Throughout the years 6Theory Media has become a leader in providing Entertainment content to our loyal readers and today we have launched our newest web property, SmackJuice.com.

We all need a bit of laughter in our lives, especially for you 9 to 5ers. So grab a drink, sit back and get ready to be entertained by yours truly.

Welcome to SmackJuice, where you’ll find viral videos, crazy/funny/stupid news, fails and more.

We hope you enjoy it! Now, drink up.

Klout.com, the definitive source and standard for measuring the online influence of users/brands on social media, ranked allkpop® as the #3 Top Influencer, only behind Andy Cohen and Charlie Sheen, in the Entertainment category.

The ranking which is calculated once every 90 days, is a huge testament to the popularity of KPOP as a genre and how allkpop®, the world’s largest and most popular KPOP site, created a global fan base for the KPOP genre worldwide – A genre which was nearly non-existent 5 years ago.

6Theory Media CEO, Johnny Noh stated, “When we first launched allkpop.com, our goal was to introduce KPOP to the world, a genre which I loved dearly but was literally unknown by everyone else. It’s amazing to see how much we have been able to grow the KPOP genre worldwide – We started from hundreds of fans a month to now millions, but we still have a long way to go. We will get there however.”

In 2007, Edgewater, NJ based 6Theory Media set out to spread Asian Entertainment worldwide, and in 5 years, has created a worldwide phenomenon, with total network traffic reaching over 6 million readers a month.

CEO. Mastermind. Extreme Kpop/Jpop fanboy. Ultimate gamer. Who is Johnny Noh? Depending on whom you ask, the aforementioned titles and more would come up as answers. Officially, Johnny Noh is the CEO of 6Theory Media, the parent company of allkpop.com and tokyohive.com. Three years ago, I started reading allkpop. At the time, the name Johnny Noh simply meant the person who was running the giveaways and contests, some of which I entered but never won. Last June, I started writing for tokyohive.com. Johnny Noh became Johnny, the CEO “bossman” and paycheck provider in New Jersey. After interns Goni Kim and Jessica Lee wrote blog posts introducing the 6Theory staff, Johnny became the generally “chill” and approachable CEO guy in New Jersey who dominated at arcade games. Even though I continue to write for tokyohive.com, this summed up all I knew about Johnny until I decided to write this profile on Johnny. To be honest, when I chose to write about Johnny I predicted that I would probably turn in a profile about someone else because I thought that Johnny would not have the time to be profiled for some freelance blogger’s homework assignment. I was wrong. Although the only interactions I have with Johnny are via G-chat and email behind a computer screen, I admit that I was intimidated about asking for an interview. I expected a “no” as CEOs are busy people, but instead, I was pleasantly surprised with a casual, “sure if its a school assignment I can help with whatever you need [sic].” This speaks volumes about Johnny as a person; he is approachable and open to new ideas. Clearly, these traits have played a significant role in 6Theory’s growth.

Before Johnny became CEO of 6Theory Media, he did what many of us do. He went to college, graduated, and started working. He studied Computer Engineering at Boston University, but transferred to Hawaii Pacific University, where he graduated with a degree in Business Management. After graduation, Johnny worked as an Account Manager at two creative web agencies and then as the Digital Marketing Manager at Castrol Motor Oils, a division of BP Lubricants. While he was at Castrol Motor Oils, he was in charge of the company’s first Super Bowl commercial. Clearly, his experiences in creative, technical, and business fields helped shape 6Theory as these experiences provided knowledge necessary for running a successful internet-based media company.

So how did Johnny come about starting 6Theory Media? As it happens, he has been a fan of Kpop since 1996, but found that there was not much information about Kpop online. Just to see if he could grow out Kpop as a genre, he decided to create allkpop with 6Theory Media’s COO Paul Han. They did not anticipate any particular growth rate and took on an open approach, so the growth that allkpop has experienced since its launch in 2007 took them by surprise. Family and friends “thought it was a waste of time and didn’t think it would get anywhere.” Moreover, in Johnny’s own words, “To be honest, both Paul and I didn’t know what to expect either[.] [W]e were and are [running 6Theory Media] because we love doing it.”

