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Meet Min Hee-jin, mastermind behind K-pop girl group NewJeans: the CEO of Hybe sub-label Ador helped launch Girls Generation and Exo at SM, so why has her new group’s branding been slammed?
STORYJosiah Ng
- At SM Entertainment, Min Hee-jin was responsible for the visual branding of smash groups Girls’ Generation, Red Velvet, Exo, Shinee and F(x) – so no surprise NewJeans are already a hit
- After burning out Min joined Hybe – the agency behind BTS, Le Sserafim and Enhypen – to become CEO of sub-label Ador, but her Instagram feed has already sparked controversy
The latest buzz from entertainment conglomerate Hybe (formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment) has been the recent debut of NewJeans – the first girl group under indie sub-label Ador.
The five-strong collective debuted its self-titled album on August 8, which shattered the record for the highest number of first-day sales for a debuting group on Korean real-time chart Hanteo. They are already known for their cutting edge Y2K-nostalgic style … and for their youth: all five members were born between 2004 and 2008.
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The group is a substantial win for Ador CEO Min Hee-jin, given the group’s prestigious label mates BTS, TXT, Le Sserafim, Fromis 9, Enhypen, Zico, Seventeen and others. Min joined Hybe in 2019 as its chief brand officer before being appointed Ador’s CEO in November last year.
That being said, Min’s success shouldn’t really be as much of a surprise – some might even call it an inevitability.
Hotshot beginnings
Before NewJeans, Ador and Hybe, Min had already played a key role with Big Hit’s rival SM Entertainment for 15 years. Joining the entertainment agency in 2002 as a graphic designer, she went on to lead the visual branding for its flagship K-pop groups including Girls’ Generation (who recently reunited for their 15th anniversary and first release in five years), Shinee, F(x), Exo and Red Velvet.
During her time at SM Entertainment, Min’s notable achievements included winning best visual and art director at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in 2016 for “[maximising] the artist’s image and [contributing] to the progress of ‘visual music’”.
She also oversaw visual and artistic direction from the ground up for sister groups Shinee and F(x) – which debuted in 2008 and 2009 respectively – as well as girl group phenomenon Red Velvet and more.
Some of her key credits were on SNSD’s 2010 viral hit Genie; F(x) albums “Pink Tape” and “4 Walls” released in 2013 and 2015, and her 2016 releases, Shinee’s “1of1” album, Jonghyun’s She Is (both of which were the late Kim Jong-hyun’s last releases) and Red Velvet’s Russian Roulette.
