Agency head behind viral act Lisence turns out to be Berklee grad and former vocal group member

The head of the agency behind Lisence — the girl group riding a wave of renewed popularity thanks to "Geoje Yaho" — has been revealed to be Lee Ju-heon, a Berklee College of Music alumnus and former member of vocal group Highbrow.

Saturday's episode of MBC variety program "All-Knowing Spectator" offered a look at the daily lives of Lisence's members alongside the growth story of their agency, The Muse Entertainment.

Kim Hye-su, a director at the agency who appeared on the show as the group's manager, said she and Lee are both Berklee alumni. "When we first started the company, there were only three employees, including the CEO," she said.

Kim recalled that the three pooled their own money to found the company with 10 million won ($6,650). "Because we were so short-staffed, I handled accounting and finance, while the CEO personally drove the members to their schedules," she said.

To raise Lisence's profile, Lee printed hundreds of promotional photos and visited broadcasters in person, delivering handwritten letters to industry contacts. He also brought cakes and flowers as gestures of appreciation, hitting the pavement himself to get the group noticed.

Lisence member Minami said Lee had always been attentive. "He would send us flowers regularly and always looked after us with great care," she said.

The agency's lack of experience in the entertainment industry, however, led to some early stumbles.

Kim said the team did not even know how to fit in-ear monitors when they first attended a music show, and had to ask a manager from another act for help. "In the early days after our debut, our only music show appearance was a single slot on Music Bank," she said.

The atmosphere at the company has since changed after Lisence scored a viral comeback with "Love Attack."

Kim said the agency used to send hundreds of messages chasing every program it wanted the group to appear on, but now receives casting inquiries first. "More than 100 advertising inquiries have also come in," she added.