What We Thought Had Happened
Remember when you read about how Kim Jong Kook did not make any money out of “One Man?” Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either when I first read the news. There were even several quotes of him saying that “music was becoming digitalized,” that he “didn’t know,” that “companies didn’t say anything,” and that he “didn’t sign any contracts.” And of course, the quote that dumbfounded us all: “I didn’t even make 10 won from ‘One Man.'” BUT HOLD ON.
These quotes were taken from a live stream of “The Big Picture,” Ha Ha and Kim Jong Kook’s variety show on V Live and Naver. In that episode, the beloved R M Bros were seen acting like young children sleeping with stuffed animals. As the episode progressed, the two started talking to fans, hosting quizzes, eating, and talking about lots of stuff.
Well thanks, Jang Mi, but what does this have to do with JK making any money??
What Actually Happened
Well, you see, I believe everyone might have missed one major point that JK made clear. If you were to go about 57 minutes into the episode, you would realize that our One Man really did make some money from his iconic ballad; it’s just that he didn’t make any money from DIGITAL sources!! Here’s some more of his quotes to prove it:
“There’s a main article on Naver about this live broadcast, It says Jongkook earned 0 won with ‘One Man’.”
“But it meant that I earned 0 from digital source. ‘One Man’ gave me some fortune.”
“I didn’t sign a contract for digital source. It meant I didn’t earn a penny from digital source.”
“‘One Man’ gave me a fortune. With this song ‘One Man,’ I earned a lot. But I had nothing from digital source.”
“Of course, a lot of profits were generated from digital source. Back then, digital source was the biggest source of income. Anyways, I sang that song at many events. And did many stuffs. This song ‘One Man’ brought a lot of things to me. That song made who I am now.”
“I can’t estimate how valuable the song was to me.”
In Conclusion
Well there you have it, folks! I guess JK didn’t get paid THAT much, but he really did make some money out of “One Man!” 😀 But do you guys know what Kim Jong Kook (and Ha Ha) is NOT getting paid for (I think)?
JK: “It’s a program that we produce together.”
Ha Ha: “Yes, but we don’t get a single penny.”
JK: “We’ve been preparing for this since April. We’ve been having meetings and shooting this program every week, but we didn’t get paid.”
What do you guys think? Until next time, runners! 😀
– Jang Mi
Sources: Big Picture V Live, Soompi
