In recent years, the green trend has spread into the Korean K-pop entertainment industry. Recently, HYBE, the management company of well-known groups such as BTS and NewJeans, announced the launch of an environmentally friendly album. In addition to the album casing and contents, it will use more sustainable environmentally friendly materials, and will even launch a "water-soluble coating" Xiaoka, this also caused an uproar and complaints among fans who had fallen into the Xiaoka trap.
Xiaoka surges in sales, the album itself turns into garbage
The photo card culture is prevalent in the K-pop circle. For the same album, the company will release different versions and different channels of photo cards to increase the popularity of the album. For fans who want to collect a complete set of photo cards or want to collect the photo cards of their own members, they must not only have the financial resources to purchase multiple albums, but also have a lot of luck. Some fans buy a large number of albums to participate in their idol's "signing event" and want to increase their chances of winning.
However, after the required contents are collected, these repeatedly purchased albums may be discarded on the roadside, causing waste and chaos and increasing garbage.
Therefore, BTS owner HYBE announced on the 18th of last month that the Weverse version of digital albums released by its artists in the future will be changed to a more sustainable design. The so-called digital album does not have a physical CD, but only provides a digital card. After scanning the QR Code on it, you can listen to music or view photos on a specific app or platform. It was originally supposed to be a very environmentally friendly design. However, in order to meet the collection needs of fans, most record companies will include random photo cards or other items.
HYBE plans to use recyclable materials or paper for the album casing and contents, change the outer packaging sealing film to biodegradable plastic, and change the plastic coating of the album casing and small cards to water-based ones that are easily soluble in water. coating to make the recycling process easier.
Although some people agree that this is more environmentally friendly, this move has caused heated discussions. Fans said that they will keep the photo cards properly and environmental protection measures should not jeopardize the preservation of the photo cards. If the record company can modify the randomness of the photo cards, sell the photo cards directly, or improve the lottery rules at autograph sessions, it can more effectively reduce the waste of repeated album purchases.
There is no K-pop on the dead planet
K-pop has taken the world by storm. According to "The Korea Times", South Korean Congressman Woo Won-shik cited data from the South Korean Ministry of Environment and pointed out that in 2022 alone, South Korea used 801.5 tons of plastic to make physical albums. Compared with six years ago, it has increased by at least 14 times.
However, the media estimated from album sales that the actual amount of plastic used may be much greater than this. Take HYBE, one of South Korea's four major entertainment companies, as an example. The company's sustainability management report (2022 Sustainability Management Report) shows that the album and packaging released in 2022 will use approximately 894.6 tons of plastic.
K-pop fans hope that Hallyu will become environmentally friendly. Nurul Sarifah, a fan of the Korean group from Jakarta, Indonesia, founded the "Kpop4Planet" organization with her friends in 2021 to unite the power of fans and support K-pop while also caring about the climate. crisis.
The "No K-pop on a dead planet" campaign launched by Kpop4Planet last year collected 8,000 albums discarded by fans and returned them to the agency, calling on companies to face up to the waste problem. Reduce the use of plastic.
Kpop4Planet recommends that record companies provide "the green album option". For example, fans can purchase 30 copies of the same album, but only receive 3 physical albums. In this way, you can increase sales for your favorite artists and increase your chances of participating in idol autograph signings, without creating unnecessary garbage.
References:
*The Korea Times (2023.10.22), Plastic use for K-pop albums increases 14 times over last 6 years
*Kpopmap (2024.3.18), New Age Music Appreciation: HYBE's Sustainable Changes
*Naver (2024.3.18), 포토카드물에녹는다…하이브, 위버스앨범재활용·생분해소재도입
*Euronews (2022.11.28), 'No K-pop on a dead planet': Meet the stans taking up climate activism
*CBC (2023.8.12), Why some K-pop fans are calling for more environmentally friendly practices in the industry
*International Business Times (2023.10.24), Environment Suffering From K-Pop As Plastic Use Up 14 Times; Hybe Used 894.6 Tons In 2022
*Korea Yonhap News Agency (2023.10.22), '하이브만연간900t'…최근6년간'K팝플라스틱' 14배로늘어
Source: Environmental Information Center
