Eric let go of a hefty offer to stay with Shinhwa

[yunho.livejournal.com]

Shinhwa‘s leader Eric recently featured on the March 20th episode of KBS‘s ‘Win Win‘ and revealed his undying loyalty for his group.

Fellow member Kim Dong Wan was asked, “Was there really not one moment where Shinhwa was on the brink of disbandment?” to which he replied, “Idol groups are often put at such risks when they switch contracts and move labels.”

Andy continued, “All of the members came together and revealed the contract offers they had received and discussed the matter with one another. In the end, we followed Eric’s decision to contract with other agencies.”


Kim Dong Wan mentioned that Eric’s worth was skyrocketing at the time due to his popularity in the MBC drama, ‘Phoenix‘. “At the time, Eric received an offer of such a great amount that it would’ve been impossible for anyone else to reject. Instead, he had said, ‘Even though I received such an offer, I believe that we can move to another company together where we all receive the same treatment.'”

Eric explained, “First of all, I thought about signing on with SM Entertainment again because it was important to me that the six members did not split up. In the bigger picture, staying with SM would’ve been the right decision, but considering the members’ situations and their profits, I decided that it would be better for us to be adventurous.”

He continued, “I did not become a member of Shinhwa to become an actor, nor did the other members become a member of Shinhwa to later pursue solo activities. Without Shinhwa, I lose a lot of my confidence.”

Cred: akp
Source + Photos: TV Daily

Comments

[ayamefan13.livejournal.com]

Eric was my first kpop crush in middle school years ago. <3

I really like this quote:

“I did not become a member of Shinhwa to become an actor, nor did the other members become a member of Shinhwa to later pursue solo activities. Without Shinhwa, I lose a lot of my confidence.”

It just really stands out to me.

[shintotchi.livejournal.com]

iawtc

It's rare to find a singer who solely is attached to singing. It's nice.

[michurusan.livejournal.com]

its also rare to see a bad singer who is sole attached to singing. JK. I love Eric :D he can rap but... lololol.

[jongina.livejournal.com]

Shinhwa, hwaiting! \:D/

[huifenang.livejournal.com]

still can't believe they are coming back <3
once in a lifetime all over again~~~~

[phililen3.livejournal.com]

AAAAH that song.....

[my-faux-pas.livejournal.com]

“I did not become a member of Shinhwa to become an actor, nor did the other members become a member of Shinhwa to later pursue solo activities. Without Shinhwa, I lose a lot of my confidence.”

Perfect leader <3

[adropofcitrus.livejournal.com]

He summed it up perfectly in the last line. He is so great ;~;

[weerainbow.livejournal.com]

It actually brings tears to my eyes to read this. It shows the true dedication they have towards each other above all else ♥

[xxmannequin.livejournal.com]

“I did not become a member of Shinhwa to become an actor, nor did the other members become a member of Shinhwa to later pursue solo activities. Without Shinhwa, I lose a lot of my confidence.”
It's really sad to see that all these idol groups that are put together, they seem to have a bond, but if you think about it better, under the surface it's all forced and just a show..
It hasn't been long since I got into Shinhwa, but they really do stand out for me with their personalities. Eric ♥

[icedevil0289.livejournal.com]

yeah I mean I'm sure some groups genuinely like each other, but you have to wonder at times if they genuinely want to be together, or it's just they are obligated to. I worry for my favorite groups at times.

I genuinely love how you can tell how much the shinhwa members want to be together, it's not like they are under any contract. it's sweet

[stesabsea.livejournal.com]

Did SM offer contract renewals to each member? Why didn't they just stay then, esp if it was the right decision? IDG how being adventurous was better for them if staying with SM would have been the right direction. Their dedication to each other is pretty amazing though and I think that is quite rare in kpop.

[carmendove.livejournal.com]

No, not all the members got renewal offers.
And the ones that did were given different deals depending on how much SM thought they were "worth".

Eric didn't like that and wanted them to move to a company where they would be treated equally and like a group.

[stesabsea.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your answer. That seems like a sad situation to be in. I'm glad they all stuck together. Still confused about Eric's "SM would have been the right decision" quote though. Does he mean for himself alone, or for all of Shinhwa? It seems like they're better off having not stuck with SM, if it meant staying together.

