The Cost of the K-pop Dream

    • New

    When you see all the news that happened in recent years, you really start to wonder how parents can still keep sending their kids into K-pop after so many testimonies.

    Do they even do any deep research?

    The long hours of practice, the diets until you get sick, the outfits you have to wear… those are just the tip of the iceberg, there’s much worse


    The chances that your child actually succeeds in a group, becomes financially stable, manages to pay back their training costs instead of drowning in debt while doing small jobs, and keeps a stable mental health after having all their basic human rights taken away from debut until the end of the contract… that’s like a one in a billion chance


    I’ve been using a VPN a lot on YouTube lately, but because of my K-pop-related searches, my algorithm keeps pushing ads about how to join international K-pop training academies, how to become an idol like BTS, Blackpink, Stray Kids…

    Like, what??

    They want to sell their training so badly. Now they even have “pre-academies” to help you join an academy… which will then help you get into an agency… only for them to pick people they stopped on the street :meme-disappointed:



    And then I turn my VPN off :exit-pepe:

  • AllKill VIP
    • New

    I'm sure that there is some general knowledge of what it takes and the risks, but there's a pretty high pay off if you make it. I really wouldn't chalk it up to ignorance because by now plenty of people who would be interested should know what the general life of an idol is like. It's not second gen anymore. It's not drastically different to people that try to get into sports through academies and such, but maybe you could argue that there are more jumping-off points in sports, and that sports have more benefits that idol training as you move up through one's amateur days.

  • AllKill VIP
    • New
    Quote from Varenka

    I'm sure that there is some general knowledge of what it takes and the risks, but there's a pretty high pay off if you make it. I really wouldn't chalk it up to ignorance because by now plenty of people who would be interested should know what the general life of an idol is like. It's not second gen anymore. It's not drastically different to people that try to get into sports through academies and such, but maybe you could argue that there are more jumping-off points in sports, and that sports have more benefits that idol training as you move up through one's amateur days.

    good one with pointing that sports are similar

    as someone who was training as young one, and was going to training camps during summer and winter I also find it very similar with K-POP trainee life

    • New
    Quote from Varenka

    I'm sure that there is some general knowledge of what it takes and the risks, but there's a pretty high pay off if you make it. I really wouldn't chalk it up to ignorance because by now plenty of people who would be interested should know what the general life of an idol is like. It's not second gen anymore. It's not drastically different to people that try to get into sports through academies and such, but maybe you could argue that there are more jumping-off points in sports, and that sports have more benefits that idol training as you move up through one's amateur days.

    Comparing the idol system to sports systems should be avoided, lol


    Sports offer a clear and measurable sense of progression, where you are genuinely rewarded for your improvement.


    The idol industry is a completely different case. You can make no progress at all or improve by only 1% and still be accepted by any agency as long as you have an attractive face, often enhanced by surgery.


    Most positions are primarily given based on appearance first, and only the remaining spots go to talent. That’s why some big agencies scout people directly on the street before even recruiting trainees for their so-called academies.

    Of course, they will never tell you this at the academy. Instead, they keep repeating the “everyone has a chance” narrative to extract money from people.


    In reality, they already know from the moment you arrive who they will keep and who they will get rid of after they’ve taken all your money, of course.

    These kpop academies are nothing but scams

    • New

    Every one dreams of being the next Jennie, Lisa and Rosie. But I don't think this is confined to K pop alone. Kpop is different just because it has a structure and system and formula and they start young


    It is the nature of the entertainment industry. Actor, actress so many of them entered into acting and at the end up going nowhere and end up working as waiter and waitress in their old age and selling street food to pay bills in Hong Kong and China. Actress in China being abused by her agency. Crazy fans are also everywhere. How many US singers overdose on drugs. And how many suiside. It's not confined to Artise from Korea.

  • AllKill VIP
    • New

    It sounds like both have different metrics of success, but the important point is possible years of investment without a rewarding payoff for that investment. It's not a perfect comparison, but it's similar enough imo.

    • New
    Quote from Varenka

    It sounds like both have different metrics of success, but the important point is possible years of investment without a rewarding payoff for that investment. It's not a perfect comparison, but it's similar enough imo.

    I think it's very similar and depends on the sport.


    If we take a look at soccer/football. They have youth academies that take in prospects at the age of 8, and develop them until they're adults. If a prospect is in the academy of a popular club like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc. Then there's a high chance if player performs well they will have a decent to great career when they become adults. I take that system very similar to a trainee that join a big 4 company will have a higher rate for success. Even if an idol doesn't make it there's still a chance they get picked up because the industry values training under a big 4 company. It's similar to football where teams will take a chance on a player if they trained at a prestigious academy if they're above average.


    So it makes sense why parents will send their kids to football academies or kpop companies. Even though there's a high failure rate, but there's still the hope your child could become a star like the idols that make the cut to debut under a big 4 company. Plus, even if a trainee doesn't join a big 4 company they can still see success like members of IVE, I-dle, stayc, fromis_9, tripleS, Loona, kiss of life, etc. This is the reason why we'll continue to see parents make the gamble because they feel their child could be one of the successful idols even though they don't make the cut for a big 4 company. The same can be said in sports where parents are spending a ton of money for participation and many are doing it for the hopes that they're selected to make it to the next level where they can make millions. Of course, most will fail because only the 0.0001% of athletes actually make it to the top pro leagues, but some feels it's worth taking the shot.

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