kpop1-10, Exercise 1: Threads and arguments

Model answer (any two threads, three examples each; the chapter lists many):

State: censorship of Shin Jung-hyeon, Han Dae-soo and Kim Min-ki (Chapter 2); the 2014 law for performers under 19 (Chapter 4); the Gaon Chart's launch under a ministry's sponsorship (Chapter 7); the 2020 conscription amendment (Chapter 9).
Market: the four big agencies (Chapter 4); concepts and comeback cycles (Chapter 5); industry-size figures and sajaegi (Chapter 7).
Fans: protests after H.O.T.'s breakup (Chapter 3); "parasocial kin" (Chapter 7); learning Korean (Chapter 8).
Labour: the 2009 TVXQ lawsuit (Chapter 4); the 2017 trainee rules (Chapter 9); average earnings (Chapter 9).
Language: gayo vs K-pop (Chapter 1); rise of English names (Chapter 6); English "has not guaranteed" success in North America (Chapter 8).

Argument row (example): "Is the training system fair?" SM's CEO says trainees are no different from students at after-school cram programmes and that costs must be counted; critics call the contracts "slave contracts", and the 2017 rules ended terms such as termination at any time for any reason.