YANG HYUN SUK at YG’s 30th Anniversary: Who Is He?
[OSEN=손남원 기자] Who is YANG HYUN SUK? On the surface, his profile is simple. He is the founder of YG ENTERTAINMENT, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and a “dancer” who debuted with Seotaiji and Boys in 1992 and instantly reshaped the landscape of Korea’s music industry. But is that all? Not long ago, news that 69 performance videos by YG artists had amassed an astonishing 7 billion views drew widespread attention. At the center of it all stands YANG. HYUN. SUK. We took a microscopic look at the professional world of YG Executive Producer YANG HYUN SUK.
In reality, even music videos by top-tier artists often struggle to surpass 100 million views. Yet all 69 YG performance videos, which together have reached 7 billion views, were reportedly planned and produced with the direct involvement of YANG HYUN SUK, while he personally took full responsibility for choreography composition and 100% of the video editing. It is almost as if a born dancer and successful producer were combined with a triathlon champion.
YANG HYUN SUK is known throughout the industry for refusing to compromise even an inch when it comes to the quality of artists’ stages and creative works, making it easy to imagine just how intense the workload must have been. The effort he quietly poured into his work behind the scenes, without publicizing it externally, has clearly borne fruit in the form of 69 videos and 7 billion views.
Around a decade ago, at the time of BLACKPINK’s debut, YANG HYUN SUK recognized that YouTube was emerging as the main platform of the global music market and immediately created a new form of content: the performance video. He demonstrated foresight in using YouTube for artist marketing, and based on the experience accumulated through this approach, BLACKPINK was actively promoted through YouTube even before their debut. The results are now known to everyone.
He was willing to shoulder production costs ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of won for a single piece of content. In the early days, there was also opposition from internal management. Nevertheless, YANG HYUN SUK independently produced choreography videos and performance videos for BLACKPINK’s hit songs and targeted YouTube as the primary platform. Unlike conventional practices in the music industry or strategies adopted by other agencies, YG instead minimized appearances on terrestrial music programs to roughly once a week, while focusing on raising the quality of each stage and pursuing a premium strategy.
At the time, terrestrial music broadcasters were completely blocking YouTube distribution in order to protect their own content, so YG created its own IP content and targeted YouTube directly. The results of YANG HYUN SUK’s new challenge have been nothing short of remarkable. BLACKPINK’s “How You Like That” performance video currently has 2 billion views, while LISA’s solo track “MONEY” has reached 1.2 billion views. Most of BLACKPINK’s choreography videos and performance videos have also accumulated between 300 million and 500 million views.
Another point worth noting is the extraordinary YouTube momentum of BABYMONSTER, the rookie group now in its second year since debut following BLACKPINK. BABYMONSTER’s performance videos have recently recorded 230 million views for “SHEESH,” 240 million for “LIKE THAT,” 200 million for “DRIP,” and 190 million for “WE GO UP,” while most of their other performance videos are also approaching 100 million views. Considering that BLACKPINK’s view counts have accumulated over 10 years, BABYMONSTER’s performance video numbers, achieved in only their second year since debut, are expected to rise even higher with each passing year.
For ordinary people, it is difficult to imagine that the founder of a corporation, whose stock holdings alone are worth hundreds of billions of won, still personally operates multiple professional software programs and directly looks after the company’s artists. One would naturally assume that by now, he would simply be enjoying a more comfortable life.
According to a YG official, YANG HYUN SUK has spent most of his career quietly devoting himself to producing behind the scenes rather than putting on flashy performances that attract public attention. One clear example is that he has never missed a single monthly evaluation of YG trainees held over the course of several decades, meticulously pointing out weaknesses in young hopefuls and helping them grow. Likewise, the countless works released by YG over the past 30 years were only able to reach the public after their mixing and mastering passed through the rigorous final inspection of YANG HYUN SUK.
Having known YANG HYUN SUK for many years, I had a brief phone call with him during a recent holiday. Some of the casually asked questions from that conversation are included again in this microscopic examination.
When asked whether there was any special secret behind the success of YG-style KPOP groups such as BIGBANG and BLACKPINK, in a year that marks YG’s 30th anniversary, BIGBANG’s 20th anniversary, and BLACKPINK’s 10th anniversary, YANG HYUN SUK laughed and began by replying, “Wouldn’t it be synergy?”
“Where in the world does anyone succeed entirely on their own? Good results come when the artists do their part and the production team working quietly behind them provides solid support.”
In other words, his belief and production philosophy are that powerful synergy emerges when the artist, producer, and production team create great harmony together. Then what does YANG HYUN SUK see as the key factor behind KPOP’s success?
“I think the foundation of KPOP’s growth ultimately lies in music combined with performance. If you look at the United States, currently the world’s largest music market, there are hardly any idol singers who sing and dance at the same time. As far as I remember, the Backstreet Boys, who debuted in 1995, and NSYNC, who debuted in 1997, were among the last. KPOP production now feels like an area that no other country in the world can match. Technology can eventually be caught up with to some extent through methods such as recruiting skilled specialists backed by large amounts of capital, but I believe the creative realm is an area that is difficult to challenge with capital and effort alone.”
YANG HYUN SUK continued, “Not only BIGBANG and BLACKPINK, but famous artists from other companies have also done a great job leading the KPOP market. So now, my only remaining task and ambition is to raise younger rookie artists well, so they can use the highways and runways that their seniors have already paved to run faster and fly higher.”
Finally, with the brief closing remark, “As long as I can… I’ll keep going until the very end,” he encapsulated YG’s long 30-year history and the even longer future that lies ahead.
2026. 8. 10.
