The audition will begin on March 30 in South Korea and other countries including the United States and Japan. "Starting with Seoul, we will visit major cities and countries around the world in March," Belift Lab said in a post on its website. Males born between 1997~2008 are eligible.
"Our business will focus on entertainment and media based on content IP," Belift Lab head Kim Tae-ho said in a statement. Big Hit Entertainment and CJ ENM have agreed to discover and foster new global idols. Big Hit is responsible for producing artists, while CJ ENM will discover and support artist through its business network.
Big Hit founder Bang Si-hyuk has nurtured BTS as a global K-pop band, but he still stands far behind the country's three heavyweights in terms of brand power and revenue. CJ ENM, a top entertainment and mass media company in South Korea, has been the frontrunner in the expansion of Hallyu (Korean cultural wave).