The birth of K-pop initially began with boy group H.O.T in 1996 and over the years, K-Pop continues to expand with the big 3 agencies SM, YG, and JYP at the forefront.

Media outlet Newsis recently took a look at each of the Big 3 agencies and determined their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Producer Lee Soo Man established SM Entertainment in 1995, followed by Yang Hyun Suk establishing YG Entertainment in 1996, and J.Y. Park establishing JYP Entertainment in 1997.  SM and YG have already celebrated their 20th-anniversaries and JYP will celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2017.  In concordance, Newsis takes a look at the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities surrounding each agency for 2017.

SM Entertainment in 2017

Strength 

EXO member Suho's "Curtain" for SM Station will be released next month. Their legendary group Girls' Generation will also celebrate their 10th-anniversary this year.  Meanwhile, TVXQ members Yunho and Changmin will be returning from the military in addition to Super Junior members Eunhyuk, Donghae, and Siwon.

Weakness

It seems rookie boy group NCT did not meet the agency's high expectations.  Split into subgroups globally, the main purpose was to debut in teams based on the members' locations, however, there is much work to be done here.

Opportunity

There are high expectations for Red Velvet as they will be in competition with TWICE, following the similar concept and coordination of f(x).  Red Velvet will be releasing their new song "Rookie" on February 1.

YG Entertainment in 2017

Strength

Commemorating Sechskies' 20th-anniversary this year, YG is indeed receiving much support from the group.  With Big Bang member T.O.P entering the military this year, it seems Sechskies' activities may somewhat cover up the huge gap left by Big Bang.  

Weakness

YG's weakness appears to be the absence of their franchise groups.  It looks to be a tough call for YG with Big Bang members going off to the army and 2NE1 recently disbanding.

Opportunity

This could be the right chance for fellow junior groups to shine.  With senior group Big Bang just releasing their first album after eight long years, it's time to see more releases from young groups like WINNER, iKON, and Black Pink.

JYP Entertainment in 2017

Strength

JYP will be holding their 20th-anniversary this year, with girl group TWICE taking the spotlight.  

Weakness 

Though TWICE has quickly moved to the top of female idol groups, it is unfortunate news for Wonder Girls to have disbanded at the same time.  With former members Yeeun and Sunmi taking leave, boy group 2PM will be having their last concert in February or March as they say their farewells to fans upon entering the military.  'miss A' also needs to step up their game in order to lead TWICE.

Opportunity

In order to fill in the missing gap of 2PM, GOT7 is to be the main focus for now.  Although the group hasn't shown an explosive amount of response like EXO or BTS, they are gradually gaining popularity with each release.  JYP's band DAY6 is also planning to release a new song every month, as JYP looks to have a very solid 2017 with TWICE also in the mix.

What are your thoughts for 2017 and the Big 3?

SEE ALSO: Min Hee Jin claims BTS, TWS, and RIIZE copied her Concepts