Music / Idols
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An Idol’s Dilemma: University or Stardom?

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Written by On September 22, 2011

It’s been revealed to fans that AJ of U-Kiss has recently been accepted into the prestigious Columbia University in New York. With such notable alumni, such as Barack Obama ’83 and Lena Park ’10, of course the Korean media (and fans alike) are happily congratulating the boy band member. After the disbanding of AJ’s old group Paran, he studied for the much-dreaded SATs and received perfect scores on both the subject tests and the reasoning tests.  AJ was ready for college, but was unexpectedly chosen as a new member of U-Kiss and chose to take a leave of absence.

Unfortunately, AJ will be extending his leave of absence due to U-Kiss being in the middle of promotions for Neverland.  He agency NH Media has stated:

“AJ is passionate about studying and is ready for college is the situation and climate is right“

Here’s the dilemma: AJ is extending his leave of absence, but one can only take a leave of absence for so long before the university reconsiders your admission. Even though AJ has his commitments to U-Kiss and I love him in this group, I think the smarter choice is to take school over idol-ship. I know the KissMe fangirls will kill me for saying this and U-Kiss has been paying their dues, but they still haven’t achieved the same kind of stardom as their fellow male counterparts like SHINee, Beast, MBLAQ, or even Infinite. They have more fans internationally then they do in their home country, Korea. They also lost some fans after the Xander and Kibum debacle.

Unless U-Kiss achieves some great shot into super stardom, I don’t think it’s worth it. I think having a back-up plan like having a degree from a very well-known university is a great opportunity, because boy-band fame isn’t going to last forever and fame in particular from a boy band that has a fairly small fan base is fleeting. I think AJ should be looking more at his future.

But hey, this is only what I would do if I were AJ. I don’t think he should wait until the circumstances are right. He has an opportunity here and he should jump on it. He got into Columbia University, a university that has one of the toughest admission rates in the world. Their admission rate for the class of 2014 was a measly 9%. It’s a big deal. AJ needs to think seriously himself, “Can I make my fame last beyond the U-Kiss era?” “Do I need a back-up plan?”

What do you guys think? An ivy-league education, or stardom?

(Nate)

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  • TmL

    I completely and utterly agree with you. What’s the shelf like for boy bands? On top of that what’s the shelf life for korean boy bands, not so successful ones at that. He needs to go back to school. Furthermore I think it’s completely unfair for NH Media to jeopardize his future because of their poor management skills.

    If it’s his greatest wish for him to be in Ukiss then fine. But if he’s having even the slightest of doubts right now…

    • TmL

      shelf life*

  • http://twitter.com/muffinsanddolls Aliah A

    Definitely an ivy league education. It’s hard to get into such a prestigious university, why waste such an opportunity?

    He may love performing, singing, etc but he can always come back to that after graduating. And if things don’t work out then, he would have at least secured a degree (and not from any university, but an ivy league), meaning he would have a back-up plan.

    So yeah definitely, education triumphs stardom.

  • Mq

    Hmmm maybe that article on korea’s decline in other fields is really out to haunt us all.

  • Seulbi

    Wow totally didn’t expect that at all.  I guess it takes a nerd to come up lyrics like “r sqaured pi” lol

  • http://other-worldly.org Justine

    Maybe he felt that since education will be there forever and he’s already secured an Ivy League entrance, might as well enjoy being in a boyband. You can’t be famous forever, but you can still go to school even if you’re 40. And after he graduated  going back into fame would not be what he wants anymore.. so he’s just enjoying while he can. Nevermind U-Kiss relevance because you know what they say.. education is important, but experience and travel is the best teacher. Not every grandfather can tell their grandchildren they were part of the Hallyu wave. I guess he was looking into it in the long run. Made decisions as if it were the last day of his life.

