Name: K-POPについて知らなかったダークで不穏なこと (Dark And Disturbing Things You Never Knew About K-Pop)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T08:32:33.000Z
Duration: 8 min 34 s
Description: VoiceTubeの動画で発音を聞きながら英語表現を覚えよう！学べる英語：

基礎受動態

The foundations of K-pop music as we know it today were laid in the late '80s, when

the South Korean government loosened censorship laws in an effort to modernize, but the Korean

music wave didn't start making a splash on global shores until the 2010s, thanks in no

According to a 2017 Bloomberg report, the worldwide K-pop industry is worth almost $5

It might be all shiny and happy on the surface, but K-pop has a disturbing dark side that

Brace yourself as we take a closer look at the underbelly of this entertainment industry.

If you're familiar with K-pop, chances are you've heard the term "slave contract."

Managers profiting from the talent and hard work of their artists is by no means a strictly

Korean phenomenon, but it's here that the exploitation of aspiring stars appears to

Former JJCC member Prince Mak claims that the notorious slave contract is not only real,

He said on his radio show, The Prince Mak Hour:

Normal contracts are from 7 years to 15 years."

Prince Mak noted this means that a star who debuts at age 25 with a 15 year contract will

still be in a K-pop group when they're 40.

Even worse, according to Prince Mak, is that the contracts don't start right way.

"Your years in your contract actually start from when you debut.

So you could be training from when you're ten years, but that doesn't count."

When Spin magazine's David Bevan visited the headquarters of YG Entertainment in 2012,

the music journalist was impressed with the postmodern complex, boutique cafeteria, plush

recording studios, and on-site gym manned by a famous Korean fitness guru.

However, this was all in stark contrast to the building in which the company's 30-or-so

boot campers were actually living at the time.

"You would never guess that this is where they live [...] a squat, red-brick apartment

building whose only distinguishing mark is the grimy noodle shop tucked into its ground

Cramped living conditions and strict schedules aren't the only hardships that some K-pop

Ferlyn Wong, former member of female idol quintet Skarf, claimed in an interview with

The New Paper that her manager would subject her to "verbal abuse" during boot camp, telling

"[She was] too opinionated […] [and would] never succeed in anything she does."

What do the parents of these young performers think of all this?

Well, many moms and dads may be at the mercy of the agencies, too.

"My manager told my mum off, saying she should have taught her daughter better and that her

daughter is not living the way a proper human being should."

You could argue that all of this sacrifice is worth it when the reward is fame and fortune,

but in truth, K-pop stars rarely get the latter.

According to former JJCC member Prince Mak:

"The company usually gets 90 percent and the artist gets 10 percent.

If you're lucky then company gets 80 percent and the artist gets 20 percent.

And that's per group, Mak said, so if you're in a five-member act, you'll personally only

From that 2 percent, the idol also has to repay the money the agency spent training

them at boot camp, and the debt just keeps growing

After graduating boot camp, the hours don't get any less grueling.

Being a K-pop idol is a full-time job and then some, with groups reportedly expected

Prince Mak weighed in on the workday on his radio show.

"You could be working 20 hours, or even a whole day.

I'm shooting a reality or variety TV show and they went on for 20 hours.

With shifts that long, when do the stars sleep?

"Every day we average about three to four hours sleep, apart from that it's all training

Surgery is reportedly rife in K-pop, and artists will often allude to its prevalence in their

music, whether that be to subtly poke fun at it, like in Psy's "New Face," or brazenly

embrace it, like in Six Bomb's "Becoming Prettier."

It's not uncommon for idols to discuss their enhancements during interviews, but what doesn't

happen very often is an idol admitting that they were pushed into it.

But Shindong, from boy group Super Junior, did just that, saying in an interview:

"One day, the president of our agency suggested I should have double eyelid surgery because

I have an unpleasant look in my eyes, so I decided to follow his suggestion."

Solo artist Hwang Chi Yeul has also admitted to getting work done at the request of his

"I didn't really have thoughts of plastic surgery, but before debut my management company

South Korean society puts a lot of emphasis on physical beauty, meaning that the more

attractive you are, the better your chances of making it in K-pop.

For idols, this means maintaining a strict diet.

Obviously I can't eat fried chicken every day."

The former JJCC member claims that he knew of a female idol group whose members would

be disciplined by their agency for not sticking to their prescribed weight.

"Could be a dance, could be running, could be no-eating.

So they'll get punished if they go over their weight, and they usually check once a week."

K-pop idols' extreme diets may also lead to eating disorders.

Artists JinE of girl group Oh My Girl, and solo singer IU have both opened up about suffering

from anorexia and bulimia, respectively, though neither girl has directly attributed their

Kim Jong-hyun, the frontman of popular K-pop act SHINee, took his own life in December

In an apparent goodbye note shared by a friend, the artist spoke about the intense pressures