Scatter_88mil
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Posts posted by Scatter_88mil
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Meh...its over...lets move on...
About the rests of the groups in CCM...just so you know, many fans been waiting for them to comeback/debut; CCM is just waiting for the right time to strike, and as we all know, a comeback or a debut takes a long time. As for SPEED and 5dolls, they have been through a lot back then so it is understandable that CCM wouldnt just bring them out with blind trust. Once they're out, they're gonna hit and they did; as for Shannon and TheSeeya....again...Seeya/TheSeeya...ain't easy bringing something like that to the table, gotta consider as well as planning everything. Shannon's debut, she's still young..and she's doing fine....we dont want her to debut too soon and then waste her talent do we?
Therefore...Sexy Love comeback did happen or not does not affect those things I mentioned above.
Comebacks necessarily don't take a long time to take.
After all, T-ara winded up doing God-knows-how-many per year. Even in 2012, there were three K-comebacks alone - Lovey Dovey, Day by Day and Sexy Love, so it's easy to imagine how difficult it would be. That's pretty high for a majorly-known group, especially since the number of comebacks higher-tier groups like 2NE1 and SNSD have made in Korea is even less than that (minus 2009).
Those mentioned groups from CCM are still relatively nugu status as well, which shouldn't come off as a surprise given poor management and the oversaturation of idol groups since 2010.
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As of now;
1. Boram
2. Soyeon
3. Eunjung
4. Jiyeon
5. Qri
6. Hyomin
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@Vice-devil - No probs :3 Possibly could be nominated the most unusual kind of 'fan' XD.
Dang, I can't believe you'll go out of your way to explains all that.
And from what I've read, that must be hella party~ I regret not entering the K-pop scene sooner
I'm pretty new actually, just into K-pop by the end of 2013, around the same time as number 9 release. In fact it was number 9 that droves me into this fandom, simply because it had similar beat/vibe as my favorite songs (Avicii, Krewella, Steve Aoki...you had the idea. XD).Somehow it's a bliss, IDK if I can keep sane while going through the madness that is 2012 (to say it's literally the end of the world for some ppl isn't really far-fetched). lol. Oh, and that 'certain someone' stumbled into that account once, and I had the same thought. To witnessed thousands logged on into Diadem though, that must be quite a sight! Hahahah.
Must be good times indeed.
I'm a sucker when it comes to talking history XD. Suffice to say, there were big truckloads of drama that left a lot of memories hahahaha.
Consider yourself lucky though. I'm just glad it ain't happening anymore (or rather, not as frequently as it did) - especially with 'him' gone for quite some time now (whether if he gave up or got banned though is anyone's guess). T'was enough to annoy a lot of folks here up to the point quite a few complaints got thrown in and it didn't help that he'd be almost constantly rendering a lot of discussion threads go cold.
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^I'm curious, who's this delulu that you're talking about?
I think you'll have a pretty good guess to who it is from this link;
http://www.tiaradiadem.com/forums/topic/23495-hwaism-what-if-hwayoung-joined-a-new-group/page-2
There's a heck lot more threads that quickly went south in the Discussion and News sections that also come in mind, but those date from 2012 and early 2013, so it's a bit of a hassle to try finding them. To put it bluntly, someone on par with soyeonfanboy.
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Well, there's many option to indulge in a fandom, like social media for example. I've no idea how it was back in 2012 but from what I saw here, most people are either long time enthusiasts or new fans.
Believe it or not, 2012 was quite a hectic year hahahahahaha XD.
1. T-ara getting their first ever vacation since debut - which lasted just barely only a week (and Jiyeon only got a couple of days due to filming of Dream High 2). Before then, the whole notion of T-ara having never had a vacation was starting to get more noticed, after Soyeon publicly state in TV that the group didn't have one since debut.
2. KKS announcing membership changes, publicly threatening the girls that he'll kick them out over even the slightest opposition of his management. People here went absolutely ballistic over this one (myself included) and many were not looking forward to it.
3. June was when Areum and Dani were introduced, more people go ballistic again.
4. The Twitter scandal which grew into probably the biggest clusterf**k of a PR disaster in Korea's showbiz industry (undoubtedly the biggest for 2012). I believe that was the time when Diadem saw its biggest amount of people logged on simultaneously - in the thousands at any given point. Not surprisingly, things were...pretty chaotic, not to mention a number of fans, both I and K, left while others went into hyper-defensive mode.
