The Worst Entertainment Companies: Star Empire Entertainment 

I almost cried hearing 9muses’ Wild in the background. One of the saddest disbandment in the history of disbandment

9muses is my ult group and it makes me so sad to see them be treated like this

the fact that they allowed BBC cameras to film their training sessions and meeting shows that they don't think their behavior is repulsive

The leader of ZEA is the real MVP. Nobody at all should go through that.

Star empire entertainment *welcome to your tape*

"They choose to become a kpop idol" Yeah but Kpop idols are also humans not robots. They have emotions and they hurt just like everyone else.

18:20 yes! Like people saying when jonghyun from shinee committed suicide that they didnt feel bad cuz he was the one who decided to be an idol in sm BUT at that point esp when he became a trainee the info wasnt out really yet on how bad these companies treat their idols

I am a huge fan of Park Hyungsik (member of ZE:A) but I had no idea what his group went through and now I feel so sad. It's horrible how companies treat their idols. Like being an idol isn't hard enough.

Man, this is all kinds of messed up... that moment at 13:53 where the girl just says “before debut, there was humanity amongst us. We had that then but we don’t have that now” with such a blank look and steady tone gave me chills. The ZE:A leader’s tweets made my heart ache because all of the things he described sounded so awful. I can’t even imagine what they went through to be pushed to the point they were. Thank you for making this series to show the darker side of kpop entertainment companies that I think a lot of people don’t acknowledge much...

Can you make a video about HUNUS Ent. (formerly Stardom Ent.) - they literally let all of their groups die after 2 comebacks and did them so dirty :(

13:49 **Denies slapping ZE:A members in the face** **Is filmed literally slapping 9Muses member in the face** smh...

Since IMFACT was covered briefly I'll add some important details. - Member Ungjae said that their debut year (2016) was disappointing because the lackluster promotional periods & he felt very hesitant - After "lollipop" it was a whole 8 months with no music, they lost a great amount of fans cause of the lack of content and major promotions. - The "lollipop" album isn't even being produced anymore (I got lucky enough to buy one before this happened)! - "IMFACTORY" only lasted the first few months of 2017, then after that, there was no more music made for the "IMFACTORY" project for the entire year, without even getting a final collection album of those three songs :/ -The songs from imfactory get mushed in with singles IMFACT releases (the light, nanana) -Member Jian literally was on a one meal diet for god knows what? (He looked great beforehand and you can tell he got very skinny...still looks great though!) -Can we talk about how they literally haven't made a mini album until THIS YEAR? (mind you it only has 2 songs that aren't recycles) -BUT! I can say that I can see the effort is putting into IMFACT, they're currently on tour in America and they had one in Europe. I feel like Star Empire should focus more on them and the Star Empire girls or else history will repeat itself.

People who say that idols or celebs who get treated badly deserve it because they chose to pursue that dream is BULLSHIT, those people who say that are truly sick in the head. Just because someone is famous or is trying to be famous doesn't mean they're signing away their right to be treated as a human being. That shit pisses me off so much.

Man the tweets from the leader of ZE:A just broke my heart. I can't imagine what must have happened at the company for him to be driven to the very edge like that. I truly hope all the members are in a better place mentally and emotionally right now. It's a shame what happened with 9Muses, too.

Can you do a big company next like SM or YG please?

You should make a series of best kpop company’s I think it would be cool

Few minor corrections: 2 members were added to 9Muses in 2015 for Drama, Hurt Locker, and Sleepless One, not one, Sojin and Keumjo. Also the song you showed for sleepless night is actually Remember! They had a comeback called Remember and then their disbandment song also called Remember. Also the "graduation" concept was really just an excuse for why so many members continuously left 9Muses... because if the abuse the girls constantly faced and the horrible treatment. Another example of how messy and disorganized they are: They formed the subunit 9Muses A saying that this would just be a unit and Sungah was coming back to the group, but of course she never did so they scrapped it and said the lineup for 9Muses A which promoted with Lip 2 Lip was not the regular lineup for 9Muses. A huge factor in the reason why 9Muses never caught on with a lot of people was due to the lack of confusion with so many member changes imo :(, their momentum pretty much died after their 4 tracks in 2013 and what they managed to rebuild in 2015 with their 3 comebacks was killed yet again with all of the member removals. It's really sad because 9Muses have one of the greatest discographies in kpop yet were never given what they deserve. Thank you for the video

