Recently, Jessica, a member of one of Korea’s most popular pop groups, Girls’ Generation (aka, SNSD) tweeted her shock at being told she could no longer be in the group. This article, from early this month, tries to get at the heart of the issue. This story, however, is ongoing and many details may continue to be revealed.
Jessica Exits Girls’ Generation: “Who is the victim?”
Article from Dispatch :
Even for minor cases, its good to take measure of the gains and losses. You have to verify who has been falsely accused, and who is the real victim.
This goes for Jessica’s exit [from SNSD] as well.
Did she leave, or did they tell her to leave?
If she was asked to leave, isn’t Jessica the victim here?
Did the other members want to lose her?
Rather than dealing with the nature of the event, we are making an account of the gains and losses involved.
But according to Dispatch’s results, her removal from the group was simply pushed ahead early. If it wasn’t September 30th, it would’ve happened on November 30th, December 30th, or even January 30th of next year.
Which goes to say, this isn’t a case of finding out who has been victimized. First we must understand the main conflict, and then the depth of the conflict. Only then can we understand the true nature of this event.
On the 30th, Dispatch met with three people who are very close with Girls’ Generation.
Q1: What we are most curious about is, did she leave, or was she asked to leave.
Dispatch: Both are true. Jessica was the first to say she would leave the group. This year on January 7th, she said many times that she wanted to leave the group.
So did the other members respond to this with, “then leave”? To be precise, the nuance was similar to this. It’s more accurate to state that she was asked to choose one of two options.
Q2: Let’s look at the timeline. On January 7th, what exactly did Jessica say?
D: Last January, Jessica brought up that she wanted to get married. She met with members individually saying several times, “I want to get married. I’ve been talking to the company about this.”
Also, last July after finishing a concert in Japan, she again hinted at stopping her activities with the group. At the time, Jessica said, “I can’t do this anymore. It’s sad but I will get my life back.”
Jessica with boyfriend Tyler Kwon.
Q3: She will get her life back? Is this another way to say she will marry Tyler Kwon?
D: It appeared at the time that Jessica did not have the desire to continue with Girls’ Generation. The other members already knew about [Jessica] wanting to get married. Jessica talked more about the future than about marriage.
For example, she said things such as, “Next year I will study abroad,” “I’m looking into schools,” I want to start a fashion business,” and, “If I quit Girls’ Generation, I will become a designer.”
Q4: How did the other members respond to all of this?
D: At the beginning of this year, she already went through the ordeal of leaving the group. Jessica and SM agreed that she would continue to do her best for the group until the final album, planned for early next year.”>
The other members were in shock, but also thought it couldn’t be helped. Since she was planning to get married and start a business, she expressed that it would be best to focus on activities [with the group] only until their final album.
Q5: So did Jessica do her best to be active in Girls’ Generation??
D: To be honest, it was a situation where she couldn’t focus completely on the group. Jessica was too busy. Especially because of her work with Tyler, she was very busy. It was for the August launch of her fashion line, BLANC.
She had her own schedule, going between China, Hong Kong, and New York. In fact, Jessica was in New York with Tyler right before the [group’s] fan meeting in China. She came back to Korea one day before the meeting.
Q6: Tyler Kwon has not been left of this situation.
D: It was understood that she was engaged when a Tiffany & Co. engagement ring was seen on Jessica’s finger. She kept telling the other members that the wedding would take place next October in Hong Kong.
Tyler Kwon almost always accompanied Jessica on her appointments. He was of course there for her China and Hong Kong events, but was also there in New York when she filmed the On Style show, “Jessica and Krystal.”
Q7: In the midst of this, Jessica launched her fashion line, BLANC.
D: The other members weren’t opposed to Jessica starting a business. But they didn’t know she would start it this soon. Most thought she wouldn’t start it until after she got married.
Despite this, Jessica quickly launched her fashion line in August. The other members tried to make sure of one thing- that her business would not be her top priority. It was to warn her not to be careless about Girls’ Generation.
Q8: Did SM approve of Jessica’s business ventures?
D: They showed concern over the line’s offline store and the concept of its products. It could be that Jessica was using Girls’ Generation’s popularity to get fans to shop there.
However, [SM] had no justification to keep her from starting the business. Specifically, in the contract [that Jessica signed with SM,] there is no clause that forbids starting an individual business. Jessica had permission to pursue her personal dream.
Q9: Yet we know there was increasing conflict since BLANC’s launch.
D: Jessica had already planned her life after the group. She planned to study abroad, start a business, and get married. She would go to New York, study there, get married, and expand her business.
To accomplish this, she quickly developed a portfolio. This is why her fashion line was launched so hastily. Tyler Kwon is also a part of the BLANC business. As always, she couldn’t do it without him.
Q10. Given all this, it was Jessica who originally talked about leaving the group.
D: Possibly, there were hints about leaving… it could’ve been because of these plans she had. But we knew that she was putting these dreams on hold, and that she planned to stay until the final album.
But Jessica put her personal work before [the group,] making it impossible not to be careless about her work with Girls’ Generation. Due to this, the other members demanded a decision be made. They said to stay focused until the end.