5. The 'division' of the fandom. We winded up having people who blamed Hwayoung for the whole thing, some put bigger blame on T-ara and others on CCM. A small number, IIRC, even went as far to try to whitewash CCM's idiocy (and past idiocies before that). For pretty much 8-10 months or so, the forums here also winded up having to deal with one rather certain delulu who uhh....literally believed everything what CCM said is true, thought Hwayoung would actually come back to T-ara and among other many cuckoo nuttery stuff.
Good times
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Heh, three more replies, and it's the same thing with my country. One of the most historical days IMO, since it's the day that effectively sealed the end of the most deadliest war in history.
Where is everybody?
I've always thought that this place is generally dead. Plus some of the old regs back since 2012 don't seem to be active as they once were (maybe they moved on or something :/)
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We all know and agree that CCM couldn’t handle the situation right when that issue came out. They made a lot of wrong decisions back then.
CCM's been making quite a few bad decisions as early as last year - namely sending N4 to that embarrassment known as Chris Brown in the US among others, attempting to control what journalists were to write in their articles as well as threatening Sports Seoul's articles for not being 'Pro T-ara' enough by sending its own people to their editorial offices. The latter is something only you'd see from mobs in Korea or the military dictatorships in the past.
The thought of the group being run by a company that makes such disastrous decisions that even makes other companies look really well-run and resorting to actions like that is rather unsettling.
There was another alternative that a lot of people wanted back at those heatful days, which would have had at least a decent solid shot in working out well in the long term - namely, T-ara to come out on their own and describe what actually transpired without CCM slandering Hwayoung and making a big mess of a PR disaster out of everything (which is exactly what made T-ara a heavily disliked group) .
Unfortunately, this did not happen well until last year when N4 finally said it at their guest appearance at the Beatles Code talk show and before that, it was constantly PR disaster after PR disaster that took a big toll on their image which could have been saved much earlier had there been actual common sense taken in CCM.
That's what CCM should have done back then if it wanted the group to be more successful than it is today (financially speaking, looking at their sales compared to the pre-scandal days). It doesn't excuse them one bit at all when other (if not better) options were available back then, but for whatever reason, CCM thought it'd be better to use similar tactics used against Nam Gyuri in 2009.
n my opinion, T-ara may not be able to go back to Japan, no one would want to make a contract with them because of the rumors. That means CCM would lose one of their biggest income
sources.Japan wasn't really much concerned with what was going on in Korea, as craZy has noted. There's a reason why T-ara promoted in Japan extensively after the SL's sales weren't exactly great and during 3/4s of 2013.
But even then however, T-ara's sales in Japan haven't been exactly big, though that goes for K-pop groups promoting in Japan overall.
With no source of income, would CCM be able to survive? Would SPEED, F-ve Dolls and The Seeya be able to debut? What would happen to all the trainees like Dani and Shannon?
When CCM decided to push T-ara hard to their limit, having them perform in front of their audience whom carried many misunderstandings, that was the only GOOD decision they made.
Because of that tough choice, T-ara are able to comeback today in Korea and not only that, SPEED, F-ve Dolls, The Seeya and Shannon could shine. CCM also came back to life and hundreds of employees’ jobs were saved because of that decision.
The SeeYa, F-Dolls and SPEED's popularity is very negligent as well, so they haven't exactly 'shined' in any spectacular way, whether if T-ara's been popular, unpopular or left the company. F-Dolls and SPEED in particular were horribly from their early days (and Co-Ed School before that), as with Gangkiz.
They are groups that are still very much in the low-tier ranks among idols groups in general. There's no disputing that and nothing what T-ara does or did can change it. CCM tried it before, but it didn't work.
For all its actions in the past, is one of those rotten and shady companies in the showbiz but there's little chance it would have been absolutely driven into bankruptcy. Not when it's run by Mnet Media/CJ E&M, which in turn is a subsidiary of CJ Group, one of the chaebols/conglomerates in Korea. There wouldn't have been any harm however, in completely changing its executive staff (including those influencing them) that caused a lot of screwups for T-ara for quite a long, long time and putting more competent folks in place.
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Doubtful indeed, There's no way they're still around if they're a bunch of frail ladies like that. Btw, never thought you're gonna mention the ultimate delulu fan (or, so called fan). lol
Lol, when you speak about extremists in K-pop fandoms, it's almost impossible not to make reference to the most notoriously worst of the worst. I would go as far to say he is the Alex Jones or Jesse Ventura of the T-ara fandom XD.