ZE:A broke my heart and seeing Kwanghee at Weekly Idol looking skinny :'(

Thats why I am a bit against all those new small agencies coming out and creating groups. A group I recently heard about H.U.B. under New Planet Ent had one of the girls say they are weighted each day so she'd not eat and only have coffee or something like that. It's such a human rights violation. Even worse is they suffer so much and don't even get paid at the beginning. How come after so many years none of the CEOs have figured that healthy food and exercise is what keeps their idols healthy? Yeah tell them to starve and wonder why they need sick leave

ZE:A's leader writes tweets like freaking poetry.... WTF?!? (PAHAHAHA I JUST REALISED MY MISTAKE 😹😹, also, no offece intended)

Hoping for an episode about Brave Entertainment

" ´Be a Man, Be A Man´ you said. I will show you what a real man is, I will carve it into your heart". Hell yes. Because being a "Man" is NOT having to put up and suffer any kind of abuse, it´s having the COURAGE to speak about it. You´re not alone. (05:15)

I still question, why it's so hard treating trainees and idols like actual humans-

9Muses was the first girl group I ever listened to back in 2011, my heart aches every time someone brings them up now. They deserved the entire world and with proper promotions they would’ve been huge

thank you for this!! 9MUSES deserved so much better

I kinda feel bad for AriA! For those who dont know AriA is Star Empire new GG thats gonna debut this year D:

Idols are humans not money making machines

ZEA's leader got a lot of respect in the industry for taking care of his members with those tweets, I think. When ZEA was on Runningman Haha and Kwangsoo were both like "Oh!! He's that guy!! Let me shake your hand!!"

Actually, 2015 (Hurt Locker and Sleepless Night) was actually pretty popular at that time. I didn’t know it wasn’t on the charts🤭

GUYS SUPPORT IMFACT PLEASE!!! They're super talented. Jeup sings beautifully and gained recognition as the best singer in The Uni+. Ungjae composes & produces their albums. Taeho & Sang have gifted voices as well and Jian is a great rapper. Listen to their song, Nanana, and be enlightened!!!

Being a star empire group stan is so hard, they always have the BEST songs and the most talented idols but the company is so bad it hurts. ZE:A and 9MUSES were my ult groups uu I'm pretty sure IMFACT only got so many songs bc they self produce their music. OMZM has been in the dungeon for years I just want a new CEO or something

can you do sm or 24k's company, choen and how they like? ruined 24k. that would be nice

can’t wait to see the chaennie lisoo company come to save the industry 🤩😍

I always wondered why people think it's a good idea to make huge ass line up changes in groups. One thing is concepts like NCT and the AKB family but...changing the whole line up just bc the members are old and boring is just ugh

None of the members made the cut in UNB, but Jeup was kinda recognized

Nine muses were beautiful gems, I really was so sad when they disbanded because I knew them since ticket/ wild, I miss them so much 😭😭😭😭

IMFACT??????! I didn’t even know they were in this horrible company

Please make a video for Dr. Music Entertainment. They were once a famous company in the 1st generation and they even had ties to yg entertainment. But later they really messed things up with the bad treatment of their group Rania (especially the treatment of foreign member Alex).

Ze:a was and still is one of my favorite groups. I think Star Empire and other shitty companies still haven't figured out that harsh treatment doesn't equal good results. And that if your company is broke then you should only debut one group until you can financially afford another group with equal pay. Other wise you fail as a CEO and a business owner.

now Sera exposed that the ceo tried to break her leg

ze:a and nine muses were so talented......ill never forgive this company.....breathe, ghost of the wind, dolls, and glue were seriously some of the best kpop ive ever heard. just go listen to them. theyve remained at the top for me since i heard them 7 years ago and ive listened to a looooooot of kpop since then.

