this is the number of people who went to EXO concert of K-Pop in 2015.
And in year 2017, the same number increases to 10 lakhs.
And when in 2019, when there was BTW concert tour,
the same number increase to more than 2 millions.
But the truth is, where millions of K-Pop fans are able to see their idols,
but they never know,
how their life actually is.
Because the actual reality of K-Pop stars is hidden from you!
But if you see, over the years
a lot of K-Pop ideals have put the actual reality in front of the world.
And they can blow your mind.
If you see the world of K=Pop from far,
it would look perfect,
songs would look perfect, dance would look perfect
costume would look perfect,
and even people would look good-looking and perfect!
But this world which looks glamorous and perfect from outside,
is neither perfect nor glamorous.
Rather the truth is, the K-Pop industry has such a side
which most of the people from outside can't able to see.
But what is this side?
And why don't we know about it?
And most importantly,
if something bad is going on in this industry,
then why is it kept hidden till date from you?
We all know that how popular K-pop is.
Infact it is so much popular
that people from all over the world want to become K-Pop idol.
But if we see, there is nothing wrong in having dreams.
But the actual problem is
most of the people who take these dreams are kids.
The kids whose age is 10-14 years.
[So, which is your favorite K=Pop group?]
[BTS]
[Do you love BTS?]
[Yes, I love BTS]
The dream of all these kids is to become the K-Pop star,
but to achieve this, they have just one way,
and that is to work in a big k-pop industry company,
and these are the top 3 big companies.
First company is SM,
second one is JYP,
and third one is YG.
Apart from these companies, there are small companies also
but in these three companies, there are many such K-Pop artists
who are very successful today!
So if you also want to be a successful K-Pop star
then joining one of these three companies is the best option!
Now, most of the people go there for auditions,
and before audition, they think that
there would be either singing, dancing or rapping test.
And during those auditions, whatever the candidate they would like
they would make him/her a successful K-Pop star in coming time.
How simple it is, isn't it?
Absolutely not!
Because the reality is,
there is nothing simple in it.
And the truth is, from the audition to the debut of a candidate
the whole process is very lengthy and dark.
So, let's start from the starting.
A lot of people come in these auditions.
Infact not just from Korea, but also the foreign countries.
People from US and UK also come there to give auditions.
And there are two common things in all of them.
First, all of them are very talented,
and second, they are very hard-working.
And most of them are kids of 10-16 years age.
But here, the actual thing is competition!
Competition is so intense that the chances of selection are 700:1.
That means, only 1 out of 700 people would be successful.
And this is about candidate selection only.
Not till becoming the successful star.
After that, the best candidates are selected.
Now the thing to think about is that what happens with the person who works there?
First of all, the K-Pop company signs a contract
with whatever the candidate is selected.
But the problem is that in most of the cases, these contracts are of exploitative nature.
And in some of the cases, these contracts are called slave contracts.
But what is in the contracts,
which push them into such hardings?
So come on, let's understand this also.
When some enters the world of K-Pop
then the candidate has to sign a contract with the company!
Now according to this contract,
the person has to live in a small room far from their family,
till their training.
And it is also written in their contracts
if you want to come in K-Pop
then you would leave the school and give whole time to K-Pop.
After which their training start.
And during this training, the candidates are
taught singing, dancing and rapping skills.
Apart from this, they are taught one more thing
and that is foreign language.
If you are not a Korean, then you would be taught Korean also.
Why?
Because whenever you do stage shows
you can interact equally with Korean and non-Korean fans.
But here, the problematic thing is the time period of this training.
This training period is of 4-5 years.
Like if you see,
RM did his debut in BTS in 2013.
But before that,
he was a trainee at Big Hit Entertainment.
There are some K-Pop idols
whose training period is much longer.
Jihyo, the member of TWICE had a training period of 10 years.
Apart from her, there is a member of Big Bang named G-Dragon
whose training lasted for 11 years.
But this is about trainings only.
What about contracts?
If we try to understand the contracts
then the contract of all the K-Pop companies is not for 1-2 years.