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@Vice_devil
You ain't alone, mate. You ain't alone
One thing a LOT of K-pop fans usually forget or simply do not know is that an idol is marketed in a certain way for people to feel 'emotionally connected' to them in various ways (and for those who let it get in their heads completely, they wind up becoming crazy themselves, like the nutjob who attempted to kidnap Taeyeon in the middle of a performance way back in 2011 or those many cases of sasaeng 'incidents').
Essentially, they're marketed as the 'perfect angelic saints' of society, and many people tend to fall for such images.
That being said, even when it comes to using whichever remedy you got to put fan anxiety down whenever it rises, having a dose of reality isn't painful to have. Okay maybe it can be for some, but it's not necessarily a bad thing to swallow in the long shot.
@heraldc
I think what Vice_devil says does actually have some solid points in regards to the topic, even if it may not be fully related to it. He isn't totally wrong, realistically speaking, particularly his second paragraph. Personally, I don't buy it that T-ara would be hurt by internet comments either - after all, they've made more money than any of us will ever make, and by this point, chances are they're probably extremely desensitized by it and probably don't really care any longer unless they're real sissies (which is doubtful).
There are borders that shouldn't be crossed, and sadly, some fans break through that (soyeonfanboy is one extremely notorious case). Anxiety, if not controlled....can lead to undesirable consequences, without realizing it consciously. I think that's what Vice_devil was saying, overall.
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OP - I know we've had our major disagreements in the past regarding the nature of T-ara's work environment and all that surrounding it, but I do believe you've raised a very good point and topic here, and would be a good source of discussion amongst fans in regards to what they feel about T-ara and the fandom overall in various situations, as some posters here have said.
And in any case, sorry if my arguments came out a bit excessive in tone. It's a habit that I just can't get rid of, among many other reasons..
In fact, I think this thread would be a good place for fans to 'vent out' their thoughts, emotions etc. about T-ara overall in whatever situation they're in >< But that's just me. I digress.
Warning, long ass detailed post (thank heavens my new job's shift hours and working environment is nowhere near as crap as the last one ><)
Anyways...
I must openly say this, because I don't want to beat the bush;
If in the case you see antis making very crude and illogical comments regarding T-ara, then the best option is to ignore it, pretend it wasn't there and then use whichever remedy you have to calm yourself down and move on.
@heraldc mentions that the fandom itself isn't really rainbows and cupcakes, and not surprisingly, the incident in 2012 and many others following that, arguably, have actually made a number of people becoming very sensitive (in a bad way) and reactionary towards anything that is even the most slightly critical of the group (case example - a certain person called Jacques in NetizenBuzz) - in fact, it makes them just as bad as the antis, if not even worse.
I'm pretty sure if T-ara saw some of their comments, they'd feel pretty gutted and guilty about to see their own fans resorting to stuff antis do. Bluntly put, it doesn't help them in any way, unless the members happen to be incredibly immature or enjoy seeing fan-vs-anti fights online, eating some popcorn and drinking soda in their van :3
Being a fan is hard stuff at times, no doubt about it.
When you see the idol (or heck, just about any celebrity you're a fan of) having a hard time in whichever way, you automatically feel stuffy about the whole thing. Completely normal, and the anxiety can be a huge headache at times. Though at times, some people let it get to their heads a bit too far and BAM! Fully psycho-defensive mode activated, and it makes a strong path towards losing rationality and neutrality, and eventually becoming no less different to an anti as far as mindset/behavior goes.
I'd note that maintaining neutrality is something a lot of K-pop fans actually seem to lack
That being said, if you feel down, blast yourself with the remedy you got if you feel down because of x idol having a hard time. This sort of anxiety emotion is no different to how you feel when your favorite sports team loses a major game or just about anything that's nerve-wrecking in general. Cure to that? Find a hobby to lax yourself, take a deep breath and keep steady with a cool head
In my case, I just write fanfics, watch Team Fortress 2 videos or listen to some of my favorite T-ara songs on my computer or phone and play a couple rounds of AVA. Result? Feel much better. See somethin' bad happen? Turn your head away from it quick as possible and blast up that planned remedy you got to knock it out of you. In the case of T-ara, if you fail to do that, then think for a second before you type down an angry fan response to someone whose comment is either stupid/unpleasant/out of reality/flat-out wrong - "What would T-ara think of me if they read this? What would they think of the fans who are doing the same thing I'm just about to do?"
