The Industrial System of K-Pop: How Idol Training Shapes Global Stars

The K-pop trainee system is widely known for producing iconic artists like Jungkook, Lisa, Rose, Baekhyun, and K-pop groups like BTS, SEVENTEEN, BlackPink, Red Velvet, and more. The K-pop trainee system is really rough, and trainees go through hardships and sleepless nights before rising to fame. However, the debut is not guaranteed.

Many trainees make their debut within a year of joining the organization, for example, EXO Baekhyun, while some other idols make their debut take many years after K-pop training to debut in the K-pop industry, for instance, Stray Kids leader Bang Chan. K-pop is not an easy business to enter, but once you enter with clear goals and are ready to work hard, it is rewarding and guarantees fame. 

What is the K-pop Trainee System?

K-pop is globally known for its rags-to-riches stories, highlighting the transformations it brings into the lives of common people like you and me, provided one is ready to work hard. The K-pop trainee system is a major reason for the global success of K-pop idols and groups, as it is not merely a coincidence of talent but a deliberate strategy for success. 

Many well-known entertainment companies select a handful of candidates to train at their training centers to become K-pop idols. It is loved for its rejection of class stratification and class bias; anyone from any class and background can become a trainee provided he or she showcases utter sincerity, is ready to work hard, and most importantly have confidence and a certain level of charisma. 

The popular K-pop boy band BTS, before attaining the famous badge, the members spent their 3 years of training period under Big Hit Entertainment, now HYBE,  in a single room dorm with closed quarters. This explains how K-pop training transforms your life and brings you into the limelight with enormous fame. 

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How are K-pop trainees selected?

Are you looking for a K-pop trainee position and want to fill it asap? hold on, it’s not as easy as it seems. The big fours of K-pop, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and HYBE, choose candidates with precision and judge all aspects before the final selection as a K-pop trainee in any one of the above companies. However, the competition is less at a lower level, like in companies like Cube Entertainment, FNC Entertainment, RBW, and more. 

Let’s read that line again. It is stating that competition is less, which means there’s relatively less competition in these entertainment firms than Big Four companies. Moreover, the entertainment firms select potential K-pop trainees based on the following attributes mentioned in the points below. 

• High Potential Approve the Bet: The most basic yet important things observed by the selectors from the companies are the potential to become a K-pop idol. By potential, we mean how an individual carries himself, has that charisma, shows aura on stage, and discipline off stage. 

• Voice is a must-have: Judges at the survival shows watch candidates’ songs and music delivery, pitch, and tone of the individual. However, many K-pop trainees get selected, showing charisma and confidence to become a K-pop idol. Remember, effortless charisma will dominate the selection process in the future.
  
• One who can Dance: As you have seen at the stage, music videos, and in many concerts, that’s how well K-pop idols dance to express their emotions and convey their lyrics to the audience. Yes, that is why dance becomes important for the K-pop trainees’ selection process. Observes see rhythm, control over the body, choreography, and how smooth individual can deliver dance steps in one go.
  
• Visual Attractiveness: Let’s be honest, looks matter in Korean society and play a major role in the selection process for K-pop idols. From a survival show, R U Next, almost all the candidates did smooth dance steps, and seemed equally deserving. Judges tapped on the differentiating factor of looks and beauty to shortlist for the K-pop training, and yes, this proves our point right!
  
• Work Hard, Pal: K-pop trainee companies look for individuals who can work hard and have a never-give-up attitude. The K-pop trainee classes generally run for 12 hours per day with an exhaustive schedule, which we discuss later in this article. Trainees have to attend all the classes, hit the gym for a workout, practice midnight, and complete the homework before the sun shines. Quite exhaustive indeed. 

Contestants excel in most of the above mentioned requirement ace the race to become K-pop trainees at major K-pop entertainment companies. However, in current times, competition has increased so much that parents opt for pre-trainee academies to train their children for K-pop trainee auditions. 

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What are the Methods of Selection?

The K-pop entertainment companies use different routes to select candidates for the K-pop trainee program. For context, there are three trainee programs to recruit contestants for K-pop training and eventual debut under a K-pop group or as an independent artist. Here are the three K-pop trainee programs mentioned in the following points below. 

• Open Audition: Big agencies like SM Entertainment, HYBE, and JYP Entertainment hold online and offline global open auditions. The open auditions require candidates to apply directly to the training agency and be selected from a large number of contestants. BTS Jungkook reportedly got 7 offers from different K-pop agencies after his audition, while BlackPink Rose ranked 1 among the 700 applicants who appeared for the K-pop trainee audition for YG Entertainment held in Australia.
  
• Scout Trainee Program: Here company directly approaches the candidates with potential to shine as a K-pop idol. The company executives reach out to individuals on the streets, social media, colleges, schools, and more. Observers primarily look for an effortless aura, a charismatic personality, confidence, and visual attractiveness. The first non-Korean trainee of YG Entertainment, BlackPink Lisa, was selected at a dance competition in Thailand.
  
• Survival Shows: The survival shows are different from the other two routes, and they can provide a direct debut opportunity in a K-pop group. Survival shows like Produce 101, Boys Planet, Produce 48, and Kara Project are some of the well-known reality TV K-pop trainee shows where mentor and audience voting decide the fortune and future of the contestants. For instance, Kang Daniel won Produce 101 and debuted under the new K-pop group Wanna One, formed after the survival show. 