In an interview conducted by Mink Choi at KoreanBeacon.com, Johnny explained that allkpop initially took on an American-style tabloid format to appeal to American readers. He explained further that over time, as readership turned global, the format shifted towards being a more serious newsite (Choi.) Remember how I said Johnny was open to new ideas? Well, his open-mindedness is especially apparent in how the website shifted its focus into becoming a serious news media outlet for Kpop. With this shift came exclusive content and exclusive interviews with celebrities – none of which was at all expected when he and Paul started 6Theory.

Johnny at his desk in the 6Theory office ©2012 6Theory Media, LLC.

What I have written about Johnny up until this point, for the most part, makes it sound like he has a pretty awesome job.  He gets to meet celebrities, look over Kpop and Jpop articles, and listen to Kpop and Jpop songs. He also divulged that his favorite song currently is female idol group 4minute’s song Volume Up and that his favorite male group right now is rookie idol group B.A.P, because of “the production level of their music videos, their charisma on stage and their swag.” Clearly, he loves his job and is passionate about what he does. Who wouldn’t want that? Well, even though he is doing what he loves, he puts in a lot more work than most people realize.

To say that a CEO is busy does not really explain very much. In popular culture, CEOs are either glamorized or demonized or both. Often times, CEOs are portrayed as either schmoozing with other CEOs on a golf course at some fancy country club, or plotting something devious and positively evil. Johnny, however, does neither of these things (though some critics might be inclined to believe that Johnny does the latter). Instead of playing golf and schmoozing with other executives all day or coming up with evil schemes all day, Johnny works around the clock to keep allkpop and tokyohive running smoothly with up-to-the-minute news. How do I know this? Well, I sometimes write articles at night around 10:30PM or 11PM PST, which translates to 1:30AM or 2AM in New Jersey, and I usually still see him online. I am inclined to say that he is superhuman merely because he does not seem to sleep, but he still manages to power through everything quite well; passion is certainly a strong driving factor here. Moreover, since media is a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week-type job, he works essentially every waking moment on computers and also on his various mobile devices. According to Johnny, he stays up when he needs to, which can mean three days without sleep. He catches up on sleep when he can, which can mean a 16-hour sleep marathon.

In addition to the hard work that Johnny puts into 6Theory on a day-to-day basis now, the journey to making 6Theory what it is today was not by any means easy. At the start, with limited funds and limited server capacity, Johnny needed to exercise his creativity to balance the company. Furthermore, with the diversity of reader opinions and criticisms, he made and continues to make tough decisions. To get an idea of how tough these decisions can be, Daniel Lee, the Vice President of Content at 6Theory, revealed that, “Basically, we try not to do things to upset our readers. [W]e do things that will enhance readers’ engagement and enhance users’ experiences on our sites. [W]e cater to over 4.6 million unique visitors a month. [W]e can’t please everyone, but we try our best to =].” Clearly, most decisions are not without critics, and in Johnny’s own words, “[o]bviously, [our call] isn’t always right, but it’s a learning process and we’re very eager to learn.”

This open-minded attitude carried over into allkpop’s first exclusive interviews. With the first exclusive interviews, Johnny and team did not have a set formula on what to do. In keeping an open mind, however, Johnny “met a lot of great, experienced people in the industry that have been able to mentor us and teach us the ins and outs.”

Johnny and some of the other 6Theory staff at an after-party following an allkpop event in New York. Johnny (middle of picture) is standing between Daniel Lee (wearing black dress shirt) and 6Theory CMO James Noh (wearing white dress shirt.) ©2012 6Theory Media, LLC.

So let’s return to my initial question of “Who is Johnny Noh?” Open-minded. Approachable. Dedicated. Passionate. Driven. After interviewing Johnny and other 6Theory staff, I would choose the aforementioned words to describe Johnny as a person. I believe that these character traits have helped him build what we know as 6Theory today. As for the future of 6Theory, Johnny believes that Asian entertainment is still in its infancy and that “we have a long way to go.” And while there may be rumors of potential offers to buy out 6Theory, Johnny and Paul (and the rest of the 6Theory family) love what they do and they do not intend to sell the company. Moreover, Johnny and team are in the process of developing other websites and creating access on other platforms, such as mobile devices. This sounds promising for readers of both allkpop and tokyohive!

We are currently looking for a full time assistant editor to work M-F during the hours of 2am – 10am Eastern Standard Time (NYC).

Candidate may work from home (telecommute), but will be required to communicate regularly with Senior staff.