All in all, I think people would learn a lot from this meme. Yes, a bit comedic, but I think it does say a lot in relation to this topic.
That's all. Time to play a few rounds of AVA now
- Hyo'Min and qridoesntcare
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I'm not big into speculating, but from what I saw, the girls (or, at least some members since not all of them publicly share their private lives) seemed like they had the whole night for themselves, at least on the three particular moments I mentioned earlier. Maybe they didn't have it as easy as other groups, but IMO they were getting a more frequent time off (Qri's friend birthday was two days ago) compared to pre-scandal days.
IDK if ppl do spotted them, maybe they did and they posted it on naver, or other korean social networking sites. We can't really expect english-based sites to pick up on that, since most of those sites tend to cater to the largest fanbase.
Lastly, I'm not saying they aren't overworked because they are. The Japanese recording does seem very rushed. Let's just say if any of the girls fell ill, I m gonna buy a voodoo doll through a shady website, and a certain someone's photo will be put on it. ^__^
I'm not in any disagreement with you (just to be clear) hahaha. I just have a tendency to discuss things very lengthily wherever I go....too often, I have a bad habit of not knowing when to stop (call me a verbal express train XD)
It's actually probable the amount of free-time they get is likely increased compared to pre-late July 2012, though the difference itself likely isn't all that significant (this was kinda my point) After all, with solo activities cut down dramatically compared to since then, what you say does make sense.
Note - I keep track of K-social SNS every now and then (being Korean here and all, so Naver's a common site I visit), and can safely say you'd have to be lucky to find anything of such, yet alone one that's a legit account (fancafes are an exception, though I'm not a member of those).
Anyway If you think idols lives are hard.. you should read about what an average Korean worker has to face. South Koreans work the longest hours per year, on average, out of every other developed country, and that is including Japan where Karoshi (death by overwork) is an occupational hazard. I heard a lot Korean civil servants & company employees only get three days vacation/year, work from early morning to late at night & some companies even have dorms in their offices so their workers don't have to go home at all. I guess working hard is just ingrained in their culture & with normal citizens stressed out due to overwork no wonder Koreans don't give much leeway like most countries do to their celebrities etc.
I had quite a few relatives that worked for the ROK government as early as the 1960s, and generally speaking, the work hours depend on which ministry you work for and the specific position you're working in. For example, if you're port customs officer, veteran cop or a senior analyst for an institution contracted by govt, you'd be working far more compared to a receptionist, administrations or a clerk who generally work 8-hour shifts, with the occasional overtime. Heck, military personnel (including riot police conscripts) get 3-4 weeks of leave every year, not counting the public holidays.
And for certain, your average Korean worker does not have it harder than an idol has as far as work amounts go.
Granted, work hours in Korea are pretty long for OECD standards, though in recent times, there's been a huge push to lower working hours (both in public and private sector) + there's been an increase of public holidays (16 in total as of 2013).
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/south-koreans-battle-for-civilised-working-hours-330167
Bluntly put, it simply depends on what your job is and who you work for (and in the case of the showbiz, one can only imagine how hard the accompanying staff have it, considering they work pretty much the same hours as the idols do but at a much, much smaller paycheck).
But at least your average worker doesn't have their privacy invaded in severely gross means, and in the end are not bound by slave-like contracts - whereas in the case of idols, it's not uncommon to not even being allowed cell phones and having to work for mobsters or simply people deeply connected with them as a significant portion of Korea's entertainment business is associated (if not even controlled by) with organized crime since as early as the 1960s, not to mention severe diets that are borderline to starvation, prostitution rings and the list goes on. Heck, it's not even abnormal for idols not being able to see their families for months if not even longer.
I mean no offense (and an opinion is an opinion after all), but it's a really overly optimistic view on T-ara's overall career - especially if you take what they show in front of the camera at heart. Masking your own emotions/expressions is an almost universal thing in idol groups, and T-ara's done this many, many times too.
Just compare how tired Kara or how changed Secret or how desperate Rainbow or how unequal 4minute looksKARA, I can get, but things pretty much calmed down for them after the lawsuit (but they don't fit in the 08/09 bracket as they debuted in 07).
