“A K-pop idol is an artist in Korean pop music or the K-pop industry. These artists can either be members of a K-pop group or solo artists. They are usually under Korean entertainment agencies as trainees, undergoing intense training to improve how they sing and dance, and speak a foreign language before becoming full-fledged K-pop idols” (Toyryla, 2024). As a half-Korean I want to know more about Korean culture, so I have decided to research K-pop idols.
The Korean music industry continues to grow massively, “Artists like BTS and BLACKPINK have been selling out stadiums all over the globe and breaking records on streaming platforms. This once-local sensation has become a global phenomenon, thanks to its catchy melodies, polished choreography, and innovative fashion” (Comms8, 2023).
When it comes to academic or professional qualifications there are none that guarantee success in becoming an idol. This can go to extremes, “The person auditioning may be as young as 10 years old!” (Toyryla, 2024). Despite there not being any formal qualifications, you do need to catch the eyes of the entertainment companies with talent and potential.
“The first step is to audition for your chosen entertainment company. Usually, someone wishing to become a K-pop artist will join auditions for a company or multiple different companies – or possibly for all of them – and hopefully will get an offer to enter at least one of the companies. If they are Koreans in South Korea, they will probably join auditions in person. However, many Korean entertainment companies will also hold global auditions, so one can audition in person in their home country – just like what Lisa from the girl group Blackpink did in Thailand. Alternatively, it is also possible to audition online sometimes” (Toyryla, 2024).
In some cases, idols have been scouted on the street, “It was in 2011 that a casting director from Big Hit Entertainment chased Jin on the streets after seeing him get off a bus in Seoul. He then asked Jin if he wanted to try out K-pop, to which the latter agreed” (Mahanta, 2024). Idols are known for being very attractive, following toxic beauty standards, and hopefuls might not get through auditions because their visuals do not meet the standards. “In addition, plastic surgery is also a common practice for female idols when they don’t reach specific toxic beauty standards. It’s so accessible that companies encourage K-pop idols to get plastic surgery, even at a young age, to modify their facial features, specifically their jawline or nose” (Cruz, 2023). These procedures are normally done during the trainee stage. “The company couldn’t force a trainee to have plastic surgery, but it was strongly encouraged. Plastic surgery is very normal in South Korea and the prospect of having surgery didn’t bother me at all” (Chong, 2020).
In these auditions, there are 3-4 rounds depending on if you are a foreigner or a minor. You can choose whether to dance, sing or rap in the first audition (Mackenzie, 2024). If the company see your talent, they invite you to the next round normally with an email (Irene, 2023). As previously stated, attractiveness will also play a part on whether you pass. You must give information including your height, weight and age by filling in a sheet you are given at the audition (Euodias, 2017). “Weight was the constant obsession of everyone there. Everyone was required to be no heavier than 47kg (7st 6lb or 104lb) regardless of their age or height” (Chong, 2020). If you are at an offline audition, they might take photos of you and ask you to walk a runway to see if you have modelling potential (Euodias, 2017).
For online auditions, you can find information on how to audition on each entertainment companies’ website. For JYP Entertainment, you must fill in a form with personal details, including age, height and weight, as well as upload a video or audio file of you either dancing, singing or rapping (JYP Entertainment, n.d.).
The second round of the audition is in person in Korea. A lot of in person auditions are held in large rooms with numerous prospects also auditioning, like Britain’s Got Talent (Euodias, 2017). If you sang in the first round, the judges will most likely ask you to dance in the second round. Expect a lot of questions to be asked about you and try to perform because you are auditioning for an entertainment company (Irene, 2023).
The third round will be held in Korea and is where you will start talking about the contract. You will not know if it is the last round of your audition process until you have signed the contract which is the last step to becoming a trainee (Irene, 2023). In this round a few of higher ups in the company will be present to see your potential. Contrary to previous rounds, the judges will choose the song or the dance you must perform. They will give this to you before the round (Irene, 2023).
The fourth round is very similar to the third round but might be more complex as things like visas will be discussed, if you are not Korean, and the contract will be finalised (Irene, 2023). There are two-year, seven-year and twelve-year trainee contracts (Euodias, 2017).
“Getting through the fierce competition and finally becoming an idol trainee through street casting, auditions, or academies is only the beginning. It takes months, at most, years of rigorous training to debut. To become a perfect idol, you take classes in various fields, such as dancing, singing, acting, media training, foreign language, personality, etc” (Lee, 2021).
Becoming a trainee does not guarantee your debut (Jung, 2017). “Trainees would be evaluated by staff, receiving heartless criticism, and those who failed to bring out a satisfactory performance were sent home” (Los Angeles Times High School Insider, 2021). “I remember having to send a good friend of mine home every month because they got eliminated from the test,” and “Being told that I’m not good at stuff face-to-face and trying to keep everything together, when I hear those things, it was very harsh (Kim, 2020)”.