Who loves chaennie lisoo?❤️ Cause I know I do

The 9Muses one hitted me so hard. They were the first group that I staned and that 1 year hiatus killed me. Also, Geong Ree in her Twitter published a short video of her in the gym with the captions: "Running so I can eat" I don't know if it was her choice, but this got me really worried. Also I heard that the past leader (Sera) thougt that the group didn't had success becouse of her fault. Months before the group disbanded, fans started a campaingn in Twitter with the hashtag #9MusesDeservesBetter. Fans Twitted just the hashtag or fancams of them, images and published this on every photo. The demand sayed that we wanted at least a comeback per year and another things that I honestly don't remember, sorry. A fan tagged HyunAh (who already left 9Muses a long time ago wich really hitted me hard becouse it was my bias wrecker and I think is a CEO of a company or she has a very big spot on a company) in a Twitt saying: Can you adopt 9Muses in your company? HyunAh liked this coment and replied with this emoji: 👀 Also shower a lot of support and happines when a fan comentes the hashtag on a picture that she uploded. Now GeongRee has left the company after I think 10 years and Seojin wants to become an actress. I don't know about KeumJo and Hyemi. Fans also started a campaingn in wich they said that the company should bring back Euaerin and MinHa and paid them more that they used to. Also in their last concert they brougt the other members to preform the songs that they were in. However nor Sera or Eunji were there and they were in the very first lineup. Also the first member that left the group I think that the company said that they kicked her out becouse she didn't had any pasion for music. That's the tea that I know regarding 9Muses. Sorry that I didn't knew about tea of the another groups.

As an IF since Imfact's debut with Lollipop they better not hurt my boys, it's already sad enough that they aren't promoted as it is.

Junyoung taking care of the members like they’re his precious babies...my heart is melting ❤️❤️❤️

just a couple of fact checks: - 9 muses debuted with 8 members: as Jaekyung left - two members were added at the drama comeback: Sojin and Lee Keum-jo

I love Imfact so much 😔 They're so talented, not to mention I see Jeup as one of the best vocals out there. It's sad to know that they could be doing so much better right now if they were from a big company. Seriously, even if you have talent, it might not get you anywhere...

My 9muses was done dirty😤😤 My heart will never not feel immense anger over their disbandment. They were an amazing group, my favorite girl group, and deserved so much more

I was lit rally just ranting about this to my moots free imfact amirite!!!!! also SE are just so bad at promoting in general its been almost a year since imfact came-back with only you ( a whole bop) and not to mention the fact they've only ever had singles they don't own one mini album at all, but three physical singles and they don't even print lollipop or prism anymore. Imfact are so talented and its just unfair how badly they get promoted cause if they were with a company like BH or starship they would of done extremely well.

I watched this video a few months ago and after that I checked out some of ZE:A songs and the instagram account of ZE:A's Leader because I felt so sorry for him. Then last week I started to watch Strong woman Do Bong Soon and checked out Park Hyunsik and believe me I was super surprised when I found out that he's a member of ZE:A. Star Empire Entertainment is a really bad company and I hope no one has to go through something like this again.

Literally Sera of Nine Muses was slapped in the face (literally) by the CEO, I remember hearing about it and the sad thing was apparently she looked like she knew it was coming.

Thanks as always. Girl, I truly appreciate these videos. I'd like to add a few minor information here and there, cuz 9Muses was one of my ult groups as well. I still remember (because I was so shocked about this) that during their WILD album preparations, the girl's teacher would have a massive jar filled with coins. The teacher would spread all these coins all over the floor and would make the girls sing songs, as they pick up all the coins. Whenever a member failed, they had to start again. And they would do this multiple times for multiple weeks, so that the girls are able to sing better during their performances. The reason why the issue with the CEO and KyungRi matters so much is that at the time the interview happened, Kyungri was pretty much the only hired talent that was bringing money back to the company. And I'm not exaggerating, because at the time Kyungri had a little bit of a popularity boost. Interestingly, the group itself only started going to variety shows during their DRAMA promotions. They always said that they wanted to go, but because of their WILD album they allegedly never received invitations or anything. The members talked about that briefly as they also mentioned that other idols avoided them, because they seemed to be scared of 9Muses being sophisticated, strong and independent (very similar to STELLAR in that regard). That being said, you mentioned that last year they kinda disappeared, they actually didn't. The girls actively promoted through their social media that they plan on having a comeback. They were preparing for it like crazy and also uploaded a dance video in preparation of said comeback. But for some reason, they had to postpone it countless of times until one Twitter user made the Hashtag "9Muses Deserves Better" go viral, directing the attention to the company and calling them out on their failed behavior. After that things died down for about a month and THEN came the actual disbandment. Since a few weeks ago, each and every member's contracts ran out and nobody is part of the entertainment anymore. The graduation system of 9Muses only started, because of Jewelry, because in that groups members would come and go constantly (as you mentioned). Speaking of Jewelry, same thing with 9Muses, before they disbanded, they announced that they will have a comeback, but it never happened. Hot n Cold was never supposed to be the groups very last song. Things got dragged on even further, because member Yewon had a scandal with a senior from a variety show (she used very impolite speech towards her in front of the camera and Yewon didn't really apologize in timely and proper manner), so the group was split as well. Sadly I can't give a 100% guarantee that all I just said is correct, because most of the things happened years ago, when I was still actively following K-Pop and there is more to say, but that would be nitpicking and I guess that's enough, because SEENT messed these groups up properly anyway......