None of those groups have gone through a bruta if not even sickly management that lasted as long as T-ara's at any given point. Unlike those groups, T-ara was also lucky that they scored big from the get-go and came from a big company that could push them through the influx of increasing idol groups, whereas TS Entertainment and CUBE only barely started to hit the idol scene while in DSP's case, Rainbow itself was overshadowed by KARA and SS501.
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Of course now that they aren't in a promotional cycle, we can expect the workload to lessen...at least a bit.
On the other note, they do had free time. Like during the girls movie night out, which they even went shopping afterward (I think since Qri posted a pic of her new bag on IG), The reunion with Jiwon after attending Jinx movie premiere, also let's not forget about Qri recently taking the time off to celebrate her friend's birthday. CMIIW, but it looks like the girls get quite a decent amount of free time.
The question though would be how often the free time is given to them compared to the amount of work they have, as well as how long each free time is. If it's just a couple of hours each time (which, is the most likely and at most, probably a day or so)...that really isn't much to be relieved about, since you'd also have to take into account how much hours a day is also dedicated to sleeping (IIRC, during promotions, they stated the average hours of sleep they get is as little as 2-3 hours).
After all, if they do get decent amount of time as you say, at least a couple of average folks would have spotted them and posted it up online (especially in a country like Korea, particularly in districts like Gangnam or Yeoido island).
Compared to some other groups out there, they're definitely working too much even for idol standards - that I think anyone can really be in mutual agreement in. Probably not as severe as the pre-scandal days partly due to also solo activities, but still pretty overly hazardous.
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Well I don't know how the showbiz work there, but from what I can tell they don't have to go to variety shows and/or interviews. so that should free up some time for relaxing.
I think the traveling to various sets for shows that usually takes up their time
They themselves have made quite a few mentions that they're being overworked. In fact, overworking to the bone is almost a norm in the Korean showbizz and it doesn't take much research to find that, especially since labor laws in Korea's showbiz aren't very well-enforced + contracts that essentially make the companies own every aspect of yourself. And with holding concerts, showcases and a LOT of song promotions plus attending events....that pretty much says they're not working 9-5 like a lot of us do, that's for sure.
If they're not doing variety shows or interviews, chances are it's replaced with practice sessions, gym or whatever else that doesn't get shown in their schedule for public viewing (IIRC, there was a mention that for members who had completed schedules for the day, CCM would simply make them do something else to make up for it).
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First time I saw this. Sounds more like fanservice but maybe that's just me.
Pretty much this. More so than often, it's not really uncommon to see K-idols (or basically any K-celebrity for that matter) saying rather....very, very optimistic words in front of the camera. It's all part of that glissy-glossy manufactured image that's a widespread if not even nationwide thing there.
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So are there any news on what's going to happen to KKS? Maybe he'll be promoted to CEO of Mnet:/
Quick Google search should tell you that he's the CEO of CJ E&M/Mnet Media - but that's been on for quite some time (one could say the position of CEO in CCM was given to Mr. Byun so KKS can decide to focus more on the bigger parent of the company). The only folks who would be higher than him would be the big fellas in CJ Group itself, as E&M is one of their subsidiaries.
Although KKS overworked them and made quite many bad decisions, I think we shouldn't forget that under his influence the girls made it to where they are today. No doubt they are really hardworking but he deserves some credit. Overall I would say that he's very extreme a CEO.
Hopefully the new CEO would treat them well and lead them well
What you say probably could have been agreed upon had this been discussed in T-ara's more earlier years, when things were going relatively good and steady for them - but from mid-2011 and onwards, the cons of his management began to far outweigh the pros. Other bigger and popular groups with larger fandoms such as Big Bang and 2NE1 sure did not promote as heavily (nor on same intensity on similar time lengths) as T-ara did, but are still way above and their members are all well-known on a decent level (while in T-ara's case, it was an extreme case of playing favorites). Even SNSD had it better (after all, they did get short breaks/vacations every now and then even early on in their careers).
Sure, KKS's management did bring T-ara up to arguably the third biggest group in Korea, but the way it was done was simply put, far too costly on the girls themselves compared to what other groups of similar or bigger popularity had - and played one of biggest contributing factor to that scandal. And that is precisely why he, regardless of what good he did for them initially, should not be given credit regarding their overall career.
For T-ara's early successes yes, but overall, no.
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Boram's mother was never really in retirement, if you consider how many dramas she's been in for the past 20+ years.
