DSP Media

DSP Media

Type	Private
Industry	Music & Entertainment
Genre	K-pop
Founder(s)	Lee Ho-yeon
Headquarters	Seoul, South Korea
Area served	Asia
Products	Music & Entertainment
Services	Music & Entertainment agency
Owner(s)	Lee Ho-yeon
Website	DSP Media official homepage

DSP Media, formerly known as DSP Entertainment, is a Korean entertainment company, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea that was established in 1991 by Lee HoYeon. DSP Media entered the kpop scene with the success of 90′s idol groups Sechs Kies and Fin.K.L. Today, DSP Media is an all around entertainment company responsible for music production, marketing, celebrity management, distributing music and more.

History

DSP Media was originally named DaeSung Enterprise when it first went into business in 1991. In fact, the company went through four name changes. In 1999, the company was renamed as DSP Entertainment. In 2008, with the successful expansion in the entertainment industry, DSP Entertainment was renamed as DSP Media.

In September 1991, DaeSung Enterprise was founded by Lee HoYeon to provide entertainers to the public television. One of their first Korean music group was Firetruck (소방차). The group was a hit and is still loved by the older Koreans.

In February 1999, with the success of kpop star groups like Sechs Kies and FIN.K.L., the company went through legal actions to rename itself to DSP Entertainment.

In March 2006, with the merger company HoShinSumYoo (호신섬유), DSP Entertainment was renamed to DSP Enti.

In September 2008, DSP Enti was renamed as DSP Media. By this time, the company became renowned for its success in the kpop music, Korean drama and TV show production industries.

Artists

Group

Debut	Artists	Gender	Members	Leader	Disbanded	Fanclub name	Official color
1987	[Sobangcha]	Male	3	Kim taehyung	1996	-	-
1992	ZAM	Male	5	Jo Jin-soo	1998	-	-
1993	MUE	Mix	6	Yoo Young-chae	1999	-	-
1997	Sechs Kies	Male	6	Eun Ji Won	2000	DSF (Dear Sechskies Friend)	Yellow
1998	Fin.K.L	Female	4	Lee Hyori	2005	Pinky	Pearl Red
1999	Click-B	Male	7->4	Kim Tae Hyung	2006	NIZI	Green
2005	SS501	Male	5	Kim Hyun-joong	Left the Company (2010)	Triple S	Pearl Light Green
2007	KARA	Female	4->5->3	Park Gyuri	-	Kamilia	Pearl Peach
2008	A'st1	Male	6	Park Jung Jin	2009	EUNICE	Pearl Purple
2009	Rainbow	Female	7	Kim Jae-kyung	-	Rain-nous	Rainbow
2012	A-JAX	Male	7	Kim Hyeongkon	-	A-LIGHT	Blue
TBA	Puretty	Female	5	Yoo Hye-in	-	-	-

Soloist & Duo

Debut	Artists	Gender	Occupation	Finished career	Fanclub name	Official color
2002	Lee Hyori	Female	Solo	Left the Company (2006)	HyoRish	Red
2004	Shyne	Female	Duo	2007	-	-
2006	May Bee	Female	Solo	2008	-	-
2006	Oh Jong Hyuk	Male	Solo	-	-	-
2007	Sunha	Female	Solo	2009	-	-
TBA	Son Yu-ji	Female	Solo	-	TBA	TBA

Sub-Unit

Debut	Artists	Gender	Members	Leader	Notes	Fanclub name	Official color
2008	SS501 Project Group	Group	3 (SS501 Sub-Unit)	Heo Young Saeng	Left the Company (2010)	Triple S	Green
2012	Rainbow Pixie	Group	3 (Rainbow Sub-Unit)	Oh Seung Ah	-	Rain-nous	-
2014	Rainbow Blaxx	Group	4 (Rainbow Sub-Unit)	Jaekyung	-	Rain-nous	-

Actors

Debut	Actor	Gender	Occupation	Finished career	Fanclub name	Official color
2013	Park Jong Chan	Male	Actor	-	-	-
2013	Park Jong Hyuk	Male	Actor	-	-	-
2006	Baek Seung Do	Male	Actor	-	-	-

Roster

All of DSP's current artists are also signed to Universal Music Japan's sublabel Universal Sigma^[1] for their Japanese activities.

