Common Themes About Leaders From JYP, SM, And YG Entertainment Groups

Almost every group in K-Pop has a leader of the group. The leader’s job can be anything ranging from doing speeches at award shows, guiding the members on a certain path, being the representative when talking with the company, etc. The process of choosing a leader can be different depending on the group members or companies. Here are some common themes that are seen behind the group leaders of JYP Entertainment, SM Entertainment, and YG Entertainment.

1. JYP Entertainment

A common theme behind the leaders of K-Pop groups made by JYP Entertainment is that the member with the longest trainee period is usually selected as the leader. This has been the case for a majority of the groups under JYP Entertainment, such as GOT7, Stray Kids, and TWICE to name a few.

JB (GOT7) has the longest trainee period alongside Jinyoung out of all the members with around 4 years of training time.

Jihyo (TWICE) has the longest training time out of the members with around 10 years of training.

Bangchan (Stray Kids) has the longest training period at around 7 years out of all the members.

There are exceptions to this theme seen in groups formed by JYP Entertainment, such as ITZY. Yeji is the leader of ITZY, but Chaeryeong is the member with the longest training time.

2. SM Entertainment

A common theme in leaders of groups formed by SM Entertainment is that the eldest member is selected to be the leader. This is a common theme in a majority of K-Pop groups, not just SM Entertainment. This is most likely due to the age hierarchy in Korea and how the culture values age and respect. This theme is seen in a majority of SM Entertainment groups, such as Red Velvet, Super Junior, and SHINee to name a few.

Leeteuk explaining how he was selected to be the leader of Super Junior.

Irene, who is the leader and eldest member of Red Velvet.

Onew, who is the eldest and leader of SHINee

There are some exceptions to this rule as Suho is not the eldest member of EXO. Suho was selected to be the leader due to him having the longest training time out of the EXO members.

3. YG Entertainment

YG Entertainment is kind of unique in the way they select the leaders of their groups. A common theme seen behind the leaders is that they are all deeply involved in composing the group’s music and are generally the ones who are most involved in music-making. This is seen in groups like BIGBANG, WINNER, and iKON to name a few.