Rather the time period of these contracts is 7-15 years.
But the shocking thing is that
their time period isn't calculated in their contract duration!
That is, if the contract is for 7 years
then they have be the employees of the companies
for next 7 years apart from their training period.
For example, BTS had a contract with BigHit from 2013 to 2019.
After which it was renewed till 2026.
Whereas other K-Pop bands like BlackPink, TWICE,
Exo, iKon, Monsta X,
all of them have contract for atleast 8 years.
But the truth is that whoever the group members are
they have done the training for atleast 5 years.
The contracts are apart from that time period.
Here, there is one more thing to notice.
That is, if someone is given the training of K-Pop
then it is not necessary that he will become a successful K-Pop star.
But why?
If someone is given such a good training
then why is he not being able to become a star?
And one more thing,
if he is not able to become a star
then does his hard would get ruined?
Then you are thinking right.
Yes, his whole hard-work gets ruined.
And the reason is same, competition!
Reality is that there is so much competition in K-Pop
that it takes 10 years to make a debut.
Now, one more thing would be coming in your mind,
that if someone makes a great debut,
then his life is set.
He would make a lot of money
and would become successful also.
But there is nothing like this.
Most of the K-Pop stars who make their debut
their life doesn't change after debut also.
Like, a K-Pop idol told in his interview
that he used to live in a very small apartment before he got fame.
Where he had to live far from family,
and had to be available 24x7 for company.
But still, after a lot of hard work, what do these K-Pop stars get?
Maybe a lot of money, right?
No!
Nothing like this happens.
In most of the cases, K-Pop idols hardly get any money to do their work.
There is a famous K-Pop band named AOA.
They told that they got their first income after 3 years of their debut.
There is a matter of thinking that why didn't they get any money after making debut?
See, these companies train and manage most of the idols.
They manage all their expenses,
like travel, living and training expenses.
So these companies have to get the return also.
So to get the return, they follow a system.
This system is designed in such a way
that whenever a K-Pop idol starts making money after getting fame
then he would give most of the money to that company
so that all their expenses can be met.
But there is a catch over here.
Big bands like BTS and BlackPink
when they get successful, the companies get a lot of money
so all their expenses get balanced out,
but what about the case, when someone doesn't get success?
What do they do in that scenario?
Because if we see numbers,
most of the people doesn't get successful in K-Pop.
Every year 50-100 people make debut.
But you tell me, how many of them you have heard about?
Like there is a K-Pop artist named Lee Seung-gi,
who didn't get any money for 20 years after starting his career.
The companies had kept all the money
because their expenses weren't being met.
Similarly Henry of JJCC tells his fans
that these companies keep their 80-90% income
and all the band members have to split the rest 10% income.
That's why in most of the cases
K-Pop idols get in debt after making their debut.
Now there is one more catch over here.
Whenever these companies get the contracts signed
then there is clause named 'Regulate'.
That is, the companies can regulate their artist to make profits.
But wait!
What does this 'regulating' mean?
What things are involved in it
which are very harmful for every person?
So let's understand it from an example.
Like there is a very famous K-Pop band named EXO.
There is a member of that band named Xiumin,
who had to maintain his weight at 53kgs during his album promotions.
And for that, they had to eat once in two days.
And the companies had asked him to do it.
Similarly there is a member named Momo of TWICE band
who revealed that her company asked her
to reduce her weight by 7 kgs in one week.
There is a very popular diet named IU in K-Pop,
which has been inspired from a singer.
In this diet, the idols have to stay alive on
one apple, two sweets and one protein shake.
Similarly there is a former trainee who had denied to reveal her name,
she tells that she had to follow an extreme diet for 10 years,
just because her company wanted her to maintain her weight of 38 kgs.
During her training, she used to live in a
small room where CCTV camers were installed,
so that she can be caught while cheating.
She also tells that she had to went through a
lot of plastic surgeries to maintain her looks.
And due to this, she is in debt.
Now after listening this, you must be thinking that
why do these K-Pop stars take such extreme steps to look good?
Why do these companies want all these stars
to maintain their weight under 40-50 kgs.
