BBC Airs K-Pop Documentary, Spotlights SM Entertainment’s Lee Soo Man

UK’s public broadcast channel BBC spotlighted SM Entertainment CEO Lee Soo Man as part of their K-Pop documentary.

On October 25, BBC4 aired K-Pop Idols: Inside the Hit Factory, a K-Pop documentary aimed to focus on the success story of K-Pop and its worldwide popularity. Presenter James Ballardie visits Korea to meet with Lee Soo Man and discuss SM’s producing strategy and overall system.

In particular, BBC introduced producer Lee Soo Man as someone who has made “an important contribution to the growth of K-Pop and a symbolic character that has had a tremendous impact on the music industry for over 30 years.” They also discussed the growth of the Korean wave through the overseas promotions of H.O.T and BoA.

Lee Soo Man also visited the recording and shooting sites for his productions. He attended the SuperM “Jopping” set to discuss and direct the overall production.

K-Pop is a huge success story in Korea. There are passionate and dedicated people behind the leading companies that make K-Pop. I’ve met these leading producers, composers, music video producers, and various idols. They have all encountered hardships to gain success. This is the reality of K-Pop. How can you not fall in love?

— James Ballardie

BBC visited Korea this past July to film this documentary.