  • http://twitter.com/PhanTheHotness Jenny

    ivy league!!! i think he’ll go back soon after promotions. 
    he’s smart enough to know stardom isn’t forever

  • jen

    I’d say easily all of us commenters would tell AJ to go for the university degree. All of us plebeians who live our lives slaving over our homework and pulling our hair out for exams, striving to be that kid who gets into Columbia, watching our idols pass over an opportunity like that seems like such a shame… but we don’t know what it’s like for AJ. U-Kiss is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for him. If he has dreams of singing this is it, it’s unlikely he’ll get another shot at stardom after it. We can’t know what it’s like to be him, able to perform onstage and hear fans cheering for him as he does something he loves. Something that, like you said, will not last. Perhaps he wants to enjoy it while the chance still exists for him.

    For me, the obvious sensible choice is university because that’s the only thing I ever worked for all the years of my childhood. But for AJ, even if he understands the magnitude of an Ivy League education… some emotions pull even harder than that.

  • maldita

    I personally think it’s a waste if he got into Columbia and he keeps deferring until he can’t go anymore. Sure, not everybody gets to sing and dance as a profession, but how long will that last? Sure, many young celebs are juggling college and idol/acting gigs as much as they can, but not everyone got an opportunity like AJ did with Columbia.

  • Anonymous

    Considering even top idol groups have a popularity shelf life of about 5 years or so and not so famous groups like U-kiss even shorter, I think it would be waste to give up a solid education from a well known American university like Columbia.  Idoldom isn’t forever and does not always lead to success but having a degree will get you far and is something that cannot be taken away once achieved, if he still wants to do the singing thing, he can always attempt again after he graduates.  I can’t even begin to say how many more opportunities I received by having a degree from a prestigious school (UC Berkeley) versus if I had chosen not attending college at all.

  • Jolyn_nhy

    I would have grabbed that chance and go right after the promotions end :P
    Even though some people may say that he is disloyal or something, but seriously, how many chances will he get?
    And I agree that U kiss is not like top notch, and they will probably disband after a few years.
    Would you rather enjoy stardom for a few years and then give a go at uni after that or grab the chance now?
    Choosing studies over stardom is like the logical thing (to me at least). And its not like many idols or people in the entertainment industry gets opportunities like this. Many stars (that are not that popular now) probably regretted not going into university early.
    Come on grab it! :P

  • saroj khan

    definately uni duddee

  • TropicalGuppie

    It would be a major snafu if he chose being an idol over college. U-Kiss is going nowhere. College will take him everywhere.

    • http://twitter.com/maryisVIP 매리

      hmm i would say ukiss have been growing steadily this year rather than going nowhere.. But yeah college is important too!

  • http://twitter.com/maryisVIP 매리

    yeah i think he should go to school soon! a prestigious one tt is! Kiss Me would be so freaking proud!! :)

  • kc

    all of you have to be hard core nerds (I say that with the most love, smart people are great) cause I don’t know, I’d choose and Idol life over an Ivy League simply because I hate school… 
    that’s just me though, I’m an artist (not musically) so anything I’d want to learn in my opinion is for to much money just to have some fifty something tell me how to draw a circle (all of the colleges I’ve looked at have you start at the basics when it comes to art, I find that pretty lame…) I can kinda see eye to eye with some of these idols because an artistic career isn’t a traditional one like say a scientific or educational…that and an artists’ mind set is a bit different.
    but who knows, I’m obviously not AJ so it’s up to AJ if he want’s to stick with U-kiss and see where that leads him or go to Columbia where he can become smarter (or dumber in some cases, I’ve known to many dumb college kids)
    for all we know he might not even want to go back to school, I mean how many of us out there are studying for our parents? I mean I think of it this way, after Paran (I think that’s how you spell it, idk, never really heard of them) he probably went back to school with the mindset that “hey, obviously the Idol thing didn’t work out, better do something with my life” and started to study his heart out… then out of no where after he’s taken his exams and such NH comes up to him and is like “hey AJ, wanna jump on the Idol train again, open spot in U-kiss” it probably wasn’t an easy decision, I mean he probably didn’t even think he’d make it into an IL college and just went with it, but then a couple months later “bam” he gets news that he did make it…
    also, the guys only like 20, he’s got all the time in the world to go back to school, and I figure if he’s smart enough to get into an Ivy League once he can get into a good school later on as well… but well, like all of you all said, Idol life is fleeting, if it were me though I’d jump on the chance even with the mind set that it might not last forever.
    who knows though, I figure if he wants to go he should, but if he doesn’t want to he shouldn’t so what ever he does is good with me I guess.