I like IMFACT and loved NANANA and The Light i Wish IMFACT got more attention love their songs and their personalities

I remember Hyemi's letter when 9Muses' disbanded where she wrote that she tried her best to save the group. It was really sad. 😭😭

_i hope imfact gain more recognition oof i treasure them so much_

ZE:A- Damn I miss them

I absolutely love your vids and was looking forward for this aggggHhh

this series is the best istg I’m hooked😔

I'm the actual definition of obsessed with your new intro

The fact that there were constant lineup changes in these groups tells me a lot about SE. They really didn't know how to put 9Muses (one of my top 3 favorite ggs) over the top in 2013 when these ladies were are their best. Then I saw the BBC doc. and nearly punched my TV when the manager slapped Sera. I realized then that these ladies had to get out of there and several did that. They were not the same after that and sadly this year they disbanded. SE stinks as a company!. But hats off to Hyemi who stayed to the bitter end. 9Muses made their mark and are Kpop icons even though they didn't reach the status they deserved.

I would really love to see an episode on Starship Ent. but I totally understand if they don't reach the criteria that you're looking for for the series. As a bestfriend since 2013 though, I would really love people to be aware 1. that Boyfriend even existed 2. of Starship's poor management of the group, especially towards the end of Boyfriend's time together. Members Youngmin, Kwangmin, and Minwoo recently opened a RU-vid channel together, and when I saw Minwoo express his regrets for not being able to see fans more before the disbandment, it kind of added even more fuel to my fire to ask you to cover them. (especially considering even though they had a 7-ish year long run, and were from a "big" company they still felt that they never saw their fans enough)

I just came from the nine muses documentary and I feel so bad for them they were so miserable and they looked depressed

I just literally watched all your episodes of this series today! This video is like a surprise gift to me 🙈😂

Imagine that one day all idols reveal themselves against bad companies. I would like to be alive to see that.

I'm in love with this series you're doing god's work girl 💓

as an imfact stan i always worry for their well being and i'm scared for their health, as well as the lack of promotions the receive. thank you for making this video to let people know about the mistreatment beyond their idols, it means a lot and keep going with this series it helps me learn a lot and is generally interesting to watch! love you

Been waiting for this series update 👍

I've been waiting now let's get this tea👀🍵 I HATE companise like that idols are humans not robots they didn't deserve that😤😤😒 Thank u for sheding light on another horrible company 🙏🙏🙏 Also Do SM next they work off of favorite members of groups and mistreat memeber cause of thier nationalty which is pure bs😒😒😑😑😤😤😤

I'm actually planning to make a video on the mistreatment of 9muses so this video is super helpful!

We should sue this freaking company for abusing my 9muses.

can u do yg entertainment cause that company is so shady

ZE:A and nine muses were the groups that got me into kpop and it hurts my heart so much that their company failed them this badly. I hope that when ZE:A are all done with their enlistment they'll be able to come together again but under better management!

You're literally my favourite and I extremely love this series !!! Hope you get better soon ~! ☺😖💕

Yes thank you! I was waiting for this! I wish my IMFACT the best and would like to see them make comebacks a d albums more often💙

You came back hope you are feeling better missed your vids but much love!!!!💕💕💕💕

What a coincidence! I saw Imfact in Dallas the same day you released this video. Thank you for making this video and bringing awareness ❤

I would like to add some things mainly disappointing things about imfact’s situation. It may not be as far bad as what their senior labelmates received, here are some things imfact have suffered through: - After their lollipop debut, they had a good amount of korean fans to support them through however the break till their first comeback was so long they called it as the most hardest time for them because they had no clue when they would come back thus losing a good chunk of fans. - They have never released a full album and have released only singles the past 2 years and no physical albums since 2016. - They overwork them in the sense of using them for money for irrelevant minor events several times a year which are not relevant or productive in the long term.