[carmendove.livejournal.com]

I think he means "right decision" in the sense that it would have made sense to just stay at the company they were already established with. That where the "adventurous" part comes in, since breaking away (especially from a company as big as SM) was something no one else had ever done before.

[inheritable.livejournal.com]

That doesn't quite make sense considering he said "I thought about signing on with SM Entertainment again because it was important to me that the six members did not split up" but I wouldn't really know too much about this.

[carmendove.livejournal.com]

There's a part of the story that's missing in the article. They originally thought they all got offers but Dongwan revealed later that he didn't get anything. So the group's orginal thought was to just stay at SM despite the different offers but then once they realized they didn't all get one, Eric made the suggestion to leave together.

[inheritable.livejournal.com]

Did they talk about it on the show? I'd have to see it then.

[carmendove.livejournal.com]

I can't remember if they talked about it on Win Win or Radio Star but I read a translation somewhere about how the members were all shocked once Dongwan revealed he didn't get an offer at all.

[caribgirl98.livejournal.com]

So..in other words. When their contract was up for renewal with SME....they got together and realized that they all weren't being treated the same, and had different offers, terms. With Eric being the one SME seemed to value the most (shades of H.O.T). I heard one of them didn't even get a renewal offer from SME at all (Dongwan). So they decided that rather than stay there and get different treatment and causing problems within the group...they would leave together and try and make it on their own.

This is why people look up to them as a group. They gave up a lot to stay together. ...especially Eric. He had to pay money to SME in order for them to be able to use the Shinhwa name, since SME claimed they owned it. So they had like no money when they left.

People always seem to think SME and the problems people had with it, started with JYJ. It didn't. One of the reasons why SME made their contracts longer with the second generation was that most of their first generation groups left after their 5-6 year contracts. Fly to the Sky. Shinhwa...we all know about H.O.T. They made sure the next set was tied to them longer.

[inheritable.livejournal.com]

"I thought about signing on with SM Entertainment again because it was important to me that the six members did not split up"

Means they all got offers. Some probably just got really lame ones.

[carmendove.livejournal.com]

They originally thought that but Dongwan revealed later he didn't get an offer at all. And the differences in their renewal terms was pretty big.

[aurora2687.livejournal.com]

I guess it might have caused issues in the long run if other members became more popular as well, but would be stuck with the original terms of the contract with no room for renegotiation.

[erbalurbal.livejournal.com]

it doesn't sound like they had any real problems with SM until their contracts were over. SM probably felt like Shinhwa's time was up and they didn't want to be responsible for the ones that weren't going to bring in profit. It's just business.

[caribgirl98.livejournal.com]

SME should have re-considered...because look at them...they are on their 10th album half of wich was done after they left...., and is one of the most successful groups to date. Legends in Korea. Sometimes companies are too quick to give up on group and chuck them to the side for the next big things.

[erbalurbal.livejournal.com]

IA they made a stupid decision because it sounds like they were willing to re-sign with them. I can also see why companies would be hesitant to re-sign the whole group because most groups don't last that long.

[kiwilovekiwi.livejournal.com]

I sound like a broken record but flawless leader indeed! <3

[jia-zhang.livejournal.com]

This is why Eric-oppa will always be the best and why Shinhwa has outlasted all the other groups. They don't think about just themselves. It's one for all and all for one. Eric knows the other members would have had to leave or wouldn't be as happy, and so he became the bigger person. Wish a certain leader of another certain SM group had the balls to do something like this. Just saying.

[xiahjunsubias.livejournal.com]

Aw, let's not cast stones at you know who. hehe. The past is the past.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

I think Eric is the reason what make ShinHwa the group they are now. He just let go lot of things for them to stay together. What a true leader!

I think I need to watch Phoenix again. Loved that drama and Lee Seo Jin was great in it! Plus, I wanted to watch Erics's corny lines that makes me giggle like crazy. XD;;;;

[cloverleaves.livejournal.com]

Shinhwa truly is the legend in kpop, other than Eric being a great leader, the other members must all had the same sentiment to be together as a group...