  • lucid249

    to be able to brag that you went to the same school as THE president of USA, yeah i’d pick school over stardom. stardom he can go back to.. i think he’ll be more accepted and recognized once he gets his degree/diploma that reads “Columbia U” graduate. 

  • Ndncuttie02

    i also think he should definitely have a backup plan also and education is the best way to go. Aj is not going to be an idol forever.

  • Val

    I agree that he ought to have a back-up plan like having a degree especially since I feel that Korean idols need to be young and the lifespan of idols are short. Once they hit their thirties, not many idol groups can survive. And to make matters worse, at the rate idol groups are “churned out”, it seems to be a really competitive field.
    But to look at it on a different angle, he might see being with U-kiss as a great opportunity as it is for being accepted to the university. But he may find that he could get a degree another time in his life and he might not mind a degree from another university, if he had managed to fulfil his dream and passion in music/singing.

  • and then the crowd hates

    I agree; he really needs to think about what will happen in the future after U-Kiss disbands. I really would like him to go to university. I love him, and would miss seeing him, but it’s the smarter choice.

    But… I kind of think his agency is making his decision, not him.

    • Prince Army

      i think so too. being an idol seems suck

  • H Lee

    I’m not entirely sure how colleges work, but I know that some students before starting school will take a year off, so I don’t think that him taking time off for U-Kiss promotions at the start isn’t that big of a deal. 

    Also, given that U-Kiss has improved drastically I think they do have a fair chance of gaining fame. But if it’s true that U-Kiss is on the decline, I’d just say hell with it and finish up with music then focus on school. 

    I think maybe U-Kiss can slow down their releases so AJ has time for school and during school breaks he can go back and train/perform? Not sure if that would work out, but it’s just a thought :P

  • Anonymous

    korea is the worse place to try stardom. they overwork their artists for such a measly pay and their stardom lasts 5 years at most. it’s a ruthless career. just look at the previous kpop idols and how miserable they are post the glitz and glamour, they have this dead look in their eyes. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ashley-Panda-Hatsune/1797624546 Ashley Panda Hatsune

    Personal I Think what you stated about U Kiss fan base being smaller in Korea and bigger in other countries that’s why they not as big as the other groups. That so stupid as a manger I want my group to be big in other countries the more the better. And yes you want that fan base in your own country but the more country the you sell in the better example Top Country USA, Japan, Europe and most of Asia and from what i see U kiss is know in all and getting some fan base in the USA. But for AJ yes School first.

  • Coffee

    If I were him, I’d choose university over stardom. But of course, we are two different people with different priorities, values, interests, passions.

    An Ivy league is a rare opportunity to those who are gifted/deserve it, but again, stardom is quite rare as well. It all depends: someone may not want the excessive stress that comes with studying at such a high-ranked school. But, Columbia… It’s a beautiful and well-rounded school with a perfect location.

  • sPark*

    I may be the minority here, but I support his decision in choosing U-Kiss over Columbia.  Not everyone gets to perform on stage.  I feel like it is more of a once in a lifetime experience to be a singer than a Columbia University student.  Columbia University is a great school (obviously), and I give him so much props for getting accepted.  However, if he gave up the opportunity to be in U-Kiss and his dream was to perform on stage, he would probably not be a very happy student.  He’ll be studying hard, but he’ll also have that thought in the back of his mind, the “what if.”  Just because he chose U-Kiss over Columbia at the moment doesn’t mean he’s forever forfeiting his acceptance.  Also, not everyone who attends Columbia can graduate and not everyone who graduates Columbia is successful.  He can always turn back to studying because he has a passion for it and well, he’s smart. 

