Edit: After reading some comments, I definitely acknowledge the pros of a job like this, just like any job has its pros and cons. I guess this particular role fascinates me because it’s so different from my current or previous job, which is a typical desk-based corporate role. This post isn’t a critique, just curiosity. If anyone has any insider insight, I’d love for you to share.
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I was watching one of those airport videos of NMIXX and noticed how much their manager was carrying. She had about six different bags and suitcases all by herself. The members even tried to help, but she told them to go ahead (probably for safety reasons).
It got me thinking about what it must really be like to be a K-pop group manager. We see so much of K-pop idols, but do we ever stop to think about how much goes into simply getting them from point A to point B? Or how many people are working behind the scenes just to make one performance happen, let alone an international tour?
I wonder how much they get paid. A lot of managers live with K-pop idols in their dorms and spend more time with them than with their own families. How do you even land a job like that? And why are people willing to sacrifice almost any sense of work life balance to do it?
It reminds me a bit of roles like investment banking, where the salary can be high but the hours are intense, or nursing, where the hours are just as demanding but the pay does not always reflect it. If K-pop idols are working crazy schedules, their managers are probably working even longer.
And if anything goes wrong, I imagine the managers are the ones answering to the executives. At the same time, I have noticed some groups, like TWS, seem to have really strong bonds with their managers, so there must be rewarding parts too.
But still, after watching the show The Manager (link), it honestly looks like the job is everything at once. Babysitter, Uber driver, project manager, first aid responder when someone twists an ankle during practice, and even a therapist.
It is kind of wild. I can only imagine what the job interview is like…
“So, how much can you carry while dodging paparazzi and fansites?” 😭