Peninsula: You've been chosen here for producing girl groups.

Chapter 125 Is the Cultural Institute trying to freeload? No, it's sending a helping hand.

"That's 1 million!"

Kang Min-kyung was tired of saying things like "I envy her."

"Let alone a performance worth 100 million, we don't even have a performance worth 10 million."

Both of them are newcomers who debuted in the first half of this year, but they debuted a month earlier than Han Shuo, yet their popularity among the public is worlds apart.

Han Shuo earned 1 million yuan in just one performance at the school anniversary celebration.

They barely perform in any commercial shows, let alone school anniversary performances.

"Everything will be alright."

Han Shuo casually comforted him, "Your group has only been active for a short time. As the company continues to put in the effort, your popularity will gradually catch up."

Is it really possible?

There will be a fart.

Davichi, a purely vocal group that focuses on lyrical expression, has both obvious strengths and weaknesses.

The advantage is that the songs are very popular and the audio performance is strong every time a song is released.

The downside is that the live performances of the songs aren't exciting enough, and the prices quoted for the school anniversary celebrations have always been rather low.

Kang Min-kyung, clearly aware of her own limitations, asked, "What do you mean, 'catching up'?"

She said she would never dare to be so bold and arrogant: "With your level of success with just one album, I don't believe anyone can catch up with you."

It's true that I admire them.

She knew very well that Han Shuo was a huge bug.

No one can replicate his success.

This has never happened before, and it is unlikely to happen again in the future.

The invitation to sing ten songs for 100 million.

At first glance, it seems quite reasonable.

But upon closer examination, one can see that something is amiss.

This isn't Han Shuo's concert; it's a school anniversary performance.

The anniversary performance is an annual grand event for students of various universities, and the list of invited artists and the songs performed are subject to scrutiny by the entire student body.

What does it mean that Han Seok was able to dominate the entire stage at Busan University with nine songs from his debut album plus "If You Love Me"?

This shows that the popularity and quality of these ten songs are highly recognized by the faculty and students of Busan University.

They released a total of ten songs, including a 25-second dance video, and all of them were well-received by the market.

Calling it a "monster" wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Kang Min-kyung's words sounded a bit exaggerated, but everyone present agreed with them.

There's absolutely no way a newcomer could catch up with Han Shuo.

As for the general trend in the music industry.

We also have to worry about whether we'll become Han Shuo's stepping stone.

Haven't you noticed that almost all the singers who came back this time and were challenged by Han Seok were completely overshadowed?

I believe everyone is very unwilling to accept this.

It's one thing if the nine songs released through traditional channels become hits.

Why did "If You Love Me," a collaboration with their trainees intended to promote them, become such a hit and get covered by a huge number of netizens?

Is this a joke?

Speaking of this, Kang Min-kyung is really envious of Kang Han-na.

It's a blessing to meet a charitable owner like Han Shuo.

They not only help them get endorsement deals, but also pave the way for their acting careers.

A hit song with the potential to become a lead single was released without warning, and Kang Han-na herself called on her friends and family to actively promote it, creating a minor hit song out of thin air.

From Kim Yoon-ji and Lee Qri to Kang Han-na, Han Seok's ability to mentor female players is undeniable.

Jiang Minjing has already discussed with her manager and asked the company to arrange a song for Han Shuo.

"Are your stage outfits for today military-style?"

"It's a combination of workwear and military uniform."

The stage outfits for "Fiction" lean towards a uniform style.

The outfits for the four shows last week were school uniform, work clothes, school uniform, and suit.

This week's stage outfit on Music Bank was inspired by Girls' Generation's outfit for "Catch Me If You Can," and was predominantly military green.

She is well-mannered and has a capable demeanor, both cool and stylish.

The nine backup dancers, still dressed in uniform costumes, each had their own small accessories, making them look like exquisite Barbie dolls.

It attracted many photos with the staff of Music Bank.

As their music show promotions progressed, the nine members gradually gained wider recognition.

Even when Busan University invited him to participate in the university's anniversary celebration, they emphasized that they hoped the backup dancers would still be the same nine-person backup dancer group, rather than a dedicated backup dancer team.

When Han Seok came to participate in the broadcast in the afternoon, he was greeted by Girls' Generation.

The popularity of "If You Love Me" has also drawn attention to Bilibili from industry insiders.

In particular, it has subtly opened up a new channel for exposure outside of TV music shows and variety programs, giving many management companies new ideas.

