SG Entertainment welcomes a new trainee who could be the first K-pop idol from Kazakhstan!
The agency planned to launch an all-girl group this year, and one of the members might be from Central Asia. On November 10, they introduced their new trainee for the upcoming female act, and she will be the first Kazakhstani idol to join the K-pop industry.
SG Entertainment (short for Spark Gate Entertainment) is a newly built K-pop company co-founded by Joon-Hae Woo and Thomas Sommer, and both are French entrepreneurs. Joon-Jae Woo is a music producer for 20 years who worked in the European entertainment industry. However, Thomas Sommer is an international trade specialist with an 8-year of experience in startups and ad-tech.
The agency blended the K-pop system and French pedagogy, aiming to help artists create their own and original artistic concepts.
Joon Hae Woo said that they would create a new K-pop trend by utilizing a European system to maximize individuals' capabilities based on their creativity and human values.
SG Entertainment runs an academy in Hongdae where trainees undergo various activities like singing, dancing, modeling, music production, and acting.
The agency announced they would be choosing four trainees to debut as a girl group later this year, and one of the members might Aiganym, their new trainee.
While the trainees revealed by SG Entertainment are all Korean, Aiganym is from Kazakhstan, a transcontinental country generally located in Central Asia.
Aiganym is not the first known K-Pop trainee that is from Kazakhstan. Azamat Ashmakyn trained under SM Entertainment in 2011 and expected to debut as an NCT member. However, he departed from the company in 2015 and returned to his country, where he helped pioneer the first Q-Pop band named Ninety One. Q-Pop or Qazaq pop is a Kazakhstan music genre influenced by K-Pop.
Aiganym Zhalinova was born on November 18, 2020. Her name means 'lady of the moon' or 'beautiful as the moon.' The agency described her as being creative, bold, and determined enough to reach her goals.
However, SG Entertainment recently has seven trainees: Jiyeon, Yelin, Jiyun, Yuri, Chaeyeon, Hanna, and Aiganym.
