SM Entertainment

SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Korean: SM엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering and popularizing the careers of many K-pop stars garnering huge global fanbases. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing house. SM Entertainment is known for having led the worldwide K-pop phenomenon and the musical side of "Hallyu", also known as the "Korean Wave", with early overseas successes such as H.O.T., S.E.S., and BoA.

The label currently represents K-pop artists such as Kangta, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, Shinee, Exo, Red Velvet, NCT, Aespa, Riize, Lucas, Naevis, Hearts2Hearts, and XngHan&Xoul.

After graduating from California State University, Northridge in the United States, Lee Soo-man returned to Korea and in 1989 established what was then known as "SM Studio" in the Apgujeong neighborhood of Gangnam, Seoul and signed hip hop singer Hyun Jin-young. While Hyun's music was well received, he was later arrested on charges of marijuana and methamphetamine use, from which his career never fully recovered. SM lost more money when the company that distributed Hyun's albums went bankrupt. Lee subsequently decided to focus on debuting Japanese-style idols, ensuring that his artists, nurtured by a training system, had a clean image, in addition to singing and dancing skills. In February 1995, the company changed its name to SM Entertainment and set up its capital fund. SM developed an in-house system that looked after all aspects of its artists' careers. Lee's approach was targeted at teenage audiences, and took a holistic view of the qualities needed to become a successful entertainer. SM launched a string of successful artists, including boy band H.O.T. in 1996, girl group S.E.S. in 1997, boy band Shinhwa in 1998, R&B duo Fly to the Sky in 1999, and soloist BoA in 2000.

Jung Hae-ik was CEO during this period, and was succeeded by Kim Kyung-wook in 1998.

In 2000, SM became the first entertainment company to be listed on KOSDAQ, and established an affiliate company called Fandango Korea to operate its online business. The early 2000s saw the disbandment of both H.O.T (in 2001) and S.E.S (in 2002). Shinhwa departed to a new agency, and new acts like the girl group M.I.L.K. and the boy band Black Beat failed to attain the popularity of previous SM artists. As the domestic music market experienced a slump, SM shifted its focus to international expansion. In January 2001, the company founded an overseas division, SM Entertainment Japan, in collaboration with Japanese record label Avex Trax and television production company Yoshimoto Kogyo, to promote BoA in the Japanese market.

In 2003, SM became affiliated with Starlight Academy System, a private academy that trained aspiring singers and actors. That same year, the company debuted five-member boy group TVXQ. The following years saw the debuts of artists such as TRAX (2004), The Grace (2005), and Super Junior (2005).

In 2005, Kim Young-min became the company's third CEO, under whom several artists debuted with a view to promoting outside of South Korea. Artists produced by SM during this period included Chinese-born soloist Zhang Liyin (2006), Japanese-language soloist J-Min (2007), Girls' Generation (2007), Shinee (2008), and f(x) (2009). In April 2008, SM debuted a Mandarin-language sub-unit of Super Junior, named Super Junior-M. In October 2008, SM announced plans for BoA's debut in the American market, under a newly formed subsidiary label named SM Entertainment USA.

In May 2008, the SM Art Company opened under co-CEO Pyo In-bong, with a focus on producing theatrical works. The company's first venture was a production of the American musical comedy Xanadu, starring Super Junior members Heechul and Kangin.