‘Lee Soo Man: King Of K-Pop' Documentary Examines A Legendary K-Pop Legacy
While K-pop has made its ways onto streaming services via documentaries and concert series from top acts like BTS, BLACKPINK and Stray Kids, rarely does its industry power players get the spotlight. But a new Amazon MGM Studios documentary is peeling back the curated layers of the K-pop scene to better reveal the complex and brilliant figure that's been at its center for nearly 30 years: Lee Soo Man, the man widely dubbed as a 'king of K-pop' as the subject of the highly anticipated feature.
Directed by Ting Poo (who directed recent docs like Val and this year's Faces of Music) and premiering May 13 on Amazon Prime Video, Lee Soo Man: King of K-Pop charts the seismic legacy of the man who built an empire — and what happens when he nearly lost it all.
Lee's story is not just one of entrepreneurial vision, but his namesake SM Entertainment (the SM stands for Soo Man) has helped build the blueprint of an entire cultural movement. As the founder of SM Entertainment, Lee shaped global phenomena like BoA, TVXQ!, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, EXO, NCT and aespa who helped the genre spread far beyond Korea with the artists playing key roles in K-pop's presence in Japan and America. The documentary also includes interviews with some of K-pop's most iconic artists including BoA (the K-pop queen who has been with the company over 25 years) as well Super Junior's leader Leeteuk, EXO's leader Suho, and NCT's leader Taeyong, as well as the full group aespa.
But what sets this documentary apart is its willingness to dig deeper — into the artistry, the grind, and the controversies that surround Lee Soo Man's SM era.
The trailer opens with a bold claim: 'America took 100 years to dominate pop music; Korea did it in 20.' That stark comparison is the documentary's mission statement. Through unseen footage of late-night studio sessions, dance rehearsals, and never-before-heard stories of the many SM artists through the years, it captures the sheer intensity but also tangibly human sides behind the polished performances.
Tension is also central to the film's power. This isn't a fully glossy hagiography, but a complicated character study. While Lee is portrayed as a visionary, the film also unpacks the criticism he and the company have faced. From the infamous 'slave contracts' involved with TVXQ! to his abrupt ousting from SM Entertainment in 2023, it seems like no topic is off limits in a refreshing dose of honesty from the K-pop industry.
And post-SM, Lee is not retreating. He's reinventing. Now helming A2O Entertainment, he's pioneering what he calls 'Zalpha Pop,' a new genre fusing music, technology, and sustainability. A2O's first act, A2O MAY, is positioned as the vanguard of this digital-meets-cultural revolution. With ambitions to integrate CAWMAN (a hybrid video content format), Lee sees the future of K-pop as multilingual, multidimensional, and mission-driven.
That evolution reflects the documentary's broader theme: legacy is never static. In K-pop, where image is everything, Lee Soo Man: King of K-Pop dares to show the cracks, and in doing so, offers a rare look at the man whose vision changed pop music worldwide.
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