Q11. We’ve heard that Jessica’s attitude suddenly changed.
D: Last month on the 15th, Dispatch received a tip. Jessica and Tyler went to a law firm named “Sejong,” which was confirmed as fact.
I don’t know why they were there. After going to Sejong, the change in the way [Jessica} was talking was very clear. “If you are okay with it, even after I get married I still want to do Girls’ Generation,” she said to the other members.
Q12. Did she want to take on too much at once?
D: Jessica didn’t want to miss out on anything. She especially didn’t want to delay her business any longer. She had invested quite a lot of money and had already began a portion of it.
From the beginning the other 8 members said “OK” to her marriage and her business. They respected her dreams. But they wanted her to pursue them after finishing activity [with the group]. They thought this was the best way to respect to her fans and the other group members.
Q13: We heard the group had an emergency meeting in September.
D: They concluded that it was hard to do a long-term fan tour and a final album without interruption in that situation. The meeting was held between Jessica and the members in September. They asked for a decision.
Jessica changed what she said after seeing a lawyer. She suddenly said she desired to continue with Girls’ Generation. She asked, “if you have any complaint, please sign your names and submit it.”
Q14. What was the outcome of the meeting?
D: There were two or three meetings. Then she unexpectedly left for New York. So no more talks could be had. In the end it was decided that doing things this way was meaningless.
As for Jessica, she returned the day before a fan meeting, thinking she had done her duty to the group. But the other members felt that Girls’ Generation had become her second job for a while now.
D15: Let us satisfy one little curiosity. What is Tyler’s role in BLANC?
D: Jessica launched BLANC on August 6th, with sunglasses as her first product. At the moment, perfume, accessories, and clothing are also in development. Those are set to be sold in theFall/Winter 2015 collection.
Tyler has invested in BLANC. We know that the amount he invested is less than Jessica’s. His most important role in the company involves distribution in China. He is helping to get her collection into Chinese and Hong Kong department stores.
Q16: Where are the current BLANC locations in China?
D: Just known as “Girls’ Generation Jessica,” she is gaining huge popularity in China. Recently, she succeeded in getting into large editorial store, Lane Crawford, in Hong Kong.
There are also several other shops that will open. Most are in Hong Kong, but other locations include major shopping cities Singapore, Thailand, and Shanghai.
Q17: So there also seems to be financial conflict with the other members.
D: Nobody cares about the money Jessica will earn through BLANC. That money is earned by her talent. But they are guessing that the risk involved in Jessica’s marriage will be substantial.
Because of this, Jessica’s marriage was an open secret within the company. There would be no more group advertising that would last longer than a year. Even with good offers, they couldn’t proceed.
D: It would be less than a 10% chance. The conditions for returning depend on Jessica’s change of her priorities… But she has gone too far. She’s already too much involved with Tyler.
Of course, Jessica could request to do some acting or solo work for her brand. However considering the time needed to do so, it would be difficult at the moment.
Comments from Naver:
vv08****:
According to this article alone, Jessica definitely made a selfish decision…
desp****:
Then why did she agree to prolong her contract for 3 more years when she wanted to get married?
as75****:
Should her team members unconditionally support and understand her marriage and business plans??!! All the while her man follows her around like her little shadow~??!!!
n___****:
Jessica cosplayed hard as a victim while she betrayed her members…
chua****:
The look in Tyler Kwon’s eyes is a bit unpleasant.
yeji****:
I don’t understand why the other 8 members should be blamed. It was Jessica who got in the way of her team for her own personal interest, ke ke ke.
jyhe****:
If it is true that Jessica plans to get married in May next year, then she is very selfish. She wants to do activities for her group, marriage, and business. She joined the fan meeting late yesterday because of her personal schedule and couldn’t rehearse. Her boyfriend followed her to her photo shoots. Such behavior would cause problems in any workplace.
dksg****:
I think the other 8 members might have given up many things for the team already.
shin****:
In the end, Jessica left the team for her own life path first. I knew it. I thought they might not have kicked her out for no good reason. To the other 8 members, fighting!
pret****:
I would’ve been pissed off if I were one of the other members. Because of her, they can’t get a big commercial deal because the advertisement cannot last for longer than a year and they have to reorganize and practice everything again for concerts. But she wrote on social media as if the other members betrayed her. Very selfish.
kizu****
All she did was say she wanted to be in the group again after meeting with a lawyer. It seems like she needed to ride on SNSD’s status until her brand became more popular. That’s so selfish. After she said she will start a business and get married, running away from the group, then she goes back just to use them.
ehgm****
Business, marriage, study abroad? How does that make sense? How would you do all of that on top of work with Girls’ Generation? Ah she wanted to leave the right way, so if you’re going to leave, what the hell are you doing?
30sk****
Looking at other articles she said she was going to get married, and didn’t have any plans to continue with Girls’ Generation anyway. Those 8 are the victims here.
dldn****
Ohhh If her boyfriend was following her around everyday, wouldn’t she hate it. What the hell is that guy.
mich****
Honestly, Jessica doesn’t think about Girls’ Generation as a whole, and goes around doing all those things. It doesn’t seem like she showed a lot of consideration [for the group.]
