Peninsula: Superpowered Daily Life

Chapter 52 IZTY

Zhou Wenzhe is quite busy today. Besides making an appearance at YG Entertainment, he also has to go to JYP Entertainment.

This trip to JYP Entertainment can be considered as fulfilling a job obligation. After an open and frank discussion with Park Jin-young, he is now serving as a director and chief strategy officer (CSO) of JYP Entertainment. He participates in the management activities of the company's artists, such as album production, as an advisor, and is also responsible for the activities of the company's artists in Europe and America.

It's basically about helping the company's artists get more exposure in the Western music and fashion circles.

Park Jin-young has always dreamed of making it big in the US. Although he has failed many times before, he has never lost heart. This time, he appointed Zhou Wenzhe to this position because he saw Zhou's overseas background.

In addition, Zhou Wenzhe did not hold any specific positions in the entertainment companies in which he held shares. He only participated in the major decisions of the companies as an independent director, and generally did not participate too much in the operation of the companies.

After all, his ultimate goal was just to pick up girls; he didn't have that much energy to put into these companies.

Godeok-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul.

JYP Entertainment's new office building.

In June of this year, JYP Entertainment officially moved here from its original location in Cheongdam-dong.

The new building has 13 floors, 10 above ground and 3 below ground. The building cost 202 billion won, and an additional 79 billion won was spent on renovations.

In addition to state-of-the-art meeting rooms, the building also has 9 dance studios, 18 vocal studios, 7 composition studios, 11 recording studios and 2 mixing studios, as well as dedicated actor rooms. Furthermore, it boasts a coffee shop, an organic cafeteria, and a rooftop garden, making it a very well-equipped facility in every aspect.

In addition, the new building also features a dedicated parking tower.

Inside the meeting room.

Zhou Wenzhe officially met with the company's senior and middle management, and everyone welcomed the newly appointed Chief Strategy Officer.

There's nothing we can do if he's not welcome; after all, he's the representative of JYP Entertainment's third-largest shareholder.

Moreover, JYP Entertainment didn't have a Chief Strategy Officer before; he only got the title after he arrived.

After the meeting, Zhou Wenzhe expressed his desire to take a tour of the new building, and Park Jin-young naturally accompanied him.

"President Park, this building is nice."

"Haha, this is all thanks to the hard work and dedication of the artists under the company over the years."

"So who contributed the most?" Zhou Wenzhe asked with a smile.

"If we're talking about the biggest contributor, it should be Twice." Park Jin-young's face was beaming with pride.

Before Twice's debut, JYP Entertainment experienced a long period of decline, and due to some external reasons, the company was once on the verge of bankruptcy.

Fortunately, there's always a way out.

TWICE's sudden emergence saved JYP Entertainment from dire straits and turned the company from loss to profit, allowing them to launch new groups in the past two years.

In March of this year, the large boy group Stray Kids was launched. Although the group's performance in the domestic market was only so-so, it achieved great success overseas.

Seeing Park Jin-young's smug look, Zhou Wenzhe couldn't help but mutter a few complaints to himself.

That's all thanks to Twice. Look at how many days off they get throughout the year. If it weren't for that, why would I be a strategy officer?

It interfered with my date.

The two went to a coffee shop and each ordered a coffee, with Park Jin-young paying.

After sitting down, Zhou Wenzhe watched Twice's music video playing on the big screen and asked, "President Park, I heard the company is going to launch a new girl group next year?"

"Yes, Director Zhou is quite well-informed." Park Jin-young wasn't too surprised that Zhou Wenzhe knew about this. Although the news had been kept secret from the public, most people in the industry knew about it.

"To be honest, I have a relative whose child is a trainee member of this girl group."

"Huh?! Who is it?" This news really surprised Park Jin-young.

"Li Cailing".

"Cailing, what's her relationship to you?"

Park Jin-young is quite familiar with Lee Chae-ryeong. She and her sister Lee Chae-yeon joined JYP Entertainment as trainees a long time ago, but because they failed to debut as part of Twice, the older sister switched to another entertainment company.

"It's my mom's cousin's child."

"Oh, I see." Park Jin-young nodded knowingly. By that logic, Zhou Wenzhe and Li Cailing were actually quite distant relatives.

"This is the first time I've met her since I came back. She brought it up suddenly during our family gathering last time."

"Director Zhou, shall we go check on them?"

"sure."

The two of them brought their coffee to the practice room floor.

The practice rooms in the new building are much better than those in the old building; they are not only spacious and bright, but also have many more thoughtful amenities.

In a small practice room, several girls were practicing diligently with focused eyes.

Zhou Wenzhe and Park Jin-young stood outside the door, looking inside through the glass wall.

"President Park, how many members does the new girl group have?"

Five people.

"Is it because Twice has too many members that the new girl group has so few members?"

"Haha, yes, running a large girl group is a huge burden for the company. They have to take care of the development of each member in every aspect and also maintain a balance."

Previously, JYP Entertainment suffered greatly due to the imbalance in the popularity of its members, so the company's first priority now is to balance the popularity of the group's members.

"Twice doesn't have any solo members yet, right?"

"Yes, but the company is already making plans."

Who was the first member to go solo?

"My idea is Lim Nayeon. She has the best qualities in all aspects and is also the oldest member of the group. If she is the first to go solo, the other members will basically not have any objections."

They had no objections, but Zhou Wenzhe did.

Twice is already busy, and if Nayeon goes solo, the two of them will basically only see each other once a month.

No, it seems like it's hard to see each other even once a month these days.

"They've been active in Japan lately, haven't they?"

"Yes, Twice has achieved excellent results in Japan, and they are probably the most successful girl group in Japan right now."

"Is there absolutely no hope of getting in from China now?"

"Yes, we can't get in. We've applied to the relevant departments in China many times, but we've been rejected every time. Even a book signing event is not allowed."

"Alright, I'll think of something."

Now is the worst time for relations between the two countries. How could the Chinese government possibly allow South Korean artists to come in and make money? Moreover, public opinion is very strong about this. Who would want to risk this?

Have you seen how South Korean companies are being boycotted now, let alone celebrities?

"Director Zhou has a solution?" Park Jin-young's eyes showed a hint of surprise, but more than that, disbelief.

"I can only say I'll try, I can't guarantee anything."

"Okay, then I'll wait for Director Zhou's good news."

Previously, major South Korean entertainment companies made huge profits in the Chinese market, but now their revenue has been halved, even less than 1/10 of what it used to be. So they have to find other ways out, and making a comeback in the European and American markets has become an obsession for these entertainment companies.

This is the fundamental reason why these entertainment companies have begun to introduce European and American capital.

Of course, it would be even better if it could return to the Chinese market.

"What's the name of this new girl group?"

"ITZY, ITZY."

Why was this name chosen?

"ITZY, when pronounced in Korean, means 'have,' so the group name implies 'Do we have everything you want? Yes!'"

At that moment, the music in the practice room stopped.

. . . . . .