
Yang also revealed concrete future plans. “My goal is to create two or three new IPs for YG within a year. I’m putting all my efforts into that.” He added, “Because of this, I have almost cut off contact with the outside world. I was worried about not responding to the messages from reporters I’ve been in touch with for a long time, so I called directly to send New Year’s greetings. It’s true that I’m so busy I rarely make appointments, working day and night,” suggesting that YG is currently focusing all its resources on “creation.”
Since the end of last year, YG has been holding a Song Camp, simultaneously working with about 70 artists. Yang explained, “We have opened 10 studios. Dozens of overseas artists are coming in and out to participate in the projects. The recent pause in fan communication events through company videos is due to this.”
From November last year to January, he led a large-scale song camp in both the U.S. and Korea, diligently producing tracks with top-level producers domestically and internationally, which is also part of efforts to accelerate the debut project for new artists. Yang Hyun Suk’s interview statements clearly show where YG is headed now. The starting point was the “audition,” and now, in a full-scale “all-in” system where talent discovery, production, and execution flow as one, a new chapter for YG is opening once again.