    U-Kiss has been improving with every release, and increasingly receiving more recognition.  As of now, I think he chose what he considers best for his dreams and desires.  I know there are lots of people in the world who would love to be in his position.  He happens to be a very lucky guy with the brains, talent, and luck.  Good luck to him and U-Kiss!!  I’m enjoying their newest release by the way :)

  • http://twitter.com/AnauliTheGreat 키스미

    Simple I just want him to go to school. U-Kiss can wait for him but school won’t do the same.

    • S Sallypark

      Actually, I think it’s the opposite.  U-Kiss won’t wait for him because they can always find someone else to take his spot.  Also, the older he gets, the lesser opportunities he’ll have because unfortunately, idols/boy group members can’t be too old.  As for school, he can take leave.  There’s probably a limit to how long he can take leave, but as of now, his acceptance is still valid.  Also, if he really is smart and capable, he can always try again for college acceptance since there is no age limit for college.

  • Anonymous

    AN IVY-LEAGUE SCHOOL! Hello?! Stardom is just there for you for a while. After some rumors and disbandment issues, if you don’t know how and who to hold on to, then goodbye limelight. But education won’t betray you like entertainment does. Its with you whatever happens and you can be a professional. Maybe not as a professional singer or actor but as a professional worker. Isn’t that great? And the fact that he got into Columbia University, I would drop U-KISS and fly to America now! 

    • Anonymous

      Stardom is just like a fad, when the people dont like you anymore, then forever goodbye. AJ should really make a tough decision here. To think for his bright future with Columbia University where he can fly as much as he can with the education or to think for an immediate popularity that you just got in and you still dont know whether your group will really be flying like the other Kpop group. 

  • tokidoki_sama

    Well I think it would depend on whatever makes you happiest. Maybe even though he’s really smart he doesn’t actually enjoy studying all that much? Not that I would know if that’s true or not because I don’t know him… but it’s a possibility that might have factored into his decision.

  • http://twitter.com/liwen28 Vanessa

    Ivy League isn’t small thing. Though I LOVE AJ being in U-Kiss but I still wish he will choose to pursue his studies in columbia university coz I know only education can actually secured his future since many people comment that stardom wont last long except you are some kind of legend of music.I hate to say this but U-Kiss just got so underrated that I think if AJ is given a chance to Ivy league he should take it as  an alternative.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DEQ3F3ZEPFSXJR5THSKYVBXFPM AlezaR

    I must also be in the minority because I say if AJ actually has a passion for singing/performing he should stick with U-Kiss for as long as he wants to. One can always reapply later in life for college-my LSAT prep course had a man in it that was at least 40. Life as a performer won’t be there forever but it is never too late to go/go back to school. 

    How many of us who are advocating for him to be smart and realize the need for an education are truly passionate about education for its own sake? For how many of us is this passion completely from ourselves, and not influenced by parents/social expectations? How many of us would secretly like to have the life AJ leads. That even though his band is not top-notch, leading a life as a musician is freeing and different. 

    I’m willing to bet this is true of at least some of us.

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  • :D

    AJ should just go do whatever he wants. It’s up to him.
    Js though, it’d be so cool if he was there when I go :P

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  • Prince Army

    i totally agree with. being accepted in Ivy-League college is really incredible thing (needless to say i try really hard to get into Indonesian universities). however it’s his choice. but if i were him, i’ll choose Columbia.

  • shanna thomas

    I would rather he chose Ivy or maybe have UKiss go to America during parts of the year, honestly I think UKiss has a lot of competition back in Korea and as a group they in my opinion are more suited for a foreign country especially with Kevin and Eli being raised in America and the other member seem to catch language pretty fast. There are a lot of breaks in the school year for Columbia(2 of my good friends were accepted and i still see them in between breaks) where the boys could promote in Korea, such things should be considered. But this is something that AJ should not pass up AT ALL.