“Once in the company’s training program, trainees go by schedules starting as early as 4 a.m. and ending as late as midnight. A typical K-pop trainee’s day is filled with dance practice and vocal lessons as well as added Korean language lessons for foreign trainees. Extremely unhealthy dieting was highly encouraged, with companies wanting women from 5’2 to 5’9 to weigh the same weight of a maximum of 104 pounds” (Los Angeles Times High School Insider, 2021). The schedule of a trainee is a long day full of exhausting activities but not only that, the trainees must control their weight and diet.
You might think that there is a lot of financial pressure for trainees, however, “The trainees are never asked to pay the training costs. The expenses incurred by the trainee throughout training are settled with the profits earned after the trainee’s debut” (Lee, 2021). This is often agreed in the contracts. When your contract comes up for renewal, you can leave. If you have fulfilled your part of the contract, you will not have to pay off the debt of being a trainee (Chong, 2020).
Trainees compete to be a part of upcoming K-pop groups. These groups often have a concept, for example cute or goth. Some trainees will change themselves to fit the concept while others might get dropped by the company for being too far from the concept. A lot of trainees do not fit into these moulds, “I went through even more rigorous training and again was forced to fit into a certain mould, that wasn’t truly me. This manifested in a lot of ways, from having me create songs that were not true to my style, to changing my fashion style to something that felt unnatural. It was like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. What bothered me most was having to make decisions that contradicted my own identity to appease management. I felt like these choices were making me go against who I really was” (One, 2020). “At a certain point, I started to make a lot of money and people started recognising me, but because I was not being myself, the more money that came in, the lower my self-esteem got. Nothing I was doing was bringing me joy and the “success” I had tried so hard to achieve came to mean nothing” (One, 2020). “They told us the music genre, the style that we would have, and I started feeling iffy about the whole thing. I learned about the character behind my stage name, Dia. She was supposed to be very reserved, sweet, and innocent. As the visual, I would be expected to personify those characteristics. But Dia just wasn’t me. I’m opinionated and loud. I doubted I would be able to keep up this docile personality in public” (Chong, 2020). This shows the pressure of putting on a mask for the public as an idol. These concepts can boost the popularity of groups as fans enjoy continuity in the music and visual aspect of the groups. Keeping a good public face and having a likeable or relatable personality can boost your stardom.
The companies encourage idols to stay away from romantic relationships. “There is a sub-set of fanatical followers who turn up at concerts waving signs that read “my husband” or “my wife” – and revelations that the target of their affections is actually involved in a real relationship is a betrayal that too often leads to anger and accusations on social media” (Ryall, 2024). This causes groups to lose popularity. Even during training, “Dating was banned, though some secretly did” (Chong, 2020). This was to avoid scandals once they had debuted.
“There were times when we only had two or three hours of sleep in our beds. Especially when we performed on music programs, we’d get there before dawn to do dry runs and camera rehearsals, then in between rehearsals we’d shoot interviews and other variety programs. In situations where we couldn’t sleep or eat, it wasn’t east to be smiling all the time. But what people wanted to see from girl groups was that kind of bright energy” (Ye-Eun, 2021). This shows the extreme overworking that can happen in the industry as companies push the idols to do as much as possible to increase publicity of the groups. Not all companies are relentless. Big Hit Entertainment gave their group BTS an extended break for a “period of rest and relaxation” (BBC, 2019).
Extreme diets are sadly all too common in the industry. TWICE’s Momo starved herself and over-exercised to meet weight requirements. She would spit regularly to remove water from her body and when going to bed, would stay awake scared she may not wake up if she fell asleep (Mathew, 2020). When idols are speculated to have gained weight, they are shamed but recently fans have protected idols like in the case of Hanni from NewJeans (Dawson, 2024). Idols are also praised when they gain weight for a healthier look like Rosé from BLACKPINK (Koreaboo, 2024).
The career progression of an idol can differ a lot. Some idols go on to do modelling or acting like V from BTS who acted in the K-drama Hwarang (Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth, 2016-2017) and models for Celine (Kim, 2023). Some start a solo music career. Many do both. Included in the package of being an idol, there will be many opportunities for exposure on television shows and many K-pop groups have their own YouTube channels. Idols also livestream on V Live to help them connect with their fans. I recently visited Korea in the summer of 2024, when going into department stores and shopping centres, it is K-pop idols that are the models for big brands like Gucci, with Jin from BTS (Zargani, 2024).
There are a multitude of benefits to becoming a K-pop idol. You gain unimaginable fame in Korea, Asia and now often, global fame. K-pop fans are often loving and actively follow and support your career. If you are successful, money will flood in, and you will be given many opportunities to further your career in the entertainment industry. Opportunities for creative expression, career diversification, positive influence on the public, sponsorships and endorsements. Building strong bonds with band members and relationships with other industry professionals will help boost your ability while giving you a great support system. K-pop, just like other genres of music, can brighten someone’s day or even change lives.
Overall, becoming and being a K-pop idol has many pressures. Especially from fans and the entertainment companies. These pressures start as early as the auditions, continue all the way through training and peak once they have become idols. They include keeping up with Korea’s unachievable beauty standards, extreme diets, very busy schedules with minimal rest, paparazzi following you everywhere, strict dating policies and most of all keeping a perfect image for the public. In this industry, you are not a singer, dancer, model or rapper. You are an idol.
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