Who runs K-pop? Big Hit, backers of BTS, Kakao, label of IU, and CJ ENM, with Mnet music channel, loosen grip of ‘Big Three’ SM, JYP and YG

Three companies have dominated Korean pop music and entertainment for years, but the hold of rivals such as Big Hit Entertainment, newly listed, is tightening

Big Hit recently struck partnership deals with Blackpink’s label YG Entertainment, tech giant Naver, and Universal Music Group – a growing trend in K-pop

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Big Hit Entertainment is home to K-pop supergroup BTS (above), but there other companies with plenty of clout in the South Korean music industry. Photo: Big Hit Entertainment

Published: 10:15pm, 6 Feb 2021Updated: 12:58pm, 12 Feb 2021

As K-pop gains worldwide attention and South Korean entertainment companies increasingly make waves in the business world, it’s worth asking: what is the biggest entertainment company in South Korea today?

The simple answer? It’s complicated. K-pop fans are probably aware of the power of companies such as Big Hit Entertainment, home to BTS, and SM Entertainment, which is considered to have created the template for K-pop idols since the 1990s. But entertainment and tech players including CJ ENM, Kakao and Naver are also pulling many of the strings within the industry.

It is no longer necessarily the historic “Big Three” K-pop companies – SM, JYP and YG Entertainment – that have the most impact, although they still have some of the most impactful and popular K-pop artists around.

Here’s a rundown of the biggest companies in the K-pop industry.

V, Suga, Jin and Jungkook of BTS attend the Mama awards at the Nagoya Dome in Nagoya, Japan. Photo: Reuters

Big Hit Entertainment

Big Hit is arguably the most interesting player in the South Korean entertainment world, as just about every other day brings news about its involvement in various tech, social media and entertainment ventures.