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This could be good or bad, for all his failings you can sense that KKS really cares about T-ara. Just imagine any other CEO will bring a group back just a month after a controversy instead of benching them for a year or so.. the problem is I think he cared too much and couldn't leave a good thing alone as he constantly tweaked & tinkered every little thing about T-ara (Don't know if he still does it, but he used to check how the girls look through mobile phone cam every time before they go on stage remember?). In the recent interviews the members said KKS was really hit hard by the scandal and felt really guilty towards T-ara (didn't they said he even cried while reading the nasty comments?)... Did anyone noticed that he also visited the Christmas charity event to look on the girls?
If he really cared about T-ara this whole time then...
1. He wouldn't have worked them like slaves for nearly 3 years non-stop, without a single vacation until March 2012 (which what, only lasted a week?) - Soyeon herself stated this long ago.
2. Didn't have members performing despite injuries and advice from doctors that said the exact opposite.
3. Wouldn't have openly threatened the whole group in public right in front of the papers and pitted them in a Battle Royale-esque work environment that even makes other idol groups look like they're having a walk in the park.
4. Wouldn't have sent his own goons to the news outlet Sports Seoul and basically threatened them - and that triggered the latter to make articles that ran down on N4 as a result. In Korea, that sort of behavior is something only mobsters do today.
For all his failures, he deserved to be removed from the company and it's only merely rightful that karma bit him back in the ass that he's butthurt and cries a river over negative comments. And even this is strongly doubtful, since there have been many times KKS had been embroiled in a controversy related to his own actions and his groups i.e. SeeYa, SG Wannabe and so forth - plus what T-ara also says to the press at times has to be taken with a grain of salt. For a guy who's been around in the industry for over 30 years, you'd think he'd be a lot more tougher and colder in the inside.
Just because he visited them in the charity or made them a well-known group does not mean he should be excused for his horrendous actions or be looked with sympathy, nor does it even mean he cares for the girls in a personal sense. Like any K-pop CEO out there, all he cares about his profit and self-image in front of other big players no matter how unethical he has to get to achieve it. There's no disputing it, if you look at T-ara's record of almost nonstop promotions in the past and the tendency to release repackages numerous repackages rather than taking a bit of a break and focusing on studio albums.
Try imagining being in T-ara's shoes for a moment. Would you want a boss like him for years?
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Here's a photo of the guy, if you're interested. I tried searching for his profile on Naver, though no such luck. Came up with a blank, save for a Goryeo University professor who has the same name. Looks like a chubbier version of that old nut.
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I'd be curious as to where that list actually came from.
I tried Google searching, but haven't found anything in Forbes itself, nor is there any mention of it in their Twitter page.
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Thanks for the further clarification, heraldc. My guess is that to e_k, English isn't his/her first language, so probably got the word mixed up. So yea, passion and determination, it is then lol. Controlled and healthy passion and determination, to be specific.
The word 'hardcore' in the K-pop world has...well, a pretty negative ring around it, for obvious reasons XD (longtime regulars here would definitely know about this).
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hardcore mean will be 24/7 on T-ara youtube video..will do anything for T-ara good.. will vote T-ara 24/7 for make them #1...will buy T-ara album...also will defend T-ara from hater in good way....never leave T-ara.....the most important, we enjoy all T-ara song...from first debut until current song do you know me..
You might want to 'loosen up' what defines a 'hardcore' fan then. Here in the forums, we had someone who could be considered a 'hardcore' fan but being so biased is exactly what made him one of the more notorious/infamous folks.
Honestly, I don't think the term 'hardcore' really should even apply when it comes to categorizing fans, unless it's something bizarrely extreme. Everyone here's a fan - it shouldn't matter whether you spend 24/7 on watching them in YT, buy their albums, vote for them on meaningless programs, defend them vigorously from haters, enjoy all their songs etc. It simply means you have more spare time on enjoying what you find about them, nothing more.
So long as you're a member and have a general liking towards the group overall, I think that's more than enough.
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Hope you don't mind me asking, but what is your definition of a 'hardcore' fan?
