{"id":186779,"date":"2025-11-18T08:30:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T08:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/186779\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T08:30:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T08:30:17","slug":"veteran-k-pop-idol-becomes-his-own-ceo-with-a-debt-and-a-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/186779\/","title":{"rendered":"Veteran K-pop idol becomes his own CEO with a debt and a dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A <\/p>\n

A still from the music video for \u2033SWAY (Zzz),\u2033 the lead track for Jang Dong-woo’s second solo EP, \u2033AWAKE\u2033 [JANG DONG-WOO]<\/p>\n

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K-pop isn\u2019t built for lone wolves. In this notoriously expensive industry in which idols can rarely take a single creative step without a corporate machine behind them, one veteran K-pop idol has jumped off the cliff alone \u2014 and financed his parachute with loans.
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Without an agency or production team behind him, boy band Infinite\u2019s Jang Dong-woo is releasing his second solo EP, \u201cAWAKE,\u201d with the long-term goal of not only growing his own discography but also starting a new boy band of his own.
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\u201cI have more respect for CEOs of entertainment companies than ever,\u201d Jang said half-jokingly during a roundtable interview in central Seoul on Monday, ahead of the album\u2019s release on Tuesday.
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\"A <\/p>\n

A still from the music video for \u2033SWAY (Zzz),\u2033 the lead track for Jang Dong-woo’s second solo EP, \u2033AWAKE\u2033 [JANG DONG-WOO]<\/p>\n

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Jang debuted in 2010 as a member of the second-generation boy band Infinite, launched by Woollim Entertainment and best known for hits like \u201cBe Mine\u201d (2011), \u201cChaser\u201d (2012) and \u201cBad\u201d (2015).\u00a0After the group left Woollim in 2021, Jang signed with another agency but ultimately decided to part ways with the company to pursue a fully independent path. Jang, as a result, currently operates entirely on his own.
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Throughout the interview, the 34-year-old was candid and confident about his ambitions in the way that artists who fully own their work often are.
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While admitting he finally understands why so many independent artists feel lost in the production process, Jang still sees his bold solo venture as \u201ca huge gift.\u201d
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\u201cThe same piece of advice all the company chiefs I met gave me was that I should accept the outcome, whatever it is,\u201d said Jang, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s amazing that I get to live through such a huge experience.\u201d
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\"Boy <\/p>\n

Boy band Infinite’s Jang Dong-woo [JANG DONG-WOO]<\/p>\n

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Infinite also took an unusual step by establishing a separate company for the group\u2019s activities after leaving Woollim, with member Kim Sung-kyu serving as CEO of Infinite Company. Jang says that building his own album made him \u201crelate to Kim more than ever.\u201d
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While juggling group activities as Infinite \u2014 which celebrated its 15th anniversary with a world tour last year \u2014 Jang has also built a steady career in theater, appearing in productions such as the musical \u201cDream High\u201d and the play \u201cYeodo.\u201d
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\"Boy <\/p>\n

Boy band Infinite held its \u2033Comeback Again\u2033 concert at the KSPO Dome, Songpa District, southern Seoul on Aug. 19 and 20, 2023. [INFINITE COMPANY] <\/p>\n

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The versatility is why he chose \u201cmultiplayer\u201d as both the core of his artistic identity and the theme of his latest album, \u201cAWAKE.\u201d
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Jang\u2019s second EP \u201cAWAKE\u201d comes more than six years after he released his first solo album, \u201cBYE,\u201d under Woollim back in 2019. The new album features six songs: the lead track, \u201cSWAY (Zzz),\u201d and B-sides \u201cSLEEPING AWAKE,\u201d \u201cTik Tak Toe (CheckMate),\u201d \u201cFind Me,\u201d \u201cSUPER BIRTHDAY\u201d and a Chinese version of the lead track. \u201cFind me,\u201d in particular, was written by Jang.
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The lead track, \u201cSWAY (Zzz),\u201d is a fast-paced dance track with a familiar alarm clock sound woven into its beat, which apparently \u201cmade some people immediately want to switch it off,\u201d Jang said with a laugh.
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Jang hopes the song sticks with listeners, saying that making a lasting impression was the primary goal of producing the album.
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\"Jang <\/p>\n

Jang Dong-woo’s second solo EP, \u2033AWAKE,\u2033 set for release on Nov. 18 [JANG DONG-WOO]<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs an artist, I want to solidify my identity as a multiplayer,\u201d Jang added, looking back on the beginning of his journey as only a rapper and dancer.\u00a0
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\u201cI also really wish to be recognized as an artist that fellow artists want to collaborate with.\u201d
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Jang began to conceptualize \u201cAWAKE\u201d with his stylist after being inspired by the uniqueness and aesthetic of DC Comics’ iconic villain: the Joker. From there, the idea grew \u2014 through countless meetings with songwriters and directors \u2014 into songs, photo shoots and a music video.
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That venture was not a cheap one, Jang says.
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\"Boy <\/p>\n

Boy band Infinite’s Jang Dong-woo [JANG DONG-WOO]<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have taken out a loan [for the project], so I\u2019d love to be able to pay that back,\u201d Jang shared casually when asked what kind of success he wants with the new album.
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But his ambition doesn\u2019t stop there, as Jang hopes to form his own boy band in the future.
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\u201cMy ultimate dream is to foster new talent,\u201d said Jang. Citing his extensive career across the K-pop and entertainment industries, the singer said that he\u2019s confident he will be able to leverage his experience and launch a new K-pop act one day.
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\"Boy <\/p>\n

Boy band Infinite’s Jang Dong-woo [JANG DONG-WOO]<\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\n

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A still from the music video for \u2033SWAY (Zzz),\u2033 the lead track for Jang Dong-woo’s second solo EP,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186780,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[264],"tags":[18,117,19,17,337],"class_list":{"0":"post-186779","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-music"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115569769031584081","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}