Kara

Kara started out as a four-member girl group with Park Gyuri, Han Seungyeon, Kim Sunghee and Nicole Jung that debuted in late March 2007. After only one album in 2007, however, DSP Entertainment announced that member Kim Sunghee would be leaving the group. Two new members, Kang Jiyoung and Goo Hara, joined the group in 2008. The group has had much success with various singles, including "Pretty Girl", "Honey", "Wanna", "Mister", "Lupin", "Jumping", "Step","Pandora", and with their latest Korean release, "Damaged Lady"

Rainbow

Rainbow is a 7 member girl group consisting of Jae Kyung, Seung A, No Eul, Yoon Hye, Woo Ri, Ji Sook, and Hyun Young. They debuted in November 14, 2009 with the EP "Gossip Girl". The group gained a larger fan base through their first digital single "A". They released a new song and music video in 2011 called "To Me" and became even more popular. Other popular songs of Rainbow are "Mach", "Not Your Girl" and "Sweet Dream". They debuted in Japan with the song "A" in September 2011. On 2012, they didn't do any promotion. In February 5, it was confirmed that the group will release the first part of its first studio album Rainbow Syndrome on February 13 with 'Tell Me Tell Me'. On May 27th Rainbow's comeback teaser was released on YouTube. The main title track for part 2 of Rainbow Syndrome is Sunshine.

Rainbow Pixie

On January 3, it was revealed by their agency, DSP Media, that a unit of Rainbow will be formed as a trio. On the same day, a teaser image was revealed on DSP Media's website with the name of the unit, called "Rainbow Pixie". On January 4, another image was revealed with the members of the group, the unit is composed of SeungAh, Jisook and HyunYoung. The unit released their debut song "Hoi Hoi" on January 12, and held their first performance on MBC's Music Core.

A-JAX

'A-JAX', official group name, in reference to the mythological Greek hero that helped bring victory to the Greeks during the Trojan War. A-JAX is composed of seven members including Hyeong Kon, Jae Hyung, Hyo Jun, Yun Young, Sung Min, Seung Jin and Seung Yeop. They made the first appearance on TV as a group on MBC Music's Making The Star - DSP Boyz in April 24, 2012. The group made its official debut in South Korea on June 2 and in Japan on August 8, both with the single "One 4 U" in their respective languages.

Puretty

The group is composed of teenage girls Hyein (18), Shiyoon, Chaekyung, Somin (all 16), and Jae Eun (14). They were introduced at a press conference for the anime series, Pretty Rhythm: Dear My Future, at Tokyo Industry and Trade Center on January 31 and expected to debut in Japan through the animation on TV Tokyo in April. The song "Cheki☆Love" served as the second opening song for the anime series where the group itself has been fictionalized and also used as their debut single, released in August 5, 2012. Chances are they'll making their debut in Korea in 2013.^[2][3]

Baek Seung Do

Baek Seung Do (18) is a child actor. He start to act since 2006 through a movie "Heart is". In famous drama "My Daughter Seo Young"(2012), he takes the role as young Sang Woo. On January 6 2013, he joins A-JAX to appear on KBS "Let's Go Dream Team".

Oh Jong Hyuk

Former Click-B member Oh Jong Hyuk has returned to his old home. On April 5 2013, DSP Media announced that "Oh Jong Hyuk signed an exclusive contract with DSP in late March, and soon plans to launch his promotions." With this, Oh Jong Hyuk has come to return to his old agency, which he was signed with when he was a member of Click-B, in 10 years. Click-B had debuted with the agency in 1999, and left after its contract had run its course in 2003.He came to sign his new contract with DSP after realizing he would need systematic management for his new phase of promotions. After being active in dramas, musicals and singing, Oh Jong Hyuk enlisted with the Marine Corps in 2011. He was released in February following his services of a year and 10 months. On Sep 25, 2013, Oh Jonghyuk & T-ara's Soyeon revealed to have been dating for almost 3 years.