Responsibilities:
* Produce original and translated content on a daily basis.
* Responsible for copy-editing all news content on our web properties during assigned hours, must ensure all news is published in a timely manner.
* Assist in creating and determining new content and features.
* Work closely with writers on story assignments, including preliminary research, assistance with sources, and revisions.

Requirements:
* Bachelors degree in Journalism or related field.
* Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
* Exceptional Grammar, spelling, flow, and vocabulary.
* Candidate must be fluent in Korean and English, Japanese is a plus.
* Experience working with a content management system – WordPress.
* Experience with photo-editing tools is a plus.
* High-level knowledge of Social Media.
* Experience working for a large publication is a plus.

If you feel you meet the requirements, please send us your cover letter, resume and samples of your work/translation work to jobs@6theory.com, subject: Full-Time Assistant Editor Position.

Please include salary requirements with your application.

Haven’t updated the 6Theory blog in a while, so thought I’d post up this clip! I found it to be pretty entertaining and interesting that our Beagle mascot ‘Junior‘ can actually comprehend what’s going on.

So the other night, I ordered the entire Paranormal Activity series on Blu-ray and during the ending scene, Junior knew something was up, she obviously didn’t approve of the Demon possessed Katie! As for our other mascot ‘L’, she was sitting besides me, full of suspense during the closing scene.

Our company culture encourages and promotes a positive and balanced lifestyle. We provide a fun, exciting and open work environment.

We are looking for an experienced Web developer with a strong web portfolio that includes working on high‐traffic, user‐friendly websites with extensive CMS development. This is a full-time position, working out of our Edgewater, NJ office.

For this role you must be able to
• Write clean, efficient code (PHP 5.3, MYSQL, semantic HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX)
• Back‐end Development
• Write code for mobile‐capable websites
• Ability to meet industry‐accepted standards, specifications and best practices
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines
• Ability to work well in a team environment
• Spec Writing and Documentation
• Knowledge of the 6Theory brand and its properties is essential
• Server administration capabilities are a plus
• Ability to work with Photoshop + Illustrator is a plus

Experience
• Bachelors Degree in related field
• Experience with using Memcache, CDN, WordPress development
• Experience working with popular social network API’s such as Facebook and Twitter
• Experience using version control, bug tracking and Basecamp
• Experience with Linux and lighttpd
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

If you feel you are qualified for this position, please send your resume, portfolio and salary requirements to: jobs@6theory.com

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas! The 6Theory team most definitely had a good time, but cleaning up holiday decorations is always a drag…

That is unless you have James the human ladder and KG the (elf?) taking down the holiday decorations!

Check out the hilarious video below! (Well, we at least got a good laugh out of it).

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

-6Theory Media Team

With TVXQ, 2PM, 4minute, SHINee and more taking over New Jersey at the KBS New York – Korea Festival earlier this month, the weekend of October 8th and 9th was highly anticipated by k-pop fans across the East Coast. The 6Theory team is definitely no exception: after preparing for a two-day booth event and getting to meet allkpop readers in person all weekend, we were ready to top off the weekend with a penthouse after-party of our own at the famed London NYC in Midtown Manhattan.

Located in the heart of New York City, the London Penthouse is quintessential luxury at its finest: dominating the hotel’s top floor with mesmerizing 180° views of the entire city, the suite seemed to be right out of Gossip Girl or any elite socialite party. The experience was lavish, unforgettable, and the perfect escape from the daily grind at 6Theory’s Edgewater office.

With so many 6Theory team members in attendance, let’s meet some of the faces behind allkpop, shall we?

See that man on the right that everyone seems to be focused on? Allow me to introduce you to Johnny Noh, the mastermind behind the 6Theory empire. K-pop mogul, business extraordinaire and boyishly handsome to boot — what isn’t there to like about this guy?

KG Ko (CIO) seems to be busy taking photos of the penthouse… or is he checking himself out in his phone reflection??

Even on the team’s night to cut loose, Daniel Lee (VP of Content) and James Noh (CMO) are keeping themselves busy. Oh wait — James, your book is upside down…

Meet Lisa Yi (Associate Editor), who handles the majority of allkpop’s daytime content, and Alex Lee, 6Theory’s resident DJ and graphic designer. If the 6Theory team were an idol group, he would be the member in charge of swag.

Miso Kim (left) is one of allkpop’s writers, and Matt Marasigan is 6Theory’s videographer — he’s the guy behind all that great footage you see on allkpop’s official Youtube channel. Oh, and that’s me, Jenny Tszeng, on the right: Assistant Editor and core team maknae!