Bilibili's Korean-themed feature refers to the official website of Fanxing Entertainment, which is a video platform.

However, with the increasing number of artists, management companies, and fan site administrators joining the site, it has become a video-based KP (Key Opinion Platform).

op community.

It has gathered over 100,000 highly active fan groups.

Even JYP Entertainment, a well-established company, called to inquire about Bilibili's onboarding requirements.

Girls' Generation is also Bilibili's spokesperson, and will follow Bilibili's requirements to hold fan meetings in China and South Korea, which will undoubtedly bring them a surge in traffic.

Both emotionally and rationally, they should thank Han Shuo.

Led by leader Kim Tae-yeon, the eight members bowed their heads in unison, like chicks pecking at rice, to express their gratitude: "Thank you for giving us this opportunity to work together. We will definitely do our best to perform well and not let you down."

"Cooperation and win-win"

During this time, Jessica Jung invited him to her birthday party that evening.

A couple of days ago, Krystal Jung mentioned to him that her sister Jessica Jung was having a birthday party and asked if he wanted to go. He said he would think about it.

Actually, she didn't really want to attend this kind of gathering with people who weren't her own, and planned to just ask Krystal Jung to deliver the gift.

However, I didn't expect Jessica Jung to extend the invitation again in person.

Who are they?

"A few members, plus a few friends."

Seemingly concerned that Han Seok might not want to attend a gathering with too many strangers, Jessica Jung added, "They're all pretty girls~"

"Who do you take me for?"

Han Shuo hesitated for a moment, feigning hesitation: "Where are we going to have the birthday party this time? It's not going to be at your dorm, is it? I don't want to be on the front page tomorrow."

"What are you thinking about?"

Jessica Jung is not without sense of propriety.

She would never do something like inviting a male celebrity to her dorm.

"Come to my place!"

Han Shuo asked with amusement, "Isn't your family in the United States?"

Krystal Jung shrugged: "My parents bought an apartment for me and Krystal near the company so that we would have our own place to go on holidays."

Wow~

Han Shuo exaggeratedly looked Jessica Jung up and down: "Wow, you're rich. I don't even own my own property yet."

"Pshaw, you're definitely aiming for the ultimate luxury mansion, how can you compare them?"

Jessica Jung rolled her eyes.

Han Shuo officially announced two more endorsements this week, bringing his total to six endorsements, a bunch of invitations to school anniversary celebrations, plus nearly 90,000 album sales and hot music sales.

Among singers in the first half of the year, Han Shuo stands out in a class of his own when it comes to income solely from his music career.

If he complained about being poor, there would be no rich people.

"Are you going or not?"

Jessica Jung has her own little pride.

She personally invited Han Shuo, and if Han Shuo still hesitated, she wouldn't be so shameless as to force him to come.

"It was agreed beforehand that you don't have to come in person, but you can't not send your gift."

They were chatting.

There was a knock on the door of the waiting room, and a junior Bilibili administrator quickly came over.

"Director, there's something I need your help with."

"Um?

Han Shuo gestured to Zheng Xiuyan that they would talk later, and then quickly walked out with his subordinates.

Bilibili came to KBS this time to discuss with KBS the purchase of the copyright to the weekend drama "You Are My Destiny".

With the previous nine dramas sold for the same price, he couldn't understand what else might require his intervention.

"What's the problem?"

The reality was beyond his expectations.

The acquisition of the TV series "You Are My Destiny" went smoothly.

Bilibili (Bilibili.com) acquired the exclusive rights to the TV series and its corresponding OST in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong for RMB 144 million (approximately 1.946 million).

Both parties agreed that the copyright acquisition funds would be paid in full before May 1st.

The real problem, or rather, the reason he needed to step in, was that this collaboration with KBS television station attracted the attention of the Korea Cultural Center.

Several senior staff members from the Cultural Institute observed the negotiation details throughout and also learned about Bilibili's operations.

Then I said I wanted to chat with him for a bit.

"Are people from the Cultural Center looking for me?"

The Cultural Center is the relevant department responsible for promoting Korean culture.

Over the years, they have opened numerous offices in various overseas countries in an attempt to attract local people and promote the culture of the "Kimchi Nation".

Why would officials from such an organization want to meet with him for no reason?

Could it be that you want to————

Han Shuo's mind was immediately filled with some of the important overseas initiatives of the Korea Cultural Institute.

For example, promoting Korean dramas.

In the early years, in order to promote Korean dramas in Central Asia, the Cultural Center took the lead in purchasing the overseas copyrights of a batch of Korean dramas and licensing them to television stations in the relevant regions for free.