However, the rags-to-riches story is slowly fading away in the Korean market with the arrival of chaebol children carrying effortless charisma and aura by itself. The large K-pop entertainment companies and training agencies prefer the rich kids for their confidence, elite attitude, and no criminal record to avoid any scandal post-debut. 

A Day in a K-pop Trainee’s Life

Everyone wanted to know what the schedule of a K-pop trainee look at the training agency. We have gathered Information from multiple sources to paint a picture, which may contain noise and facts along with authentic details. Here is the K-pop trainee’s daily routine at a normal training agency. 

• 05:00 A.M. – 06:00 A.M. – Wake up and prepare for the daily schedule
• 06:00 A.M. – 07:00 A.M. – Hit the gym and workout 
• 07:00 A.M. – 07:30 A.M. – Breakfast with something light 
• 07:30 A.M. – 10:30 A.M. – Language Classes
• 10:30 A.M. – 11:00 A.M. – Green tea without sweets
• 11:00 A.M. – 01:00 P.M. – Vocal sessions 
• 01:00 P.M. – 01:30 P.M. – Lunch Break
• 01:30 P.M. – 03:30 P.M. – Instrument playing lessons
• 03:30 P.M. – 04:00 P.M. – Green tea 
• 04:00 P.M. – 06:00 P.M. – Yoga lessons
• 06:00 P.M. – 08:00 P.M. – Dance practices
• 08:00 P.M. – 08:30 P.M. – Dinner Time 
• 08:30 P.M. – 12:00 A.M. – Action and personality development classes
• 12:00 A.M. – 03:00 A.M. – Homework and practice 

This is how a normal K-pop trainee routine looks, with only 3 hours of sleep and a very disciplined and strict routine for the day. The K-pop trainee system wants hardworking candidates, and it is clear from the daily routine. Candidates sometimes practice until 04:00 A.M., leaving them with 1-2 hours of daily sleep.

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Rise of Wealthy Trainees in K-pop

The K-pop narrative of humble people could rise to higher levels with sheer hard work and talent has largely been challenged with the entry of wealthy trainees and idol particularly from chaebol families. Gone were the days when artists and groups like IU and BTS rose to newer heights, considering the talent and potential. 

Annie (Moon Seo-yoon) of K-pop co-ed group Allday Project is the eldest daughter of Jung Yoo-kyung, the president of Shinsegae Group. She is one of the first entries of a wealthy idol into the K-pop trainee program. Annie joined Black Label as a K-pop trainee at the age of 16-years and debuted as part of Allday Project. In a recent YouTube video, fans expressed interest in knowing more about the life of a chaebol kid. 

Wealthy entrants have made the K-pop trainee system quite a competition for others. With hefty money and an effortless aura, chaebols are loved by fans and companies equally. This competition has given birth to a brand new industry of K-pop academies and trainee courses. Parents pay a hefty amount to develop pre-audition skills like dancing, singing, and personality changes to get selected in the K-pop trainee round. 

Why Agencies Prefer Chaebol Idols?

The image of K-pop has taken a jolt as its humble story is strongly challenged by the entry of elite K-pop idols. The K-pop training agencies are also preferring the elite K-pop trainees, and the factors really make sense. 

• Effortless Aura: The kids of large conglomerates have a positive attitude and charisma without any effort or lessons, which looks authentic and appeals to the audience. The effortless aura always overpowers the one developed by sheer practice and lessons in the academy. 

• Academic Knowledge: Having a hefty amount of money at one’s disposal has increased the chances of getting selected in the K-pop trainee audition round. Elite aspirants take classes and pay academies to develop required skills like dance, singing, and rap to stand out from others. 

• Criminal Backlog: Agencies are not interested in K-pop idols with miserable lives, as there is a possibility of an alleged scandal or crime in the future. According to agencies, this problem is pretty much solved in the case of elite trainees, as they don’t have any petty cases pending in their names and can be easily inducted into the agency for training and debuting in K-pop groups.
  
• Interest of Fans: This is one of the important factors behind the increased selection of chaebol K-pop trainees. It is because K-pop fans are expressing interest in knowing the life of an elite K-pop idol. How they live, how they act, what happens in their daily life, and more. Annie of the Allday Project has a significant fan following, and fans are deeply interested in her daily routine as an elite K-pop idol. 

The K-pop agencies are themselves disclosing elite K-pop idols to the audience. For instance, Modernberry Korea introduced Ha Min-gi as the grandson of the founder of the company, making 100 billion in sales in a year, ahead of its new K-pop group launch. The K-pop narrative is changing, and class stratification is widening. 

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How Humble to Global Star Narrative is Fading in K-pop?

The humble background to the global star narrative has been slowly fading out with the arrival of pre-trained K-pop trainees from an elite background. They have enough money to take risk and even if they didn’t debut after training, the influencer route is always open with personal branding as the target. Moreover, small agencies are also lagging in the race, with no songs in the top 10 list of most-streamed songs, while the major agencies have 7 of the top 10 global songs in the list. The narrative has really been hurt by class stratification, severe competition, and fading history. 

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