So the answer to this is 'Imperfection'.
In K-Pop industry, there is no place of imperfection!
That is, if you want to become a K-Pop star
then good looks is a requirement, not an extra benefit.
And that's why the beauty standard in this industry
are very strict and unrealistic.
And it is almost impossible for someone to achieve all this without surgery.
And that's why, most of the people in this
industry have to depend on plastic surgeries.
And that is the reason, South Korea is called
the Plastic Surgery Capital of the world.
But here, it's not about just looks.
Because the companies don't control these artists on the basis of just looks.
Rather it is said that there are artists without any artistry.
Because the truth is, in most of the cases
the K-Pop bands don't make even their own music.
Companies give them music
which is already tried and tested.
They just have to test it.
So technically, the artists in K-Pop industry don't have their own creativity.
But why do these companies do this?
It's simple, for money!
Because these companies give such tried and tested songs which they sing
after which money comes and 80-90% of this money
is kept by these companies for expenses.
And the rest money gets distributed among members.
In some sense, all the K-Pop stars are paid actors.
What they will sing,
how would they sing,
how would they sing,
and what kind of personality would they keep in front of public,
all these things are controlled by companies.
Even this is also true that K-Pop artists aren't allowed to choose their own clothes.
But apart from money, what is the reason
due to which their life is being controlled?
The reason behind this is 'image'.
What do the fans think about these K-Pop groups?
How do they see it,
what perception should the people have about these groups,
companies decide all these things.
Like in year 2018, Tiffany Young who was a very famous K-Pop idol
she revealed that those group members aren't allowed to keep mobiles.
And that's why she had to call from phone booth to talk to their parents.
And many K-Pop stars have experienced this thing.
So, the companies have given these two reasons for not keeping the phones.
First, they don't want these K-Pop idols to get distracted because of phones.
Second, they don't want any K-Pop idol to get involved in any romantic relationship!
And most of the K-Pop stars have to do a big sacrifice for their success.
And that is, they aren't able to date anyone.
Now you must be thinking that why do they problem with their love life?
How does it affect them?
So the answer to this is linked to their image.
Like in year 2014, Baekyun from EXO
and Taeyeon from Girl's Generation had started dating,
and when this news came out,
their fans got disappointed instead of getting happy.
Their fans believed that their idols are focusing on dating
and are not focusing on their fans and other group members!
And not just that,
even some of the fans filed a petition against them!
In which there was a demand to kick Baekyun out of the EXO band.
See, it is very obvious
it feels bad seeing the marriage of celebrity crush!
And this thing is understandable also!
But some of the K-Pop fans are so much romantically involved for their idols
that they can't see them dating someone else.
And that is the reasons, those K-Pop idols who are single
have a massive fan following.
And those who have a huge fan following
people spend huge money there,
and that is the reason
that these companies keep their love life controlled,
to get a lot of money
And this is also a very big reason
that most of the K-Pop groups are either all male or all female.
So that the fans never feel
that the band members are building relationships with each other.
If you see today, the fan culture of K-Pop
has become very toxic.
Like if a K-Pop idol doesn't become clean fit in eyes of their fans
then they are bullied badly on social media.
Even sometimes this bullying gets so intense
that you can't think that a social celebrity would be trolled so badly.
Like on 14th Oct. 2019
a former K-Pop star Sulli was found dead in her house,
and after investigation, it turned out that
she killed herself.
But the thing was that Sulli was one of those rarest K-Pop idols
who didn't care about her image so much.
Infact she was in a relationship
and she didn't hide anything about her relationship!
But her fans didn't like her bold and carefree attitude.
And obviously, as companies expect
similarly the K-Pop fans also expect their K-Pop idols
to be perfect.
And Sulli became victim of hatred of her fans.
She asks in her last Instagram live session
that 'please tell me, what my mistake is'.
Do I deserve so much hate?
I am not a bad person, I am sorry!
Sadly but Sulli was just 25 years old.
This is about hate,
whereas on the other hand, some K-Pop fans love their K-Pop idols so intensely
that they aren't able to handle that love.
