In the mid-1980s, Lee Soo-man, a folk singer studying computer engineering in California, decided to return to his native South Korea. Inspired by what he had seen on MTV — the 24-hour-a-day television network playing music videos — he formed SM Entertainment and set about replicating the success of the highly-trained all-singing, all-dancing groups like The Jackson 5 and, later, New Kids on the Block.
20世紀80年代中期,在美國加州攻讀電腦工程專業的民謠歌手李秀滿(Lee Soo-man)決定回到自己的祖國南韓。受美國24小時音樂影片電影片道MTV的啓發,他創辦了SM娛樂公司(SM Entertainment),開始複製受過專業訓練的唱跳組合——比如「傑克遜五兄弟」(Jackson 5)和後來的「新街邊男孩」(New Kids on the Block)——的成功。