That intro is the revolution... i'm just saying

I've never been this happy in my life thank u for uploading boo♥️

Man, those words from the leader lf ZE:A would be some straight epic fire if it wasnt so sad.

Hurt Locker was such a bop!!! Star empire is so wrong omg

2013 ze:a released Ghost of the wind song. I remember listening to it everyday it was catchy. Back then 4 members somewhat had the more attention. True, they had poor promotion.

MUSESMUSES that bbc doc.....it did not even touch the surface of what went behind the scenes. The situation with ZE:A and 9MUSES was so bad, so so bad that fans used to get anxiety. Bad anxiety. ZE:A issue was resolved only due to their courageous leader....but 9MUSES really had no place to open their mouth. They were blackmailed and threatened so badly......I do not want to go back to that time. Pls support the 9MUSES and ZE:A members and their yt channels!!!!!

I wish I was a billionaire and started my own ent agency and save this idols and gave them 2nd chance.

I really love your series about the companies! I can't wait for your video about the best ones!

Yayy! I really like these videos please don't stop 🙌

Z:EA'S leader is AMAZING HE LITTERALLY STOOD UP TO HIS CEO

I’ve been waiting on this since forever! Thank you so much!

SM and YG stand for Spawn of Satan and no one can tell me otherwise. Also, I would love to see another series in the future about the best companies in K-pop :)

Was a nine muses fan since the beginning and to be honest, Nine Muses was seriously mistreated to the point of forcing members to rehearse even when not medically cleared (Hyemi) after a car accident. No wonder each member just waited for their contracts to expire so that they could leave immediately.

Thanks for talking about Star Empire, again by only knowing IMFACT I didn't knew the whole story of the other groups. ZE:A's leader help call on Twitter is heartbreaking. About IMFACT, they did participate to The Unit, also Jeup almost made it to the final. But more important is what Ungjae says about his company and also something Taeho said about his trainee days. Ungjae tells others participant that his agency use them as disposable card and that he work on whole songs and the agency kept refusing him to do something with it. Taeho shares heartbreaking memory of his trainees days (but idk if he only trained for Star Empire or not) he shares that there was a time he was feeling so down and depressed that was very hurtful to see. Also I saw few moments of VLive of IMFACT having deep sigh and remarks about their company. :') There's so much groups suffering of poor promotion, left/forget by their company, mistreatment etc... Lots of The Unit contestant like Boys Republic, BOYFRIEND, BIGSTAR, MADTOWN, IM, GOOD DAY, DIA, T-ARA etc...

I watched a video of trainees at STAR ROAD ENTERTAINMENT and some people said "lmao its their fault for signing the contract ! they got themselves into being mistreated" and i was so mad

I know I’m months late, but I really appreciate your hard work in telling the truth behind these agencies. I’d like to comment on Imfact (since I actually stan). Few months ago, SE actually started this “We X” project where fans can buy frames so Imfact can make a single album, but the thing is that the single itself was recorded way before this project started, which means that they didn’t really need that money that they got from fans, and probably they used it for their own pocket money instead of promoting Imfact. Imfact is honesty one of the best groups out there and they really deserve more recognition, everything that they have they EARNED it. They produce, compose, write and choreograph their songs and MV, sometimes members would even do their hairstyles by themselves. SE treats its artists so horribly, takes most the profit (as ZE:A’s leader mentioned) and doesn’t even bother to promote its artists. If I’m being honest, I’m scared for my boys (Imfact) and girls (Ariaz)’s future, they deserve so much recognition as they have so much potentials.

*patiently waits for a video about sm and yg*

The 9 muses debut was considered one of the worst debuts in history, that makes me so sad because 9 muses was such a potential group

Omg I've been waiting for this thank you for this video

Not related to the content of the video but your intro is SOOOOOO Good I always replay it at least 3 times

Oh boy, I've been waiting for this one!

OMG this series is EVERYTHING! And I'm so glad you're feeling better ^^ Will you consider making an episode of J.Tune Camp in the future? Daewon of Madtown had to sleep at an accquaintances office and didn't even have electricity there

Gurl.... I'm speechless Your researches are gold! You are the best!!! Keep it up!! Plus thanks for your hard work on this series! I'm in love!!! 😘😘😙😚