There would hardly a person on earth who wouldn’t have heard to kpop. The most famous and unique music genre has always driven the fans crazy. But have you ever heard “All that glitters is not gold”? Have you ever wondered, are the perfect humans of Kpop even perfect in real life? What we see is only the bright side. What about the dark side of Kpop? Mental health issues, maintenance of a perfect figure, surgeries, sexism, and a lot more to share! Here I’ll show you the most deeply rooted demons of the kpop industry. So, stay tuned!
The sheet of glory and glamour covers the oppressing industry plagued with life-threatening issues. Standing on perfect beauty standards, K-pop has forgotten that artists do have a life. However, Showbiz has always been the toughest to survive in.
Facts showing the dark side of Kpop industry
Training period
No one can deny that a Kpop performer appears like a perfect example of beauty on screen. But you know what, when a performer confirms an agreement, he actually dedicates the whole of his life to the cause. What you see on-screen is the result of years and years of hard work. This industry molds a normal person into an ideal example of perfection.
Making a public appearance as a star isn’t a piece of cake there. An agency keeps the stars in adolescence before public performances. One has to become perfect for an on-stage performance. This normally takes around 10-15 years. Isn’t this a huge period? Well, this is a terrible and toxic culture. The kpop trainees are not even allowed to sleep sometimes. The laws also allow the trainers to take maximum advantage of the employees. Unfortunately, most of the kpop trainees end up becoming slaves.
Moreover, the impeccable moral character of the artists isn’t in their genes, but it’s their teaching. They also circumvent public misbehavior. Their compassionate attitude towards aficionados, accompanied by humbleness, is taught very well during the training.
This platform is not designed for a mentally weak person. Constant criticism, harsh comments, fat-shaming, and even sexual abuse are common. The average weight for K-pop idols ranges around 46kg. An ideal figure is their main target. Momo from the TWICE, the girls group said that,
“I ate one cube of ice, but I thought that I might get fat with even that. That was what I did, but I didn’t lose 7 kg by the D-Day, so they gave me about three more days.”
Momo, TWICE
Avoid relationships
Being a K-pop star, one has to be single. Isn’t this shocking? It means the artists have no choices left for their personal life. Their career and personal life both are at the sake of orders from trainers. What can be worse than this? Well, this is because the public usually prefers celebrities who are single. The high in-demand artists are usually single. Although full filling all the beauty standards, they usually ignore married/taken individuals. Agencies strictly forbid them to date.
Maintainance of figure
K-Pop trainees have to go through a strict diet and starvation unless they become perfect to be on-screen. In this field, dice are rolled based on looks. The agencies have nothing to do with the trainee’s health. All they want is a perfect look they can portray on-screen.
This might seem normal. However, in real life becomes hell in maintaining a figure. One has to starve for many days irrespective of it being extremely unhealthy. This fat losing procedure is accompanied by many eating disorders. But who cares? Everyone wants an idol.
One of the groups, ‘Nine Muses,’ exposed the dark side of Kpop and told the world about the paper cup diet. They had to intake the diet that fits into a paper cup, not more than that. This diet consists of nine paper cups a day. Only the food that fits into nine cups per day was allowed to them.
The fact why K-pop is the most attractive music genre is the looks they portray. What they show on-screen is rare. No one’s flawless. What they preach is perfection, which barely exists in real life. Perfect height, weight, and bones popping out of the skin is the goal of the new generation. It seems very easy. But once the dark side of the Kpop industry is exposed, the public is surely going to realize the effort these idols put on to become a part of the team.
Plastic surgeries | the only solution to look attractive
The international beauty standards have ruined out the perception of natural beauty. During the training years, these artists are often asked to go for plastic surgeries. This is for the slightest changes in their features. According to beauty standards, an individual is called beautiful when she has:
- Large eyes
- Small nose
- A very light skin tone free from blemishes
- A V-shaped, sharp jaw
- A perfect jawline
- Above all, a small face
- Clavicle (the beauty bones) popping out of their skin
You would have surely observed the K-pop artists being a perfect example of the above-mentioned beauty standards. The biggest factor considered in the selection process in auditions is the looks. It’s step one. Dancing and singing skills won’t matter unless you fit in the above beauty benchmarks.
The worst and shocking part is, the companies ask the trainees to fix their facial imperfections through cosmetic surgeries. In Korea, 1 out of every 5 women undergoes plastic surgery. In the race to achieve a perfect look, teens are often misled.
Usually, stars avoid talking about cosmetic surgeries. However, the physical changes in their facial features are easily recognizable and expose the dark side of Kpop. A former trainer once said that,
“If a girl has a bad face and a good body, the problem can be fixed with plastic surgery.”
Kim Min-Seok, former trainer at one of the best K-pop’s agencies.
Sexism exposes the dark side of Kpop
Be it Hollywood or the k-pop industry; sexism is always a part of it. However, females are subjected to it more than males. High-level exploitation is always faced by k-pop idols. Females are expected to promote everything in cutesy.
However, they are the ones who face lots of criticism. This is clearly gender discrimination because in the K-pop industry, men get an easy pathway as compared to women. However, fresh women who are new to this field are often made a victim of sexual violence. Further, the fans also breach their privacy sometimes by stalking them. They invade one’s privacy which is totally unacceptable yet, it happens.
Fans try to monopolize the K-pop idol’s attention by searching for their personal information. Whereas work-based harassment is frequent. Moreover, female stars are also subjected to slut-shaming when they perform anything that’s remotely exposing.
Mental health | Hopelessness leads to suicide
You might have heard of K-pop stars committing suicide. 2021 is about to end but still, the memories of Kim Jonghyun are alive. The fact is they can never fade away. He was a songwriter and the lead singer of group SHINee. With a heavy heart, the team announced his death along with the lines of a suicide note.
Something similar happened on 14 October 2019, when Sulli hanged herself to death. This news shocked the media globally. The reason was cyberbullying. The deteriorating mental health condition gives such kpop stars no other option. They have been tired of fighting and satisfying other people’s demands. This career requires lots of patience and consistency.
Anxiety, depression, and panic attacks are prevalent. Fakeness is the key to survival. Positive criticism is always appreciated. However, negative criticism always comes up with hurdles. Such obstacles become impossible to deal with sometimes. Hence, cyberbullying leads to mental health problems. Panic attacks and Depression eats up a person from the inside. Do you know what happens in the end? Such artists commit suicide.
Is there any end to the dark side of kpop?
Did you ever think that the charming and vibrant image of the Kpop industry could be so dark from the inside? Well, obviously not. This is because no ones is ready for this debate. This world is all about to show off. Contentment is no more anyone’s goal now. Especially when it comes to K-pop idols, the amazing they appear from the outside are totally hollow from the inside.
Those who show off do not shine.
Laozi
There is NO end to this culture. Unfortunately, those who suffer can’t say much as they rely on the public, whereas the public loves beauty. The enchantment that does not exist in reality is loved by everyone. All we can do is, expect the artists to come forward and address all the issues they face daily. Moreover, sexual Harassment, misogynistic comments, payment issues, and fake beauty standards all of such points should be considered. Hence, expose the cruel world and dark side of Kpop.
A 21 years old guy got sentenced to 24 years of imprisonment! A long punishment in such a young age? What’s the reason? Further, his looks have helped him gain sympathy globally! Read more.
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