“We are Dear Alice!”
The rookie boy group Dear Alice shouted their team name in British English at their first press conference for the British media at a hotel in London on Aug. 1. The room burst into laughter as the group, consisting of five native British members, including the youngest, Blaise Noon (19), with red-brown hair and blue eyes, introduced themselves in traditional K-pop style. Despite having no Korean members, they are officially a K-pop group.
Dear Alice is a new group co-produced by South Korea’s SM Entertainment, Kakao Entertainment’s North American joint venture, and the British entertainment company Moon&Back Media. Moon&Back selected the members through local auditions and supports their U.K.-based promotions, while SM and Kakao Entertainment provide K-pop expertise in vocal training, choreography, and music production. The members underwent 100 days of idol training at SM’s headquarters in Seoul earlier this year. This process will be broadcast in a six-part series, “Made in Korea: The K-pop Experience,” on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this month, marking the group’s official debut.
The music industry notes that localization strategies for K-pop groups, like Dear Alice, are evolving into a “beyond Asia” approach. These localized groups operate from international markets with members from those countries but adhere to K-pop production methods. Although they resemble earlier groups like TWICE and Blackpink, which included foreign members, the key difference is that local companies co-invest from the audition process onward. A major agency staffer explained, “This strategy combines the advantages of multinational groups with the capital and promotional resources of local distributors, quickly expanding the local fan base.”
Early localized K-pop groups typically featured Asian members who resembled Koreans, such as JYP’s NiziU, which had all Japanese members, and SM’s WayV, which was based in China. However, since late last year, new K-pop groups like HYBE’s KATSEYE and JYP’s VCHA have emerged with primarily Western and European members. Dear Alice stands out as the first boy group categorized under this “post-Asian” approach.
Some argue that the strategy may hinder the growth of localized K-pop groups. Unlike NiziU, which topped Japan’s Oricon weekly chart within months of its debut, and WayV, which reached No. 1 on China’s QQ Music chart, groups like KATSEYE and VCHA have yet to achieve notable success on major U.S. charts. Music critic Lim Hee-yoon commented, “K-pop is highly visual, with a strong emphasis on synchronized dance routines performed by exotic-looking Asians. Fans have a high level of interest in how well foreign K-pop members adopt Korean styles and makeup.”
Critic Kim Do-heon said, “The recent activities of localization groups seem to confuse fans by emphasizing ties to Korean culture while adopting Western musical trends,” adding, “If the true goal of K-pop localization is to attract new international fans, then there needs to be a greater focus on distinct musical characteristics.”