The lovely ladies staffing at the allkpop booth and I, caught exploring one of the bedrooms upstairs. Can you say glamorous?

A group photo in the dining area: put on your best smiles, everyone!

Little known fact: as you could probably tell from these photos, the fine print of our company’s mission statement is, “Work hard, play hard.” I’d like to thank everyone on our team for putting in so much time, effort and energy into building 6Theory into what it is today.

Keep tuning in for more on 6Theory happenings within and beyond our office walls. Until then… this is 6Theory’s Jenny Tszeng, signing off!

This year’s summer was, by far, the most interesting summer I have ever experienced in my 18 years of living; and I give all the credit to the people of 6Theory, no matter how early I had to wake up on days I had to come into the office. And I want to personally introduce and thank everyone of 6Theory, allkpop style.

Johnny Noh, the CEO of 6Theory Media, allkpop, and tokyohive, is the man who screams yuppie with the aesthetics of a guy way too young for his age. Johnny is the man and the brain behind allkpop, tokyohive and, not to mention, he carries around louis vuitton briefcases as if it was thrifted. He may seem a bit intimidating in profile, but he is probably the most approachable boss you will ever meet. For example, while screaming at workers for not doing their jobs correctly, like most bosses do, he’ll be sipping on his beer (which covers almost 50% of the office refrigerator), watching some popular Korean movie, such as ‘Ahjusshi’, on his HD flat screen TV (which is also in the office, right in front of the most comfortable office couches you’ll ever sit on). And, as versatile as Johnny is, he surprises the interns (mostly me) by saying that he will get a arcade system in the office, and then blows my mind by actually getting the arcade system. It doesn’t end there; he will defeat you, heartlessly, in a game of pacman and will laugh quite nonchalantly while you struggle with the unfamiliar old-style joysticks. But beware, he unleashes his inner demon boss for times such as important company meetings and on anything related to the company, then by all means, he means business.

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Daniel ‘Eunduk’ Lee, the VP who is in charge of so many things that I can’t keep track of, is probably the most confusing guy I’ve worked with so far. If I had to describe him with food, I’d say that he’s mostly like one of those dipped ice cream cones: seemingly hard on the outside but once you get to actually dig in, it leaves you with the sweetest and the creamiest sensation. At first glance, all you will see is a skinny, tanned, and fairly groomed guy who has a visible scar on his face reminding you of those gang members in movies who will raid you of all your money. And, with all due respect, he will give you the impression of a very strict VP who will, by all means, reprimand you if you mess up/slack off. But once he opens up, you clearly see the passionate, sensible, and quite understanding man who has a strong sense of discipline due to his service years in the military. Having the perfect mix of both HotN’Cold, he taught me a great deal about respect in this industry and work ethics. And just like Johnny, he means business when dealing with important company issues. Most importantly, he will get annoyed if you spell his name incorrectly, no matter how well-known you are; get it right.

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Alex, the creative mind behind all graphics and K-pop mashups, is the least ‘Jersey-like’ person in allkpop. Not only because he is straight from Maryland, but because he is very outgoing and friendly in a non-Jersey way (if that makes any sense). He is exactly the kind of guy who will approach the new kid in school first and sit with the poor, lonely kid during lunch. He is that cool guy, who strolls in late to class with this shades on, who hangs around with the nerds because he clearly doesn’t care about what others think, who is amazing at computer graphics without being super dorky, who is also equally talented in mashing/making music because he’s just that talented Asian kid who has a knack for music, and is also pretty darn cool (if I didn’t mention this enough already).

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James, the guy who holds the keys to the place where all the magic happens, is in charge of things that I cannot name. James has to be the odd-one-out since he is completely white-washed, (although his interest in the idol girl groups are as strong as the next guy in the office). He is incredibly fit and dresses rather neatly. Although I haven’t seen or talked to James much, I know that James is nicer than he portrays and is probably really talkative (I’m assuming) in front of people he’s close to. And I know, for a fact, that he is the most enthusiastic in greeting, and has a huge crush on Junior (ultra dog-lover, at it’s finest).