Park Jong Chan and Park Jong Hyuk

On April 18, 2013, DSP Media announced that actor Park Joon Gyu's sons Park Jong Chan(22) and Park Jong Hyuk(15) join DSP Media. Park Jong Chan will be preparing for his debut as an actor while his younger brother Park Jong Hyuk has entered training to hone his musical talent. Park Jong Hyuk previously appeared on 'Star King' where he impressed viewers with his drumming skills and also earned a peck on the cheek from SECRET's Sunhwa on the retired show 'Bouquet', while Park Jong Chan has been building up his acting experience through short films and plays.

Son Yu-ji

Son Yu-ji is a 15-year old singer from Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. She joined SBS' K-pop Star 2 as the youngest member of a five-girl group, YouU. On December 2013, she became the last YouU member to be signed up by any agency after DSP signed her exclusively. According to Korea Herald, she will undergo extensive training under DSP before her debut.^[4]

Former

Sechskies

Sechskies (1997 to 2002) is a six-member boy band that consisted of Lee Jae-jin, Kang Sung-hoon, Eun Ji-won, Ko Ji Yong, Kim Jae-duc and Jang Su-won.

Fin.K.L.

Fin.K.L. (1998 to 2002, 2005) is a four-member female idol group that consisted of Lee Hyori, Ock Joo Hyun, Lee Jin and Sung Yu Ri. Lee Hyori stayed with the management after Fin.K.L. disbanded, but left in November 2006 to join M-Net Entertainment.

Click-B

Click-B (1999 to 2002) started out as a seven-member group but later turned into a four-member group and then into a 3-member group. The current members were Woo Yun Suk, Oh Jong Hyuk and Kim Sang Hyuk. Its former members were Ha Hyun Gon, Yoo Ho Suk (now known as Evan), No Min Hyuk and Kim Tae Hyung.

A'st1

A'st1, short for A-star-1 (pronounced "A-style") was a 6-member boyband consisting of Park Jung Jin (leader), Azuma Tomoki (Tomo), Sung In Kyu, Ding Hai Ming, Byun Jang Moon, and Lim Han Byul. They debuted on April 24, 2008, with the song "1.2.3.4 Back."The group was made up of four Korean members (Jung Jin, In Kyu, Jang Moon, and Han Byul), one Japanese member (Tomo), and one Chinese member (Hai Ming). As of November 28, 2009, the group was disbanded. Former member Lim Han Byul, is currently a member of the ballad group Monday Kiz, as of the release of their album "Vol. 4 - ru;t" Former member Byun Jangmoon is set to debut in a vocal group called "So Real" under Star Empire Entertainment. So Real made their first appearance in ZE:A's anniversary showcase. Sung In Kyu has passed away at the age of 24 in 2013 after fighting cancer for some years. Azuma Tomoki is currently a TV host in Japan. In 2012, Park JungJin debuted in Japan as part of a new Korean boy band called M.E.N. Ding Haiming is currently in China.

May Bee

May Bee (메이비) (born September 25, 1979) is a solo singer who debuted on January 1, 2006 with her album Dasoh. Recently, she participated in MC Mong's third album where she sang a duet with MC Mong. She released a Korean version of Final Fantasy VIII theme song "Eyes on Me" in 2008.

SS501

SS501 is one of the well known groups from DSP Media alongside Sechskies, FIN.K.L and KARA. They are a five-member boy band consisting of Kim Hyun Joong, Heo Young Saeng, Kim Kyu Jong, Park Jung Min and Kim Hyung Jun. They debuted in 2005 with their first single "경고 (Warning)". In Korea, they released one studio album, S.T 01 Now, and eight mini-albums, not counting their singles and Japanese releases. In June 2010, upon the expiration of the group's contract with DSP Media, all the members then signed with other management companies. Kim Hyun Joong was the first with KeyEast Entertainment in late June.^[5] This was followed, in August, by Park Jung Min who joined CNR Media,^[6] and Kim Hyung Jun with S-Plus Entertainment.^[7] Lastly in October, Heo Young Saeng and Kim Kyu Jong, both signed with B2M Entertainment.^[8] All five members have subsequently debut as solo artists with the released mini-albums in 2011.

