'King of K-pop' Lee Soo-man on his career, global industry and what's next

Lee Soo-man resisted the title at first. “King of K-pop” sounded too brash, too nightclub-esque — like something you'd see on a neon sign in Itaewon, a nightlife neighborhood in the Korean capital Seoul once popular with U.S. soldiers and foreign visitors. “I asked them, ‘Couldn’t it be Father of K-pop?’” the 73-year-old recalled during a recent interview with The Associated Press. He was discussing the title of Amazon Prime's documentary about his career. The producers insisted the bolder moniker would resonate better with American audiences. After some back-and-forth, Lee relented. “I had to follow their decision.” The compromise speaks to Lee’s pragmatic approach to breaking Korean acts into the American mainstream — a three-decade quest that often required him to bend but never break his vision. Now, as the founder of SM Entertainment and widely credited as the architect of K-pop’s global expansion, Lee will be inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame on Saturday alongside basketball legend Yao Ming, Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan, and rock icon Yoshiki,Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times