The nine young “women” that comprise Korean singing phenomenon, Girls Generation, AKA SNSD in their native Korea, are redefining the demographic of K-pop. Not only do they have the teenage fan base that you’d expect from a singing/dancing teenage girl group, but they have cultivated a staggering number of adult male fans referred to as the “army of uncles and dads.”
“Unlike teenager [sic] fans, the dad and uncle fans’ buying powers are very strong [sic]. Although they branched out into a new market, it looks very promising. The ‘Power of SNSD’ is even reflected in SM’s stock values [SM Entertainment]. When SNSD debuted in August 2007, SM’s stocks were worth around 3000won (~$2~$3 USD) and because of a crisis, it plunged to 865won (~$0.69 USD) on October 27th, 2008. However, after “Tell Me Your Wish” and “Gee” made big hits, SM’s stocks also started soaring. Currently, as of May 28th, SM’s stocks are worth 10,800won (~$8.63 USD). SM has succeeded in raising their stocks to about 10 times as much as its lowest record [sic].” — [via]
Every record exec worth their Learjet knows the earning power of underage poon. Again, for your enjoyment, watch the nine hotties of Girls Generation strut their stuff and practice their phonetic “r” sound in their video for “Run Devil Run.” Are we to surmise that there is no translation for “super-playboy” in Korean? Too bad because that would be a good word to know. This one’s for you, Dad.
