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32 MEDIA (32미디어) also known as 32M is a South Korean entertainment agency founded in 1998 as 32 Entertainment by singer Yun Chung-Ho.
The label has represented successful artists such as ANGELE, C9PID, the trendsetting boy group WEB, and korean pop princess Baram. It is also responsible for its subsidiary production company that has produced a variety of music videos and TV series, and its cable network 32N.
32 MEDIA was officially closed on January 30, 2023 as part of corporate restructuring.
History[]
1998–2004: Formation, ANGELE and Baram[]
In the winter of 1997, a nineteen year old Yun Chung-Ho began wanting to create music, and after being rejected from multiple agencies, he established his own company, then known as "32 Entertainment" on January 15, 1998. He received help from Seoul Records, later known as Kakao M, funding wise and distribution wise. The companies first ever release was in November the same year when Yun released his debut album "YoYo", which was a moderate success selling 342,000 copies.
In January 1999, Yun recognised he wouldn't be able to keep his company afloat with himself only, and began recruiting for a new group with the result being ANGELE, who are considered the company's biggest success to date, being the best selling female act in Korean history. The success of ANGELE came from their usage of their concept, their music videos and promotion tactics.
Throughout 1999 and 2000, 32M continued the successes of their first two acts, arguably leading the trends with ANGELE beating its competition such as S.E.S and Fin.K.L, and Yun Chung-Ho's albums selling well, however Yun saw the potential in the female soloist market when BoA made her debut, and began looking for his next artist, with the result being seventeen year old Baram. She made her debut in September 2001 with her R&B influenced album "Paper Heart". Her complex choreography and sound new to Korea made her extremely popular, her debut album outdoing the companies expectations selling over 500,000 copies. She is also one of the earliest examples of Korean acts also succeeding in the west, with her comparisons to American recording artist Britney Spears and English versions of songs giving her an American fanbase. She remains the fifth best selling artist in Korean history.
2004–2013: Second generation artists, "Golden Year"[]
In March 2004, with ANGELE finishing their album promotions a few months prior, Ye Eunchae of ANGELE made her solo debut with her self titled studio album, and was a success with 458,000 copies sold. The album spawned the single "Telepath", which is now regarded as one of the most memorable songs in Korea, the other members of ANGELE were offered to make solo debuts, but declined with intentions of making music together, and in early 2005 released what is considered their best work, "Guardian Angele". The album was met with critical acclaim and sold 703,000 copies becoming the groups best selling album.
Yun Chung-Ho, Baram and ANGELE continued to push out successful releases and in 2008 the newest addition to the company, girl group Ruffle. The group debuted during the girl group boom with other artists such as Wonder Girls, Girls Generation and 2NE1. Their debut album, released in June 2008, sold 154,201 copies. This year was also the first year in the company's history where all of its acts released an album with this being dubbed the golden year for 32M. The company sold 1,008,805 total album copies with only 4 releases, despite the downward trend of album sales in the industry.
ANGELE officially disbanded on mutual terms after 10 years in August 2009, after multiple contract renewals throughout the years, with Kwon Hyesu and Ahn Minhee ending their contracts with 32M while Ye Eunchae continued her solo career she had started back in 2004. Ye Eunchae released her 2nd solo studio album "Jelly" in May 2010, topping the Gaon Album chart, and selling 102,000 copies to date. Ye received praise for her staying power, succeeding among younger acts like f(x), Wonder Girls, Girls Generation, Super Junior and more despite debuting in the 90s.
Things became slow in the early 2010s, with Ruffle seeing an early decline in sales by their 4th release, Yun Chung-Ho taking more focus on the business aspect of 32M, Baram focusing on acting and Ye Eunchae spending more time out of the spotlight. Yun knew change needed to happen within the company to recreate their successes of years like 2004 and 2008, and looked out to debut their first group. The company gathered six male trainees for the new group, with the result being WEB. WEB debuted in January 2012 with the mini album "worldwideWEB", which was a smash success, selling 420,109 copies to date.
2013–2019: Third generation artists, expansion[]
32 MEDIA established 62 Productions, a subsidiary dedicated to producing music videos and distributing albums, as well as the television series for the networks newly established cable network 32N.
WEB became one of the biggest k-pop acts alongside EXO, constantly releasing successful albums, recreating the success the company had seen with Baram and ANGELE, which shifted the company's focus to the boy group. Ruffle continued to release moderately successful albums, until their second to last release "Blue Ring" becoming their most successful release. The girl group disbanded in 2015 after their contracts expired.
During this time, actor Choi Dahyun became very popular with the general public with her popular series that brought up 32N's ratings as a whole, and began training to become a k-pop idol in 2020 following staffs persuasion. She would later become known as 32M's Princess.
2019-present: Fourth generation artists and closing[]
Preparations for the companies first girl group in 11 years began in late 2019, however all plans were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed in October 2020. The company aimed to make their biggest group members wise, and the result became C9PID. The girl group debuted on February 14, 2021, with the mini album Cupid's Valentine and at first started slow in success, however would rise greatly in popularity after netizens realised Dahyun was apart of the group, and as of today has sold over 100,000 copies. C9PID are now recognised as one of the biggest fourth generation girl groups, and are referred to as ANGELE's little sisters, with their success being very reminiscent of their seniors.
The company aired their first survival show Turbo Max from May 27, 2022 until July 29, 2022. The show birthed the recently debuted boy group ORCHID. They debuted on September 25, 2022 with the mini album Bloom, which has sold 115,316 copies within its first week.
Artists[]
Soloists[]
- Yun Chung-Ho (1998-2023)
- Ye Eunchae (1999-2023)
Groups[]
Known Trainees[]
- Kim Jungwon (2021-2023)
- 32 DREAMS
- Jeon Minwoo (2020-23)
Discography[]
Singles[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR | JPN | WW | |||
| "32 Days Of Christmas" | 2022 | 41 | - | Non-album singles | |