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Personally I don't think J-rock did a very well job of handling T-ara in Japan so I'm kind of happy they are gone. Did they even do any real promotion at all for Number 9 JPN or even Target ~anyone seen a live performance of those? When was the last time T-ara got into a major Japanese music show or even be on TV besides small time cable and morning news clips? <For a group that has done Budokan and always get top ten in Oricon except one time (more on that later) it is unforgivable that T-ara never performed in Music Station...> Why do T-ara always launch songs when the top local girl bands are also launching theirs? Who launches a CD single (lovey dovey Jpn) just two weeks before the launch of an album (Jewelry Box --> Lovey Dovey is in it)? Why come out with a pirate concept but don't promote with it? etc. etc.
Of course you might say that the bone head moves were made by CCM (read KKS) but J-rock was the local expert of the market and should've known better. Some might also say that T-ara not showing that much on Japanese TV is because the scandal & that T-ara is not that popular any more... are you kidding me? T-ara gets top ten in Oricon for every single title song they have (even with lackluster promotions) except Number 9.. but even that song managed to get #13 without any promotion & with the Korean comeback ending just days before & still fresh on J-Queens minds (The Japanese do get youtube and can buy Korean albums in Japan also you know CCM). And you can even count with your fingers the number of Japanese girl bands that get to play in the hallowed Budokan Hall.. T-ara did two-day concerts there twice, this year alone (that's four times in my book) not to mention having a multi-city concert tour.
Doubt that J-ROCK is to be the only one to be blamed for this just entirely. It's not like they have a massive pull on the showbiz on Japan like KKS does in Korea and you can't deny possibilities of other parties also rejecting T-ara's appearances in TV for whatever reason they have.
Overall K-pop popularity in Japan has been on a decline this year, and T-ara is just one of them. Just because they had songs that were high up in the charts and did some concerts here and there followed by a tour does not mean that everything is going to be necessarily fine and dandy for them, especially since the group only caters to a niche audience, much like the rest of K-pop does anywhere else.
Likewise, their sales in Japan this year, especially Target and Treasure Box have been pretty abysmal compared to the past - the same exact trend that has been going on with KARA and SNSD, both who have a significantly larger fanbase in Japan.
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Lol, CCM's Japanese office will continue to manage them? Well, that sounds like a pretty bleak future there.
That being said, I really doubt that shutting down of the fanclub inevitably means their activities in Japan will indefinitely stop. Still, it wouldn't be surprising for activities in Japan to come to a lower tempo however. The Hallyu Wave is meeting its grinding halt there - and is probably also a concerning matter, as the biggest portion of overseas income for the K-entertainment industry happens to be from Japan.
Which would probably explain the sudden rush into China nowadays and CCM is merely following the trend.
I disagree. T-ara is third most popular Korean girl group in Japan. They're still profitable in Japan, unlike many other Korean artists who debuted there. But I wouldn't be surprised if J-Rock decided not to renew the contract (which was a record-breaking 4.3 million when they signed it) due to Hallyu wave dying and T-ara's scandal. When T-ara signed with J-rock they were on the path to becoming the second biggest girl group in Korea (and Asia) after Girls' Generation, but after the scandal they were knocked down to mid-tier.
Still, I think they are profitable in Japan and any agency would be lucky to have them over there. Especially now that their Korean popularity is rising again, and Hyomin was able to headline her own Japanese movie.
Just because they're the third most popular Korean girl group in the country doesn't mean it's going to keep them afloat well in the long term. In fact, it's also hit KARA and SNSD as well, both who are much bigger than T-ara is by popularity.
http://www.soompi.com/2012/09/06/k-pop-popularity-in-japan-declining/#.Up7wj8RdW30
That being said, the scandal from last year and declination of Kpop aren't likely the only factors. Furthermore, T-ara becoming the second largest group after SNSD - that was never going to happen. The moment KKS started mouthing off some of the most controversial things to the press regarding the group by calling them lazy, threatening them and putting unnecessary members and the massively increasing amount of work i.e. nonstop promotions since the second half of 2011 right up to the day of the scandal, it was pretty obvious that the group was heading to a celebrity-crash-and-burn scenario.
In fact, one may say it was inevitable.
[14.03.10] T-ara Jiyeon-Hyomin to reveal distinct personalities in solo activities in April
in News
Posted
*Rolls eyes*
As solo singers? My god, that is just stretching it far.
None of those two are even capable as branching out as solo singers. Not even Soyeon has the chops to branch out successfully as a solo. Their lives aren't exactly what you can consider 'solo' capability, especially compared to actual solo singers out there, or even idol vocalists like Taeyeon and Hyorin >__>.