Before there was BTS, Bang Si-Hyuk was known as “Hitman” Bang, an award-winning songwriter, composer and producer who created hit songs for many popular K-pop idols. After working for one of Korea’s big entertainment companies, he branched out to create his own label, Big Hit Entertainment, in 2005. While that shingle saw some success and flirted with bankruptcy in 2007, Bang’s discovery of BTS turned the company around. Due to their global success, Big Hit Entertainment rebranded as HYBE Corp., an entertainment and lifestyle platform focused on going beyond music and into the new digital age, with Bang as chairman of the company.
“Chairman Bang is a visionary continuously redefining not only the K-pop industry but also the entertainment landscape as a whole,” says HYBE CEO Jiwon Park. “His insights and projections on the industry have been valuable assets in driving HYBE to expand beyond music into a variety of businesses, including webtoons, concerts, AI audio technology and platforms. It’s inspiring for all of us at HYBE to actualize his bottom-line principle that music and content should evolve to offer fans more diverse experiences.”