'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABP/aAAgBAQAAAABqf//EABQBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAX/2gAIAQIQAAAAL//EABQBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAX/2gAIAQMQAAAAT//EAB4QAAICAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIDAQUEEQAHEyJy/9oACAEBAAE/AK2Ab18C6aXVuE63aEKWwtwnyF673yttWLrsUF59mACoIEReUREa+uf/xAAaEQAABwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDM3Kx/9oACAECAQE/ADneurR//8QAGBEAAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIBM3H/2gAIAQMBAT8AWpMg/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of suicide and eating disorders.
K-pop Extremes gives readers a look into the lives of idols beyond the glitz and glamor, uncovering a few hidden truths of the K-pop industry. This article explores some of the most prevalent toxic practices in the K-pop industry that have devastating consequences on idols’ lives.
The K-pop world is not all full of glitters and rainbows, and the presence of some extremely disturbing elements has been long established. From subjecting idols to intensive diet plans to setting unrealistic beauty standards, many instances have sprung up in the past few years to testify to the appalling nature of the industry.
Not only do such practices hamper the mental health of K-pop idols, but they also drag them to a point where they take extreme measures. Surviving only on water, fainting due to exhaustion, and quitting the idol life altogether are the tip of the iceberg in the otherwise glamorous K-pop music industry.
In light of this, let’s look at some of the bizarre and hyper-controlling practices by entertainment agencies that are utterly disappointing.
5 toxic practices in the K-pop industry that are a bane to idols
1) Intensive diets
K-pop idols are subjected to intensive diet plans to fit a well-defined beauty standard. Even the most renowned stars like IU and Xiumin have succumbed to the need to fulfill the set body structure. In the process, they followed intensive diet routines such as a hefty intake of coffee or consuming sweet potatoes in the name of meals.
Even though body-shaming is an extremely awful practice, it is highly common in the South Korean music industry. Tiny waists for female stars and sleek-cut jawlines for male idols are the unsaid norms that define their roles and positions. The shortest way to get quick results is borderline unhealthy diets.
Gugudan’s Mina quit food and only survived on two bottles of sparkling water until she reached her lowest weight of 42 kgs. Such a negative relationship with food develops into a eating disorder that many idols have been victims of.
2) Strict dating rules
It is no secret that K-pop agencies have extremely stringent and rigid rules when it comes to dating. While some agencies implement complete bans on dating, others impose strict regulations for the same and take extreme measures, such as firing them, if the rules are not met.
K-pop idols HyunA and E’Dawn, who were managed by Cube Entertainment, made headlines during a promotion of a joint new album to announce that they have been dating each other.
This incident stirred up chaos and their tour was cut short. Cube Entertainment also released a statement announcing their departure from the agency, signifying the stringent nature of dating rules.
The statement read:
“When we manage artists, we consider mutual trust and faith our top priority. We decided the trust is broken beyond repair, so we are expelling the two from our company.”
Another idol, Sulli, also known as Choi Jin-ri, made her dating life public and was chastised for it. She was cyberbullied and allegedly also reached out to her management company, SM Entertainment, to take strict action but to no avail.
3) Rigorous gym routines
The importance that is attached to looks and physiques in the K-pop industry is not a new revelation. While an intensive diet plan is one way for agencies to take hold over artists’ bodies, rigorous exercise and gym routines on top of exhaustive choreographies make things worse.
Way, a member of Crayon Pop, confessed how difficult these routines become at times:
“We used to dance with 4 kg (8.8 lbs) of sandbags on our feet for several days. Our teacher wanted us to get used to the sandbags, so without it, our dances would look lighter.”
On average, K-pop idols are made to train for eight to 10 hours a day with minimal breaks. Such a body-breaking routine, paired alongside one or two meals per day, when put on a diet plan, is perturbing. The effects of such training are often seen at concerts and on live stages when artists face difficulty in breathing, experience nausea, and fainting.
4) Slave contracts and hectic schedules
Underneath the glamor and magic of the K-pop world, lies an unprepossessing reality and slave contracts are at the forefront of it. Referring to a long-term and usually unfair contract between idols and their agencies, a slave contract is highly restrictive and exploitative. Moreover, the financial penalties on trainees who break these contracts are significantly hefty.
As per the contract, the management bears the expenditure required to train aspiring idols. From accommodation and living expenses to singing and dancing lessons’ fees, agencies take care of most of the financial aspects. However, this in turn means that they can mold and shape trainees according to their wishes.
The management controls idols’ behavior, lifestyle, and love lives, among other things as a ‘compensation’. They are made part of hectic schedules and barely get time to take a seven-hour bare minimum nap.
In 2009, three members of TVXQ took their management agency SM Entertainment to court, claiming that the agency's 13-year-contract was not only extremely long-term and restrictive but also exploitative as it gave them little to no profits.
5) Queerbaiting
Queerbaiting has come forward as a prevalent marketing technique in the K-pop industry. With an aim to garner support from people interested in queer narratives, queerbaiting only ambiguously depicts the presence of non-heterogenous characters and representations. It neither confirms nor denies the existence of such representation to keep the audience interested.
Its exponential growth over the past few years has further raised concerns about the tactic. Not only did it anger the LGBTQIA+ community for using ‘queerness’ as a marketing strategy, but it also received criticism for fetishizing its inherent nature without spreading any awareness whatsoever.
Soft masculinity and shipping culture are a part of this tactic that agencies deploy to gain attraction and views from their audience. This has further assigned idols a typical personality that they are supposed to exhibit and show the world, irrespective of whether or not they are comfortable with it.
Undoubtedly, the K-pop industry has introduced the world to a long-ignored talent arena and art form. However, the prevalence of such toxic practices has only painted them in a bad light. The fame and glamor associated with it is not all bright and delightful, rather it is concerning and alarming.
K-pop Extremes is a weekly series. Stay tuned for more.
