My Bishies: Kids that bash SM, remember this:

kat-diva:

1. The fashion coordinators aka ‘coordi’ that work tirelessly combing the industry for the latest fashions, following the cutting edge trends, negotiating w/fashion houses, sponsors, and placating whimsical fashion designers. Finding just the right look, just the right pizzazz that will stand out and make their stars shine. 

2. Bodyguards that spend more time protecting and guarding their charges than they do with their own families, men that can’t help but get close, and form strong friendships with their charges, but can’t allow themselves to become ‘emotionally attached’ because they need to be ever alert, guarding against the crazed fans, the poisoned water bottles, the tearstained threatening letters, the bloodied unmentionable articles shipped to their ‘idols,’ the surge of mob mentality at airports, fan signing events, or just leaving a restaurant. The ever present paparazzi and fan photographers that sometimes get right up in their artists face, unaware or uncaring of personal space or boundaries.

3. The managers that eat, sleep and attend every event next to their charges. These men must sometimes be part time bodyguard, full time therapist, representing the company, making sure their artists don’t go too far. There jobs aren’t to make their artists happy, it’s to make sure they keep to their schedules, be at every event on time, healthy, presentable, and fulfill their responsibilities. These managers must not have much romance in their lives, because they are the only ones that spend more time with the artists than any one else, including family and friends. That’s why most of the time, the very elite, most popular artists have multiple managers, sometimes 4-6 each, sometimes half in Korea, half in Japan / China (depending on the group).

4. Then there’s the drivers, stage crews, make up artists, office staff, marketing directors, producers, music writers, choreographers, back up dancers, directors, stage managers, recording booth operators, cameramen, travel coordinators, lawyers, tutors, and so many more that we don’t even know about, multiplied by hundreds.

When you bash “SM” you’re bashing all of these people! When you cry foul about your artist being over worked, underpaid, malnourished, etc. etc, remember, these young men and women CHOSE to do this! They signed contracts, they are doing it because they WANT to do it. And in return the company invested millions of dollars of training, dance classes, singing/vocal lessons, acting lessons, costumes, fashion, accessories, language training, and so much more.

Does it even make sense, that this kind of effort, work, support, dedication, monetary investment, would be some sort of evil plot to ‘overwork,’ or as I’ve seen recently, the opposite accusation: ‘hide or hold back’ their artists? REALLY? Are you that clueless about how the world works? Have you ever asked your moms and dads what they do for a living, and listened to how many hours of hard work, sometimes forgoing vacations, they have to put in to their careers?

All of these people that work at SM are just ordinary people, helping the few select, the talented, the ‘stars’ do extraordinary things. Yes they do it for money, yes it’s a living, yes it’s a business, but make no mistake, SM are family as well. These people spend the better part of their lives protecting, guarding, managing, dressing, cooking, feeding, driving, accompanying, teaching, coaching, listening, supporting, and fellowshipping. 

Before you bash, think about these people, this family, that stands behind your artist. They are there by their sides, behind them, in front of them, long before you were there, long before you even knew who they were. And they will be there long after you leave the fandom.