the corporate ministry era was a big joke

i was able to see a short youtube clip about a market researchers meeting and they were trying to think of ways how to "sell" SNSD to young girls in japan. if i remember correctly, they reviewed 6,000 songs (from all over the world, starting from 2008. i guess to determine not only what kind of music appeals to young japanese girls but to also see if there's an emerging trend in pop music) and try to come up with a way how to make the korean girl group appealing to young japanese girls. they're targeting this gender and age bracket because they dont have to worry about the males, whether young or old, because they will "come aboard anyway" (most guys are easily manipulated by pretty women. thats why i ended up buying my cellphone in a particular store, why i ended up choosing a particular pair of shoes, why i ended up getting caught swerving on the road, why i ended up missing a somewhat important appointment, why i ended up...having an aversion for pretty women).

i think their research on how to repackage the korean girl group to their japanese audience was successful because as opposed to the group's fans in korea (which i think are mostly middle aged male fans), their fans in japan are mostly young japanese girls. now this kind of research isnt something new or something very impressive. but seeing how successful this market research team was in doing their job and working with people who knows how to execute their plans based from the data they gathered makes me want to work with these kind of people (i wonder if their expertise is limited to the entertainment industry?). or at least see how they manage to do it. i find it remarkable how they were able to gather all the relevant data they need to target a particular gender and age bracket in a particular country and knowing how to use that data to get the results they want. in short, i want to know the process they have after seeing the effect of their research. the same way i want to know how Lee Sooman was able to create such an impressive creature such as SM Entertainment. of course there are "horror stories" about their kind of management but thats basically how a successful corporation works. fans forget that being a celebrity is work. well, that doesnt justify the management to treat their talents like slaves but there are contracts and lawsuits to regulate the relationship. i dont think it can be considered as forced labor. i think its simply forcing people to work hard and push them to their limits. intense pressure is required to produce diamonds.

i used to hate the corporate world. especially when i was still in my "marxist" phase (a college blockmate used to brand me a communist. and i expected him to know better that communism and marxism are two different animals. i never advocated the establishment of a communist state). now, i still dont like the corporate world but only to a certain extent. im still not comfortable working in a corporate environment. but if there's something that can persuade me to work in a corporate environment (well, its not as if a corporation would want me to work for them), its being able to work for a corporation that's a "moving force" in an influential industry and its operations is not limited to a particular country. or at least a corporation with a big potential to become one.