Like in 1990s, the fans of G.O.D and H.O.D were used to be so crazy
that they used to follow them whole day,
infact they used to stand outside their home.
Similarly the fans of SUPER JUNIOR Heechul followed his car for so long
that he got injured because of that.
And some of the fans of EXO had crossed the limit once.
They had planned to kidnap the whole group!
Whereas the fans of Yoochun slapped him publicly
so that he can remember him whole life.
But something happened in this industry so terribly
that most of the people don't talk about it after entering this industry!
But this is matter of fans side!
But many more such things happen in K-Pop industry
about which most of the people don't know!
Like you must have understood that if you want to get success in K-Pop world
then you would have to all such things
which these companies demand from you!
But in this intense competition
idols especially female idols are expected
to offer something extra also.
Like in 2017, the CEO of a K-Pop company was caught exploiting his two trainees.
In which one was 19 years old,
and other one was 17 years old.
And it doesn't end here.
Rather by taking advantage of their compulsion,
their body is also monetized along-with their music.
There are many such artists in K-Pop
who are being treated as an object.
Like in year 2009, a big tragedy happened with an artist.
On 7th March 2009, a 29 years old actress
Jang Ja Yeon was found dead in her apartment.
And it was found out that she took her life.
But before suicide, she wrote a letter.
And in this letter, she told many such things about this industry
about which people had not clue.
In this letter, she tells
that she had signed a contract with a K-Pop company.
In which she was hopping that she would become a successful K-Pop star.
But her dream didn't get complete.
Because that company uses her like a product,
and that company had forced her to sleep with very rich and powerful people.
Even she also told in her letter
that the company had pressurized her so much
that she had to sleep more than 100 times with 31 people.
Sometimes it also happens
that these female K-Pop trainees are forced
to get involved with rich investors.
Like in year 2017
the CEO of a company was arrested
because he offered four trainees to his friend businessman.
Now you must be thinking that it happens with females only.
But there is nothing like this.
Because it also happens with boys too!
In November 2022, 11 members of a K-Pop win a court case,
and they did this case against their own company named Spire Entertainment.
These 11 members said that
the CEO of their company used to abuse them verbally,
and apart from them,
all those members were exploited physically.
It clearly shows that it is not about males and females.
Here, the actual problem is between people with power,
and people without power.
Because if you see all these cases very carefully,
those who are in power, are misusing
who are not in power now, and are vulnerable.
Now, there is one more thing to think about.
If so many bad things are going on in K-Pop industry
then why is the government there not doing anything to improve it?
If we talk about the government, then in year 2009
South Korean government introduced an act,
and under this act, they wanted to protect all the kids of their country.
But apart from all this, the truth is that
to bring improvements in K-Pop industry
the government doesn't do anything.
But why?
The answer to this lies in this data.
In year 1960
the GDP of South Korea was $4 billion,
which has increased to $2 trillion by 2021.
K-Pop has a vital role in this massive economic growth.
Every year K-Pop industry contributes around $10 billion in this economy!
Like if we talk about just BTS,
according to a study of 2018,
BTS contributed $3.6 billion in the economy.
And many analysts say that
that from year 2014 to 2023
the contribution of BTS in Korean economy is $29.4 billion.
Apart from this, there is one more thing and that is tourism.
1 of the 13 tourists in Korea goes there just because of K-Pop industry!
And due to this popularity,
South Korea exercises soft power by using K-Pop industry!
Due to this it sets up its influence in the whole world.
But all the things they are doing comes with a cost.
And that cost is the lives of these kids.
And this is a very bad thing.
And many artists are exploited for years
and still these artists neither get money
nor freedom.
And in these years, many K-Pop idols have told
that how they have to face depression and a lot of mental issues.
So the thing is that the more fascinating this industry looks from outside,
the more amazing you find it,
it is not that much amazing.
There are many such things in this industry
about which people don't talk
and those things are very dangerous!
And I hope you have learnt many new things from this video.
And if you got value from this video
then please like this video and subscribe this channel
so that you never miss such powerful videos.
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