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YG chief compares Big Bang, WINNER, iKON

By Park Gyu-oh

  • Published : Nov 4, 2014 - 18:53
  • Updated : Nov 4, 2014 - 18:53

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Yang Hyun-suk, 9 candidates for iKON - (Mnet)

YG Entertainment’s chief, Yang Hyun-suk compared Big Bang, WINNER and iKON to his three imaginary sons, expressing his affection and faith in them.

In 2014, YG was the most popular entertainment label in Korea thanks to its veteran idol groups Big Bang and 2NE1 as well as its rookie groups AKMU, WINNER and iKON.

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Big Bang - (YG)

iKON will make its debut in January next year but the group already has a large fan base in Asia even though its final members have yet to be determined, according to its agency, YG Entertainment.

The final members will be unveiled on the next episode of Mnet’s survival program “Mix & Match.” The nine members of the survival program have fiercely competed for about six months to be the winners. Four of the nine challengers on the survival program -- B.I, Bobby, Kim Jin-hwan and Koo Jun-hoe -- were successfully selected as final iKON members. Koo Jun-hoe was selected on Tuesday.

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9 candidates for iKON - (Mnet)

“iKON has gained big fandom even before its debut. When they held fan meetings in Japan and China, both airports were crowded with fans. I think the point is not the frequency of their appearances on TV shows. Rather, it’s how good the group’s content is. You can see from Psy’s success that there are no limitations or barriers in this era,” Yang said in an interview with a local news outlet.

“Like the old saying ‘every child is dear to his parents,’ every group is precious to me. Big Bang is the senior among the three brother groups of YG. It has played its role perfectly. WINNER is the second. I am also the second son of the three brothers of my family, and because of that I feel sympathy for WINNER. The second has to work hard to avoid making his senior embarrassed and also has responsibility to take care of his younger brother. Acting as a bridge between two sides is always the hardest one,” Yang answered when asked which group he felt the most affection for.

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WINNER - (YG)

“I feel really sorry for WINNER's fans in Korea. They hadn’t spent enough time in Korea before they departed for Japan. It is not because I paid little attention to the fans in Korea. The time to go Japan was fixed long time ago and its album release was delayed. That’s why it didn’t have enough time. I promise that WINNER will have sufficient time to meet its fans in Korea next year,” he added.

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WINNER - (YG)

“I have to admit that I have concentrated on WINNER’s activities the most, recently. The team’s initial work showed really awesome results and I will support them to harden its foundation,” Yang said.

However, he did not reveal the final members of iKON.

“I don’t know whom the final members are going to be but I will do my best to support the team. I want to see Korea’s best music content dominate the pop music of the world, someday,” Yang said hopefully.

By Park Gyu-oh (q5park@heraldcorp.com)

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