Here it is—the Palace, the Mecca, the Factory! Ever wonder what it’s like to be at the YG Entertainment (YGE) headquarters? Here’s the answer. Home to all of your favorite YG artists, the headquarters of YGE definitely has its own unique feel and vibe. Proudly dubbed as “the dream agency for any artist in the world,” YGE claims its HQ has the best facility designed to perfectly suit the needs of any aspiring musician. Not a lot of people get access to this sacred place, but Soompi, being the largest English community on Asian entertainment, got an exclusive look into the most successful rap label in K-Pop history—and we’re here to share these hot photos with all you Sooompiers! Hope you enjoy!!
So this is what the building looks like. YGE moved into this new building less than a year ago in Feb. 2010. This six story-building has over ten recording studios and dance studios where all the YG stars like Big Bang, 2NE1, and Se7en get trained and groomed for every performance, album, concert, and etc. YG currently has about 20 trainees from multiple countries, aged between their early teens to early 20s.
6th FL: CEO’s Office/ Marketing and Accounting Departments
This is where the business gets done. YGE’s CEO Yang Hyun Suk has his own office here right next to the marketing and accounting departments. The hallway looks quite impressive with a whole wall dedicated to all the YG artists. Everything is so clean and neat and the people are really nice you can easily sense their professionalism. Our meeting took place at one of the conference rooms which was also really nice.
5th FL: GYM/ Actors mgt
Due to restrictions, we couldn’t take much photos on this floor. This picture of the gym is the only shot we got on the 5th floor, but basically this is where the YG artists get their workouts done. A management office of all the YG artists is also located here, so pretty much all the planning and strategizing happens on this floor.
4th FL: Manager’s office/ Media Center
Again, due to restrictions, no photos on this floor. The manager’s office and media center are on this floor. These managers are the ones who travel with the artists 24/7, so a lot of scheduling takes place here. The media center is where the video editing takes place (M/V or DVDs, etc.) so I was really looking forward to seeing all the high-tech stuff, but we weren’t granted any access to the area. Boo!
No luck this time..maybe we’ll have better photos next time…down to the third floor.
2nd and 3rd FL: Recording Studio
This is the heart and soul of YGE. Two of their largest studios are located on this floor as well as a lounge where the artists can just rest and play around. Due to privacy issues, we only took limited number of photos here. But all the facilities, machines, and items were truly high-tech, top-notch products. It gave me goose bumps just seeing the recording studio—my favorite 2NE1 girls probably spent hours in that room!
In the lounge area, there’s a pocket ball table and a large flat screen with a PS3 (obviously), and a giant couch in the corner.
The wall was really cool with glowing LED titles of YG’s greatest hits. The overall color of the area was black which created a chic, trendy feel. They even had a Segway parked in the corner, which I believe are the ones used in their MVs and the concerts. The interior and most of the items are hand-picked by CEO Yang himself—and I could tell he has very good taste!
B1 FL: Dance Studios and Cafeteria
YG prides itself in providing quality food and great amenities to their artists. We were able to actually try their food and honestly it was way better than I thought! The food was very good, and what’s better, the menu changes every day! YG values loyalty and that’s what led the main chef to work here; she’s worked with CEO Yang from his early career and he personally asked her to stay with him because he loved her food so much! The cafeteria was very clean and sanitary, and there were so much food and drinks available I could just spend the whole day here. This is also where the “Secret Big Bang (parody of Secret Garden)” video was filmed. Right next to the cafeteria, there are two giant dancing studios, where I remember seeing in one of the YG YouTube clips. We did get some photos of the dancing studio, but there were so many trainees honing their dancing skills all day, we couldn’t take better shots. But I could totally see why so many people call this part of the building the “Factory.”
During our tour, the YG representative kept stressing their studio is specifically designed to provide the best possible work environment to all of its artists—and I could hardly argue with him. Everything from the studio, recording devices, food and drinks, tech gadgets, and even the smallest interior item were just off the chart and I couldn’t imagine any artist complaining about poor working conditions at this place. But that probably explains why we never really hear any contract disputes or controversies from YG artists. YGE is definitely a class organization and I hope to see them continue pumping out more quality artists and lead the K-Pop boom across the world.
Share Tweet
0 COMMENTS:
Post a Comment
for BigBangWORLD