Lives of Idols: Trainees

(soft pop music) Joon Park:<i> They say the chance of getting that big</i> <i> is harder than the lottery. </i> (soft pop music) Amber Liu:<i> Being an idol,</i> <i> we're just working to go on stage. </i> <i> It's no pain, no gain.

</i> <i> But when people are physically tired</i> this gets tired too. Joon Park:<i> What they don't understand is it's not possible to be perfect. </i> (swelling pop music) ♪ ♪ (soft pop music) (soft pop music) ♪ ♪ (lively pop music) Five, six, seven, eight.

(percussive sounds) Koom, ta, koom, ta. <i> Six, seven, eight, one, two, three, four. </i> Tamar Herman:<i> The idol training process</i> <i> is a system where young talent is raised up by these companies.

</i> <i> Once you're brought on as a trainee,</i> <i> you attend a variety of classes</i> <i> and there's a lot of monthly evaluations</i> <i> and you pretty much have this</i> whole structured way of streamlining talent. It's part talent search and part training program. Tamar Herman:<i> Most of these trainees</i> <i> are very reflective of the Korean youth culture in general</i> <i> in Korea,</i> <i> where students are putting their be all and end all</i> <i> into their academic success.

</i> <i> It's just that they're going to a dance class</i> <i> instead of waking up and studying. </i> <i> It just seems very weird to a lot of people in the U. S.

</i> 'cause, you know, we're so used to the idea of like rock bands and self-made artists and talent that's discovered, not created. <i> In Korea, the idea you can create a star is very alive</i> <i> and there's really not much stigma to it. </i> (soft dance music) (laughing) (soft dance music) (soft dance music) ♪ (lively dance music) <i> ♪ I love you ♪</i> <i> ♪ I love you ♪</i> ♪ Look ♪ (lively dance music) ♪ (lively dance music) ♪ Rollercoaster ♪ (crowd cheers) ("Latata" by (G)I-DLE) ♪ Every day, every night, ♪ latata ♪ (crowd cheers) (singing in Korean) Six, seven, eight.

Five, six, seven, eight. (singing in Korean) Tamar Herman:<i> Everybody needs a vacation</i> and K-Pop stars don't really, you know, there's no weekends off, <i> holidays off are rare. </i> <i> Usually at the peak of success there is no break</i> <i> because you might never get that success again,</i> <i> and what if you never get that money again?

</i> <i> And what if you never get that presence again</i> and what if you miss that opportunity again? (sombre music) ♪ (lively pop music) ♪ ♪ Boys be loving me ♪ Girls be hating me ♪ They will never stop ♪ 'Cause they know I'm so hot ♪ Joon Park:<i> The reason why a lot of younger kids watch K-Pop idols</i> <i> is because they're like animation. </i> <i> They're almost perfect.

</i> You have to try to live that lifestyle so that when people watch it they're like, they really are like that. But what they don't understand is when we're off camera, guys? I'm going to tell you right now, everyone poops!

♪ I'm so so so so hot hot hot ♪ (crowd cheers) Bernie Cho:<i> For all the fans that might be showering praise and love</i> and joy about their favourite stars, on the flip side and on the other hand, you have these anti-fans who are just spraying, spewing, <i> all sorts of vitriolic hate about anything and everything</i> <i> that these particular stars stand for. </i> <i> And recently,</i> <i> there's been a spate of very high profile K-Pop stars</i> <i> who have committed suicide.