From unfair contracts to the Hallyu movement

Something that has recently come up again and again is the controversy about Korean entertainment companies forcing their artists to sign unfair contracts. The most well-known would be the SM Entertainment and DBSK (Dong Bang Shin Ki or 동방신기) conflict. You can read about their unfair contract terms on Allkpop; however, the end result was that the group split. DBSK was internationally renowned and even has the largest official fan base in the world- making it into the Guinness World Record book. The group played an important part in the hallyu movement/the Korean wave, which is an increase of popularity South Korean culture throughout the world.

Recently, more artists, talents, actors, etc., have been taking part in the hallyu movement, going overseas to promote the Korean culture. I think that the hallyu movement is pretty cool and also very important for the Korean economy. It is also just amazing when people from other cultures (Irish, Indian, Lithuanian, etc.) come up to me and ask about a Korean artist. However, that such international artists like DBSK has split because of an unfair contract is not the way I want the world to see the Korean music industry. Granted, this issue caused a great deal of conflict, but what came after is also something worth noting.

The three who protested created a new group called JYJ and has actually come out with their first English album. In the spirit of their old group, they are continuing to expand their reach and contributing to the hallyu movement. They collaborated with Kanye West and Malik Yusef for their song Ayy Girl:  

The other two, Yunho and Changmin stuck with SM Entertainment and has just come out with a new song. Here is one of their live performances:

Before they split, they came out with Mirotic, which was a huge hit in Korea, winning them album of the year.