How have so many Australians ended up doing big things in K-pop?
This is something Roald Maliangkay from the Australian National University has pondered.
And yes, he is named after the late decorated British children's author Roald Dahl.
Professor Maliangkay specialises in popular culture in East Asia and has researched the South Korean entertainment industry throughout the 20th century up to the present day.
He's come up with a few reasons why Australia is fertile ground for producing K-pop stars.
"I think one important reason is that a lot of the Korean Australians here speak Korean, maybe not well, but they are fairly recent migrants," Professor Maliangkay said.
"It's usually their parents who migrate to Australia and that means that their parents will speak Korean at home.
"I think that's one important reason so that makes it very likely for the trainees, which they are at first, to at least be familiar with the sounds so they can pick up Korean quite easily even if they didn't always speak Korean at home or outside in public.
"So, I think the language aspect is quite significant."
Professor Maliangkay says demographics plays a part.
"Of course, we are a very small country in terms of population but if you look at cities like Sydney and Melbourne then the concentration of Asians around you will be much greater which probably provides a bit of an impetus for young people to try and establish their own identity and be noticed.
"And I think that is another driver for young Australians with an Asian background to perhaps try their luck at becoming a K-pop artist."
"Another factor is that communication amongst Australians tends to be rather positive," Professor Maliangkay said.
"People here communicate in a very positive manner.
"Australians are really good at representing themselves and in engaging in conversation so that also makes things easy for an agency.
"Australians are generally very polite, they're pleasant and they use a lot of words like fantastic, wonderful and great, which when you go to Britain that is not exactly the case."
Professor Maliangkay says it's unlikely there are political reasons at play, but it could be a tiny factor.
"I don't think it is very likely that it's a political decision not to go with a United States-born artist," he said.
"But I do think that it's a little easier for Chinese fans to fall in love with a non-US based idol than it is when you're dealing with someone born in Australia.
"It's a tiny factor and the fans ultimately will fall in love anyway, but I think it might make things just a little easier."
"If you're a young person and you want to go to a workshop in Korea and try your luck at an audition, at the moment, the time difference between us and Seoul is one hour only," Professor Maliangkay said.
"So, that makes going back-and-forth even when you're in high school just a little easier.
"Again, that's a tiny reason just like the political one but the other reasons I'm more sure of, that is, the language aspect, the greater convergence of Asian Australians and then the communication and the representation of Australians in general."
So, who has made it big and who is on their way?
Blackpink's Rosé made history when her collaboration with Bruno Mars APT debuted at number one on the ARIA singles chart making her the first solo female K-pop star to top the ARIA chart.
"She was born in New Zealand but then she was raised in Melbourne, I think from the age of seven and then she trained herself singing in church choirs," says Professor Maliangkay.
"She just suddenly had the courage when she was quite young, I think she was 16, to pack her bags and go to YG entertainment where she went to train, and it worked out.
"In the beginning, she was an absolute nobody, of course, and risked a lot doing all this and spending money on this.
NewJeans broke a Guinness World Record when they became the fastest K-pop act to reach a billion streams on Spotify, unseating BTS.
They have two Australian members.
"Danielle was born outside a big city, in Newcastle, NSW," Professor Maliangkay said.
"She has an Australian father and a Korean mother.
"And they moved to Korea in 2019 at around the age of 14.
"She was kind of scouted by HYBE.
"Hanni was born in Melbourne and she's half Vietnamese.
"[She] moved to Seoul around 2020 at the age of 16 so that would make her 21 right now.
"She also ended up with the same company, with HYBE."
Fans of K-pop would be aware of some recent news surrounding the multinational entertainment company HYBE.
"Although the company has responded to the recent allegations of insider trading by a former executive saying it is fully cooperating with the authorities, it denies any wrongdoing by chairman Bang Si-hyuk.
"And yet, since December, Bang has been under police investigation on suspicion of profiting by as much as $450 million from misleading shareholders during the company's listing."
HYBE has issued the following statement to ABC News on the matter.
Regarding NewJeans, Professor Maliangkay says fans were distraught to learn of a stand-off between NewJeans and parent company HYBE.
"What is more, following the public fallout over management rights with former CEO Min Hee-jin of ADOR that began in April last year, NewJeans's activities have now been put on hold, with ADOR last Friday winning an injunction against the group members engaging in any unauthorised individual entertainment activities until the legal process has run its course," Professor Maliangkay said.
"The idols stand by Min and argue that HYBE's reorganisation of ADOR has turned it into something very different from the label they signed with.
"Conflicts between idols and their management over contracts are not uncommon. Groups like Fifty Fifty, Loona, and TVXQ have faced serious disputes, some of which have led to their disbandment.
"While the high stakes of investment and intense competition help explain the often inequitable nature of contracts, fans typically rally behind the idols, so the companies almost always stand to lose from public disputes.
"I suspect that quite a few fans will respond to the scandals either by not investing as much money in HYBE products, or embracing the idols of other agencies, or both.
"Despite the negative reports surrounding HYBE's management, however, fans' excitement for BTS's long-awaited return — marked by SUGA's military discharge on June 21 — will likely remain undiminished."
HYBE subsidiary ADOR has issued the following statement.
"We express our sincere gratitude for the court's judicious decision to grant the preliminary injunction.
Bang Chan was born and raised in Sydney and Felix grew up in Sydney.
"Felix is the fashion icon, partly, of Stray Kids and he's doing really well in that sense in addition to of course being a very talented performer," Professor Maliangkay said.
"Bang Chan is also very much a composer.
"He has his own kind of composing agency as well.
"So, he's composed quite a lot of music for Stray Kids.
"He's also the leader of [the group].
"If I had to pick the top K-pop groups at the moment, NewJeans and Stray Kids would be in that list.
"It's quite something to have both groups having two Australian members so it is significant and that's why I think it's very good to ask indeed why is it?
"Because you do wonder why is it that there are so many Australians [in K-pop]."
NMIXX's Lily is returning home this month to perform in Melbourne and Sydney.
"Lily was born in Marysville, Victoria to a Korean mother and an Australian father," Professor Maliangkay said.
"About 10 years ago, she left to work for JYP Entertainment.
"She signed a contract in 2015 and eventually then into 2022 she then debuted with NMIXX, which means seven years of training and preparation before you actually end up being a frontline act.
"It's a long time to just be training, it's a bit like doing a PhD."
"Jake was born in South Korea but then grew up in Brisbane,' Professor Maliangkay said.
"He moved back to Seoul in 2019 and then trained under HYBE.
"Roughly after one year he was made part of Enhypen and I think they're doing quite well.
"Of course, Brisbane also has a very large Asian community, so I suppose there's a little bit of an impetus for young Asian Australians to kind of stand out a little bit and do something different, be noticed, and then of course with all trainees the lure of fame, money, fashion, and perhaps cosmetic surgery, which is definitely one of the perks, because the agencies will help you arrange that."
Others to watch out for are Robin from n.SSign, who has debuted, and who said on TikTok that he went to the same school as Felix from Stray Kids and cites the whole group as role models.
And Mackiah from ampers&one who is from Western Sydney and debuted in 2023.
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