In the future timeline.

The Cultural Institute has also established a strategic partnership with PPTV, a leading domestic video platform that focuses on client-side services.

It helped PPTV secure the rights to all dramas and variety shows from three major local TV stations for the next three years, building the largest Korean Wave content platform in China.

Could it be that Bilibili's recent copyright acquisitions caught the other party's eye?

The answer was quickly revealed.

He actually guessed it right.

An official from the Cultural Affairs Bureau said that he had heard about Bilibili's efforts to build a platform for Korean Wave content in China and hoped that Bilibili would continue its efforts in promoting Korean Wave content in China.

A question mark slowly appeared above Han Shuo's head.

Don't mess with this.

Are they trying to make him a sucker?

He explained, "You may have misunderstood. Bilibili is not a dedicated platform for K-pop content, but rather a video platform that focuses on music and anime content services."

"It's just that K-pop content is currently the platform's main content, giving it a certain first-mover advantage."

"But starting next month, we will gradually enrich the music categories and introduce Chinese music, Western music and other music content one after another."

"Secondly, the development of the content system related to animation, the second largest business area, may be a little slow, but it is already progressing step by step."

"We fully understand Bilibili's positioning."

The official from the Cultural Institute smiled and produced several documents: "Director Han, why don't you take a look at our offer of sincerity first?"

"We've heard that you applied for a loan at the bank."

Han Shuo's thoughts raced.

Is this to offer him preferential policies?

He nodded: "I borrowed one billion from Hana Bank for the development of my company."

"With your outstanding musical achievements and the impressive performance of your several companies, you could easily take out a larger loan, say another 10 billion."

The official explained the preferential loan policies in detail.

It is said that the Cultural Institute will work with relevant commercial banks to provide him with a low-interest loan of no less than one billion yuan, with a maximum one-time loan of 15 billion yuan.

Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch; there are certain requirements and restrictions on how loans can be used.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau requires that at least 3% of the loan be used for the purchase of Korean Wave video content and related reasonable expenditures.

The requirements aren't high.

Gaining such a high level of liquid cash is a boon for both him and Bilibili.

"The second is tax reduction."

"We will collaborate with multiple departments to evaluate Bilibili's related commercial activities in South Korea, and under the guise of rewarding the dissemination of Korean Wave content, we will [take action against Bilibili]."

The station will implement significant tax exemptions and reductions.

Currently, Bilibili is a purely input-based platform, so the so-called tax exemption and tax reduction policies are not very meaningful.

However, once Bilibili tries to produce its own content, especially Korean dramas, the tax benefits it can obtain are considerable.

"In addition, we will also provide support to your companies, such as Fanxing Entertainment, and provide certain support resources and policy incentives."

The various support and preferential policies offered by the Cultural Institute are very attractive.

The other party's request was very simple.

Previously, Bilibili had agreed with the three major terrestrial TV stations to gradually increase its procurement targets over the next three years.

The Cultural Center hopes that Bilibili can accelerate its procurement efficiency and the expected self-bid figures, and strive to achieve this goal quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively within two years.

Overall, it's a bit like a sugar-coated bullet.

While seemingly offering numerous incentives in an attempt to support Bilibili's development, the real intention is simply to get Bilibili to foot the bill for the spread of K-pop content in China.

Let PPTV be the sucker.

After all, PPTV was funded by SoftBank's investment, while Bilibili was burning through its own money.

No strategic partnerships are needed; just a purely business relationship will suffice.

In short, he could appropriately accelerate the acquisition process and increase the target number of dramas and variety shows to be acquired.

However, the Cultural Affairs Bureau has no intention of making him accept everything and pay for Korean Wave content.

"Our website has only been fully launched for less than a month. At present, the content of the website is still relatively monotonous and needs time to be optimized."

"In addition, the acquired Korean dramas and variety shows still need further digestion, and the operational strategies need to be constantly adjusted, all of which take time."

"However, if you have sufficient funds on hand—"

Under the expectant gazes of several officials from the Cultural Center, Han Shuo changed the subject: "We expect to start the second round of acquiring the copyrights for Korean dramas and variety shows as early as the second half of the year."

This additional loan of over a billion yuan will only benefit him, with no drawbacks.

"If I keep these cash on hand until the second half of the year, whether it's to cope with an economic crisis or to seize opportunities arising from currency depreciation, having an extra billion dollars in cash would be a great thing."