Pursuing the K-Pop Dream – At What Cost? (Part II)

LearnOwly

Updated 2 February 2016 at 6:23 pm

In Part I of this article series, we looked at the extent of the Hallyu (Korean wave) in Singapore for children and their parents alike. In Part II, we explore the two harsh realities that confront youths who wish to pursue their dreams as K-Pop stars.

The Entertainment Industry is Volatile and Glitz and Glamour Fizzles Quickly

Xiaoyue would not be the first youth from Singapore to give a shot at realising her dream of being a K-Pop singer. In 2011, JYP Entertainment and Alpha Entertainment held auditions in Singapore and Hong Kong and it was during then when Singaporeans Ferlyn, Tasha (real name Natasha), and Elaine were recruited by Alpha Entertainment with other finalists who passed the auditions. Ferlyn, Elaine, and Tasha later beat 3,000 other hopefuls who also auditioned and underwent 2 years of intensive training in South Korea.

In late 2011, Elaine dropped out of the group citing medical reasons and tough training. According to her interview with Yahoo Singapore, training for the girls in Seoul came in the form of a military-style boot camp where they were not even allowed to go to the bathroom without a minder. Their intense 14-hour days would start at 7 a.m. and involve hours of training at the gym, dance, singing, and swimming.

Although the girls’ dreams of breaking into K-pop came to fruition in 2012 when SKarf released their first teaser for their title song “Oh! Dance” in early August, the glitz and glamour fizzled as SKarf’s Korean member, Sol, and Singaporean member, Ferlyn, left the group in 2013 and 2014 respectively. At the time, Ferlyn opened up about her struggles to TNP when she revealed that while she had worked very hard on many things, she got criticised instead of getting the recognition she deserved. This could be partly due to the Korean culture of leaning towards being more critical than encouraging. Another reason why the companies are so hard on the artistes is also because of the stiff competition. The K-Pop model is viewed as a business model rather than a platform for artistic and creative expression. There is intense pressure to profit from the debuts of a new artistes and hence the Korean formulae for producing stars an be very unforgiving and punishing.

The Pressure to Look Perfect

However, the volatility of the entertainment industry and the unforgiving nature of the way K-Pop stars are produced are just two of the challenges that K-pop star hopefuls have to navigate. In a country where plastic surgery is openly advertised and one in five women goes under the knife, there is intense pressure to undergo plastic surgery to stay on top of the game.

The Internet is awash with pictures of K-Pop stars’ “before” and “after” photos and the speculation is often not about whether a star had something done, but how much he/she had done. While going under the knife used to be a fiercely guarded secret, the more successful artistes have come clean and admitted to have procedures done. For instance, Brown Eyed Girls’ Miryo revealed that she’s had so much work done now that people no longer recognize her. ZE:A’s Kwanghee dubbed himself the “Bluechip of Plastic Surgery,” and has openly admitted that most of his face is fake. Some artistes have also hit back at the pressure of having to go under the knife by making fun of it. For instance, Brown Eyed Girls recorded a parody version of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” for SNL Korea called “Plastic Face.”

Hence a youth who is on the edge of pursuing K-Pop stardom definitely has to grapple with the issues having to go through a very punishing process in order to become a K-Pop star and potentially changing his/her looks and identity to conform to the standards of the industry.
In the next part of the series, we will continue to explore some of the harsh realities behind the supposedly glitz and glamour of being a K-Pop star.

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