Kiwis smashing it abroad: Breaking out of the K-pop box
Rina Chae's name is often treated as shorthand for K-pop in New Zealand — a label she both appreciates and wrestles with.
Across borders and industries, New Zealanders are carving out space, building influence and exporting creativity. In this series, RNZ speaks to Kiwis making their mark abroad, those coming home, and those living somewhere in between.
Auckland-based dancer and choreographer Rina Chae's career stretches far beyond one genre.
She has collaborated with the likes of Justin Bieber and Beyoncé, worked behind-the-scenes work on The X Factor NZ, hosted the K-Pop Academy TV series and choreographed for local, Korean and Australian artists.
Chae is branching out her Auckland academy to San Antonio.
Supplied
Her proudest achievement, however, is closer to home. Enbeat Dance Academy, based on the North Shore, has become a launchpad for international careers.
Chae says her academy has "changed and shaped and uplifted the street dance and K-pop culture in New Zealand".
The academy's alumni include internationally touring dancers and three K-pop idols, two already debuted and another soon to debut under Jay Park’s label, MORE VISION. There’s even a fan-run Spotify podcast dedicated to the studio. Chae also runs her own talent agency, RAZE.
"It's actually insane because our dance hub has created so many superstars out of our studio - whose individual journeys I believe the New Zealand audience could be more aware of as that could also give hopes to the next generation of artists."
What began as a local hub now has global reach. When we speak, Chae is in San Antonio, where she's opening an overseas branch alongside former student Angel Lopez, now a US-based tutor.
Its success she couldn't have seen coming, she says, especially when there were nay-sayers and unsolicited pieces of advice she had to ignore along the way.
"A handful people I sought to take advice from were advising me not to go to LA and go to London instead [when she was starting out as a commercial dancer], because at least I'd get a visa there easily and there'd be a lot of musical theatre jobs for me… And I thank God that I didn't follow those advices and did my own thing as the US journey truly provided me with a growth I needed as a young dancer.
"A business advisor also had said, 'oh, there's like no market for [something like Enbeat Dance Academy], you need to go elsewhere for that'. And then I was like, 'really? Well, actually, I'm not going to listen to you because I trust in my business sense that this is going to work'."
That instinct, she reflects, mirrors her mother's boldness — a Korean woman born in the 1950s who chose to study medicine against her own father's wishes. Yet even now, Chae navigates the limits others place on her.
Chae says she has a love-hate relationship with the label of 'K-pop Queen'.
Supplied/Rina Chae
While she acknowledges the impact she's had introducing Kiwi talent to K-pop and building connections, she has a love-hate relationship with the label "New Zealand's K-pop Queen".
"I feel like from experience, that Asians are supposed to come in and feed into the economy, but not own a certain thing unless it's to do with Asian culture.
"I've been one of the leading players in help boosting New Zealand industry in terms of commercial dance, dancer and choreography rates and standards, mentorship educations, and growing internationally recognised dancers. For me, New Zealand media insisting on labelling me as 'New Zealand's K-pop queen' feels 'boxed in' for the viewer's comfort.
"I've been speaking about it for a long time, and I don't particularly care if people take it another way. I say what I say."
