- reporter, Moon Jun-ah
- reporter, BBC Korea
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5 hours ago
“Are you worried? Sometimes I get runny noses. “I once worked for ten hours.” (Mother of K-pop idol Park Ji-yul)
Park Ji-yul (10), who lives in Daegu, is receiving K-pop idol training at a formal audition class.
I have been learning dance, singing, lyrics, writing, guitar, acting, etc. for about a year and a half so far.
Aiming to become a trainee at JYP Entertainment, a famous domestic group, Ms. Park devotes herself to work not only after school on weekdays but all day on weekends. .
Ms. Park’s mother, Ms. Jeong, pays tuition fees of more than 3 million won every month. I also travel back and forth between Daegu and Seoul every week to take my daughter to an acting academy in Seoul.
“It’s difficult for me. The child does not have a hard time. “Because I like it so much,” said Mr. Jeong with a shy smile.
What worries Mr. Jeong the most is that his child is injured. Ms. Park once suffered from a runny nose while working all day, and she suffered a ligament injury while practicing dance and had to wear a cast for a month.
In response to concerns and doubts that he might be undergoing rigorous training at a young age, he said, “It’s not something you can do just because your parents want you to do it.”
He said, “No one can beat someone who likes him,” and he said he wanted to provide the necessary support so that the child could continue to do what he is doing. keen on.
explain picture, Park Ji-yul is attending several academies to become a K-pop idol, but he says the process is not difficult.
K-pop becomes ‘elite art and physical education’
“I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, so you can do it,” said the mother of Kang So-yul (pseudonym, 13), a girl who lives in Dangjin and who dreams of being an idol.
Ms. Kang is in the ‘Weekend Entrance Exam Class’ K-pop. Weekend entrance exam class focuses on teaching voice and dance in preparation for art and physical education high school entrance exams. Prepare entrance exam song selection and entrance exam dance, as well as mock practice tests and mock interviews.
Along with the entrance exam, Ms. Kang is also preparing for an audition. We are preparing to become idols methodically, by looking at end of month assessments at the academy and getting research and feedback.
The K-pop weekend entrance exam class lasts from morning until late at night. However, Kang’s mother says that the child does not study because “he has to,” but voluntarily learns to dance and sing “because he loves it.”
Ms Kang’s mother also describes herself as a ‘pickup mother’, traveling two and a half hours to take her daughter to an academy in Seoul.
He explained that unlike the social climate 10 to 20 years ago, “Today, roles such as YouTubers and idols are recognized and affirmed, so parents tend to support them rather than motivation (if their child’s dream is to become an idol). “
Lee Jong-im, an associate professor at Seoul National University of Science and Technology who studies idol culture, said, “The global success of K-pop idols such as BTS and Blackpink has also affected the way parents perceive change their children. idols.” He said, “K-pop related academies are also doing this.
Regarding this phenomenon, pop culture critic Cha Woo-jin said that K-pop has become an “elite art and physical education”.
In the same way if talent is discovered at a young age in artistic and physical fields such as figure skating, football, piano, etc., people get professional education and grow up, as the K-pop market grows , the time to train. idols have moved on and the techniques have become more specialized.
Critic Cha also said that the parents of idols are “middle-class or upper-class, highly educated and cultured people,” and added, “They have a high understanding of the market and are choosing academies where their children can be managed systematically and well.
explain picture, Professor Lee Jong-im said that the method of raising a 4th generation idol is “more sophisticated and the process is becoming more detailed. “
How are the 4th generation idols built?
The time to train 4th generation idols is moving forward, and the intensity of the training is getting more intense. In fact, only a few of them lead to idol debate.
The role model of the aspiring idol Wi Hari (13) is Ahn Yu-jin of the girl group IVE. Ms Wi attends more than six academies. I am also taking basic voice and dance classes, musicals, acting academy, guitar academy, and even language study.
The current idol training process has some similarities to Korea’s education-based private entrance exam culture.
The first generation of idols was a way to cast teenagers who were already famous for dancing or singing in the area, such as through street casting. Starting from the second generation, the ‘cultivation’ of K-pop icons began in earnest.
Professor Lee explained, “It doesn’t mean (the idol training method) works differently just because it’s the 4th generation,” but “the method is like -is becoming more sophisticated and the process is being shared.”
For example, when a child between the ages of 8 and 10 shows an interest in dancing and singing, parents send the child to a small local academy. If a child shows talent, he or she will be transferred to an academy where singers from one of the top three entertainment companies have graduated or to an academy-like organization. The academy sets up a test for a group, and if you pass the test, you become a ‘trainee’ of the idol group.
In this way, K-pop idol trainees go through a step-by-step growth process.
Meanwhile, there are idol training academies that are other schools. Last March, SM Entertainment opened the ‘SM Universe (SMU)’ academy in Daechi-dong with the aim of nurturing vocal, dance, production, modeling and acting students.
Although SMU is legally an academy, it is actually run as a school. Classes run five days a week, from 9am to 6pm. So, if you get accepted to SMU, you have to drop out of school.
Paradoxically, idol training academies also become jobs for those who didn’t really succeed as idols.
Professor Lee said, “The number of people who were idol trainers or used to be idols but did not succeed is increasing every year, and so are workplaces for them such as private academies and academy-like organizations appear, the number of K-pop-related academies seems to have increased. “
explain picture, Experts worry that K-pop’s private education craze could hinder children’s healthy growth
‘It can hinder healthy growth’
Singer Kim, who went through the times of the second generation of the Korean music industry, expressed regret, saying that he has seen many idol youth in the same group suffering from mental problems.
In an interview with BBC Korea, the singer said, “Before a healthy ego is created, you have to be careful about putting your personality into a concept,” and added, “It’s a factory where all the workers take care of idols from top to bottom. base and they can attract people.” “If they are built as products, individual idols lose their power to stand on their own feet,” he said.
“It’s hard for Idol friends who are ruled by the concept of everything to stand alone without breaking down when they come alone. “As you manipulate yourself using the language of concepts, it becomes awkward to reveal your true self, and the side effects pile up, leading to depression.”
Lim Hee-yoon, a pop culture critic, diagnosed the craze for private idol education as a kind of “overgrowth syndrome” in the K-pop market He explained that the problems of the K-pop market, which is trying to grow quickly and produce results quickly, manifested directly in the way of cultivating an idol.
He said, “It’s dangerous to push one’s soul and body towards narrow abilities at a young age,” and expressed concern that the expansion and over-immersion in K-pop-based private education could hinder growth healthy children.
Professor Lee said, “In the idol market, competition is fierce, but only a few people succeed. ” He said, “Instead of thinking about who you are, you only focus on your goal of becoming an idol, and you become obsessed with being the perfect version of yourself in order to succeed, which increases the risk of depression.”
He also told teenagers, “Interacting with peers and teachers at school is important, but (if you focus on preparing to be an idol) you will mostly interact with group officials at the very beginning of commerce, so that you learn the economic value and the value of success first.” he also pointed out problems.
According to a recent study, idol preparation groups and academies focused on teaching skills such as vocals and dancing, but did not provide mental guidance classes. At the same time, mindfulness classes are also held at large comprehensive academies such as SMU.
Kang So-yul’s mother, an aspiring idol, said, “Idol is a job where you can only make money if other people love you,” and added, “It’s hard to tell her that to care about what other people think. ” But, “Not everyone can love you.” He said he works hard to manage his child’s mental health by telling him in advance and supporting him by saying, “When things are difficult, the family is always there for you.” behind.
He said he’s an idol “I know it’s a career that has a good chance of not being successful, but I think it’s worth it just to go through the process” to work hard to achieve what you want. “