All of the members' new companies have stated that SS501's activities are top priority in their contracts.^[9] Kim Hyung Jun confirmed in an interview with Sports World that the group will return even with the recent division into separate agencies and careers.^[10]

Sunha

Sunha debuted on January 25, 2008 on KBS's Music Bank with her debut single "Chantey Chantey". Sunha also acted on a drama titled Doctor Bong in 2006.

Former Artist

• Lee Hyori (Soloist)
• Maybee(soloist)
• Sunha(soloist)
• Kim Sung Hee (former Kara member)
• Jung Nicole (former Kara member)
• Shyne
• A'st1
• SS501
• Group "ZAM" 1992-3
• Group "CO CO" 1993-5
• Group "Mue" 1994-5
• Group "IDOL" 1996
• Group "Mountain" 1996
• Kim Hyu Soo 1997
• Uhm Ji Sun 2000

Former Trainees

• Jang Jisoo (now under Kant Entertainment as a member of Swincle)
• Lee Donguk (now under Orange Entertainment as a member of DNT)
• Actress Goo Hye-sun (now under YG Entertainment)
• Lee Gi-kwang (now under Cube Entertainment as a member of B2ST)
• Ahn Jaehyo (now under Seven Seasons as a member of Block B)
• Moon JoonYoung (now Star Empire Entertainment as a member of ZE:A)
• Son Dambi (now a solo singer under Pledis Entertainment)
• Shim Hyun Kyung (now a member of Chinese group:I-ME)
• NS Yoonji (now under JTM Entertainment)
• Hong Jinyoung (now under Core Contents Media)
• Hwang Park Kyung (Left due to stress and other personal problems in early 2010; was originally a trainee due to debut with A-Jax)
• Ga Jin (now under EC Ebenezer as a member of S the ONE)
• Han Kyu Wan (was due to debut with SS501 but failed because some issue, also was a former trainee under S.M. Entertainment and was to debut with EXO but failed because still in military service)
• Woo Hyemi (Contestant on "The Voice of Korea", made top four in semi-finals; was originally a trainee due to debut with KARA)
• Kang Minhee (now under Brand New Music as a member of Miss $)
• Siyoon (now under NEW PLANET entertainment as a member of A-PRINCE)
• Taeha (now under Core Contents Media as a member of Speed)
• Actress Seon Joo-ah

Filmography

• Emergency Act 19 (Film, 2002)
• Drama Three Leaf Clover (SBS, 2005)
• My girl (SBS, 2005)
• She (SBS, 2006)
• Yeon Gae So Mun (SBS, 2006)
• Surgeon Bong Dal Hee (SBS, 2007)
• Bad couple (SBS, 2007)
• Heartbreak Library (Film, 2008)
• Queen of Housewives (MBC, 2009)

See also

• List of South Korean bands

References

External links

• (Korean) DSP Media official homepage - Korea
• (Japanese) DSP Media official homepage - Japan
• DSP Media on Twitter
• DSP Media's channel on YouTube

v t e DSP Media Current Kara Rainbow Rainbow Pixie Rainbow Blaxx A-Jax Puretty Baek Seung-do Oh Jong-hyuk Park Jong-chan Park Jong-hyuk Son Yu-ji Former Bands Sobangcha Zam Mue Sechskies Fin.K.L Click-B SS501 A'st1 Solo artists Lee Hyori MayBee Sunha Duo Co Co IDOL Mountain 2shai Shyne Actors/Actresses Kim Kyu Min Jo Ah-ra Jo Myung-woon Ryu Ji-seok Partnerships CJ E&M Music and Live LOEN Entertainment Universal Sigma Warner Music Group Daesung Enterprise → Daesung Entertainment → DSP Entertainment → DSP Media