Here Are 4 Big “What Ifs” That Would Have Changed K-Pop History As We Know It

There are lots of events that led K-Pop to what it is today, and some of these events almost didn’t end up happening. Here are four “what ifs” that would have changed K-Pop history.

1. What if BIGBANG’s G-Dragon stayed at SM Entertainment?

Before G-Dragon found his way to YG Entertainment, he was originally a trainee at SM Entertainment. However, G-Dragon decided to leave SM Entertainment after he got interested in rapping. Yang Hyun Suk, who is the founder of YG Entertainment, decided to persuade him to join his company, and G-Dragon soon became a trainee at YG Entertainment.

Lee Soo Man, the founder of SM Entertainment

Yang Hyun Suk has admitted multiple times that BIGBANG is the reason why YG Entertainment exists. If G-Dragon had stayed at SM Entertainment, then who knows how BIGBANG and YG Entertainment would have turned out.

2. What if Park Jin Young had gotten accepted into SM Entertainment?

When Park Jin Young was an aspiring artist, he decided to audition for SM Entertainment. However, he ended up getting rejected.

This led Park Jin Young to create JYP Entertainment, who has created multiple K-Pop legends. If Park Jin Young had gotten accepted into SM Entertainment, then there’s a good chance that JYP Entertainment wouldn’t have been formed.

3. What if Bang Si Hyuk stayed at JYP Entertainment?

Before Bang Si Hyuk established Big Hit Entertainment, he was a part of JYP Entertainment.

It’s been 20 years since I established the company. 20 years ago, we had 3 employees: me, Bang Si Hyuk and a member of the Accounting Team.

— Park Jin Young

Park Jin Young (Left) & Bang Si Hyuk (Right)

Bang Si Hyuk ended up leaving JYP Entertainment in 2010 to establish his own company, Big Hit Entertainment. Years later, this company debuted a group named BTS, who would go on to become K-Pop legends.

If Bang Si Hyuk had never left JYP Entertainment, then it’s likely that Big Hit Entertainment wouldn’t have ever formed, and neither would have BTS.

4. What if JYP Entertainment accepted these now-famous artists?

While JYP Entertainment is one of the biggest companies in K-Pop, they’ve rejected a lot of people who would go on to become some of the biggest artists in K-Pop, such as BTS’s J-Hope, IU, and EXO‘s Xiumin, just to name a few.