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KG, is in charge of PR, and giving Johnny morning calls.  From what I have seen, and heard, he is the one who personally contacts many producers, presidents of companies, and such… Although he seems mixed, the well groomed man is 100% Korean and speaks three languages, Korean, English, and fluent comedian. I have no doubt that if he were to quit his job at 6Theory and did stand-up comedy, then he would make it to SNL level in less than 5 years tops. I really have to thank him for brightening up the office atmosphere with his refreshing smile and puns (although at times, he seems so serious.. which makes everything that much funnier). And as we all know, he is the unsub behind the ever-so-intense gaming of ‘track & field’.

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I admit that it was bittersweet that even as the internship ended, I didn’t get to fully know the people of 6Theory and wasn’t fully aware of the company’s status. But it was a great experience overall and it was definitely the most sturdy stepping stone towards the path to my future career. I learned much more than I had expected and got in acquaintance with great people. I truly thank everyone at 6Theory, especially Johnny, for giving me this opportunity to grow as a writer and most importantly, as a coworker. Although the company atmosphere was very lenient, the work that is put into it, is absolutely at a professional level. Thank you again and I’ll be looking forward to working with you guys again!

Yours truly,
One of 6Theory’s three interns, Jessica Lee

6Theory, the mysterious group of superheroes that work each hour to save mankind in their monstrous crave for the latest K-Pop and J-Pop news. Many know of 6Theory’s mastermind, johnnydorama (Johnny Noh), but not many know his true identity and even less know of his underlings and where their headquarters are. Some theorize that they may be located somewhere in outer space, next to the black hole where even the most intelligent scientists struggle to locate, but that is in the end, only a theory.

In truth, the 6Theory office is located in Edgewater, New Jersey. I would like to introduce you today to the valiant heroes that bring to you allkpop and tokyohive!

Many have ventured into the headquarters to find these superheroes, but only a few have survived the force of the devilish gate-masters, Junior and L. Do not be faked by their cute names, and furthermore, be frightened by the photos of these creatures.

This is L listening to Girl’s Day’s newest song, “Hug Me Once”. She is very shy in meeting new people, but she dominates her gatekeeper partner, Junior, who is more welcome to meeting strangers.

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This is Junior. Watching your every move and reading each and every single comment you leave on our articles. She will go out of her way to track you down if you mess with any of her comrades and do cute things to get you to pet her. But be careful, that is only an act.

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This is Alex, our graphic designer. Yes, he is very handsome, for it is one of the most important qualifications for a man to be a part of 6Theory. He designs much of what you see on allkpop and tokyohive.

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This is James, and he seems to be on the phone while writing something on his notepad… or is he really? He is the key holder that opens the door for the people coming into the office but also our Chief Marketing Officer. He claims he likes to party, but he will never let his guard down on any occasion… unless he sees a hot girl.

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This is Annie, one of our intern writers, posing with Brian Joo. You may know of her alias, limabean17. I have yet to ask why she is limabean17, but there must be a deep meaning to her alias. Lima beans are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, and good for diabetes.

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This is Jessica, a.k.a ylee, another summer intern writer that bring you news about your favorite K-Pop stars… and possibly, probably, her favorite K-Pop stars. She rarely speaks in the office. She’s boring, but she is a deadly assailant of K-Pop news that writes in silence.

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This is Brian Joo when he came into the office for an interview. Standing behind is Matt, our videographer, who is watching Brian’s every move, and Sandy, only revealing the back of her head, our Editor in Chief and full-time ramen connoisseur, questioning Brian’s motives. He may have been a spy, but he’s probably just a very innocent and kind celebrity that devoted his time to us for an exclusive interview. Yes, we get exclusive interviews. And Annie… oops, limabeans17 gets to take pictures with celebrities.

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And this is Johnny, or johnnydorama, the mastermind behind 6Theory. He is the main force behind bringing you awesome stuff through allkpop and tokyohive. He claims he plays a very wide range of K-pop music through his Mac, but in truth, he plays a repeated playlist of 3 or 4 songs of his favorite girl groups at the time… but he’s a pretty cool guy.

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The lounge area, that nobody really uses, other than Junior and L… at least HyunA’s “Bubble Pop!” is streaming around the clock!

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The view of the NYC skyline from our office… if only the Hudson River was clean enough to swim in, we’d love to jump in on this hot summer day!

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And finally, I’m Goni, another intern writer. I eat awesome, free lunches at the office and write articles (kind of). But eating awesome lunches that Johnny buys for everybody at the office is pretty much my main job.

Although the 6Theory team consists of a lot more members throughout the world, this is how we roll in the Edgewater, NJ office… cya again soon!