TFIPOST हिन्दी
TFIPOST Global
Tfipost.com
Tfipost.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • All
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
    India Makes Big Jump In Henley Passport Index, Visa-Free Entry To 59 Countries Now

    Indian Passport Climbs Up to 77th in Global Ranks: Visa-Free Access to 59 Countries Now Possible

    Mine Collapse in Jharkhand: 9 Dead, State Inaction Blamed

    9 Die in Mine Collapse : Jharkhand Govt’s Failure to Tackle Illegal Mining Exposed Once Again

    Process to Choose new Vice President Could Soon Begin

    After Dhankhar’s Exit, Process to Choose His Successor Could Soon Begin

    With Stalin Hospitalised, Is DMK Headed for a Family Showdown?

    Heir vs Heir: Power Struggle Likely to Loom in DMK as Stalin Falls Unwell

    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • All
    • Business
    • Economy1
    • Finance
    Ahead of PM Modi's visit, Cabinet approves free trade agreement between India and UK

    PM Modi to Sign Landmark Free Trade Deal With UK as Cabinet Gives Green Light

    Bengal’s Business Exodus: 6,688 Companies Flee State Since Mamata Took Office

    Bengal’s Business Exodus: 6,688 Companies Flee State Since Mamata Took Office

    US Trade Officials to Visit India in August for Crucial Talks

    US Trade Officials to Visit India in August for Crucial Talks

    Importance And Value Of Brand Logos In A Competitive Market

    Importance And Value Of Brand Logos In A Competitive Market

    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • All
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
    BITS Students Build Kamikaze Drones, Power Indian Army

    Kamikaze Drones from Campus Hostel : This is How Two BITS Students Deliver Combat-Ready Drones to Indian Army

    Apache: World’s Most Advanced Attack Helicopter Now in Indian Hands

    Apache Choppers Near Pakistan Border: A Strategic Game Changer for India

    MiG-21 Fighter Jets to Be Retired from Indian Air Force Service by September

    MiG-21 Fighter Jets to Be Retired from Indian Air Force Service by September

    UK F-35B Stealth Jet Finally Departs Kerala Airport After Month-Long Grounding

    UK F-35B Stealth Jet Finally Departs Kerala Airport After Month-Long Grounding

    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • All
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
    Indian Student Seriously Injured in Adelaide, Australia In Racially Motivated Attack: 'F**K off, Indian'

    Indian Student Seriously Injured in Adelaide, Australia In Racially Motivated Attack: ‘F**K off, Indian’

    Indian Assaulted in Dublin in Suspected Racist Attack

    Indian Origin Amazon Employee Assaulted in Dublin, Ireland in Racist Attack

    India Defends Operation Sindoor, Calls Out Pakistan’s Terror Links at UN

    Steeped in Terror, Fanaticism and IMF Debt : India Slams Pakistan at UN

    India Sets Diplomatic Priorities for PM Modi’s UK Visit

    India Sets Diplomatic Priorities for PM Modi’s UK Visit: Focus on Economic Fugitives, Khalistani Extremism, Strategic Ties

    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • All
    • Culture
    • Education
    • History
    • Indology
    NCERT Textbook Reveals Mughal Religious Intolerance

    Ruthless Babur, Violent Akbar, Destructive Aurangzeb: NCERT Textbook Reveals Mughal Religious Intolerance

    India Built Gardens Long Before Babur Dreamt of Charbagh

    Before the Mughals: India’s Civilisation Built Gardens Long Before Babur Dreamt of Charbaghs

    Revisiting the MANUSMRITI: Why India’s Youth Must Study This Ancient Epic

    Revisiting the MANUSMRITI: Why India’s Youth Must Study This Ancient Epic

    Echoes of the Cholas in Today’s Bharat

    Conqueror of the Seas: Rajendra Chola and the Rise of Naval Bharat

    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • All
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Games
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Satire
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    India Becomes First Country to Digitally Preserve Traditional Medicine Using Artificial Intelligence

    India Becomes First Country to Digitally Preserve Traditional Medicine Using Artificial Intelligence

    Highest RTP Casino Games to Get Better Wins

    Highest RTP Casino Games to Get Better Wins

    How to Use Eyebrow Tinting Kits Like a Salon Expert

    How to Use Eyebrow Tinting Kits Like a Salon Expert

    One in Four Indian Married Couples Are Now Overweight

    ICMR Study: One in Four Indian Married Couples Are Now Overweight or Obese—Shared Lifestyle to Blame

    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
Tfipost.com
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • All
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
    India Makes Big Jump In Henley Passport Index, Visa-Free Entry To 59 Countries Now

    Indian Passport Climbs Up to 77th in Global Ranks: Visa-Free Access to 59 Countries Now Possible

    Mine Collapse in Jharkhand: 9 Dead, State Inaction Blamed

    9 Die in Mine Collapse : Jharkhand Govt’s Failure to Tackle Illegal Mining Exposed Once Again

    Process to Choose new Vice President Could Soon Begin

    After Dhankhar’s Exit, Process to Choose His Successor Could Soon Begin

    With Stalin Hospitalised, Is DMK Headed for a Family Showdown?

    Heir vs Heir: Power Struggle Likely to Loom in DMK as Stalin Falls Unwell

    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • All
    • Business
    • Economy1
    • Finance
    Ahead of PM Modi's visit, Cabinet approves free trade agreement between India and UK

    PM Modi to Sign Landmark Free Trade Deal With UK as Cabinet Gives Green Light

    Bengal’s Business Exodus: 6,688 Companies Flee State Since Mamata Took Office

    Bengal’s Business Exodus: 6,688 Companies Flee State Since Mamata Took Office

    US Trade Officials to Visit India in August for Crucial Talks

    US Trade Officials to Visit India in August for Crucial Talks

    Importance And Value Of Brand Logos In A Competitive Market

    Importance And Value Of Brand Logos In A Competitive Market

    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • All
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
    BITS Students Build Kamikaze Drones, Power Indian Army

    Kamikaze Drones from Campus Hostel : This is How Two BITS Students Deliver Combat-Ready Drones to Indian Army

    Apache: World’s Most Advanced Attack Helicopter Now in Indian Hands

    Apache Choppers Near Pakistan Border: A Strategic Game Changer for India

    MiG-21 Fighter Jets to Be Retired from Indian Air Force Service by September

    MiG-21 Fighter Jets to Be Retired from Indian Air Force Service by September

    UK F-35B Stealth Jet Finally Departs Kerala Airport After Month-Long Grounding

    UK F-35B Stealth Jet Finally Departs Kerala Airport After Month-Long Grounding

    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • All
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
    Indian Student Seriously Injured in Adelaide, Australia In Racially Motivated Attack: 'F**K off, Indian'

    Indian Student Seriously Injured in Adelaide, Australia In Racially Motivated Attack: ‘F**K off, Indian’

    Indian Assaulted in Dublin in Suspected Racist Attack

    Indian Origin Amazon Employee Assaulted in Dublin, Ireland in Racist Attack

    India Defends Operation Sindoor, Calls Out Pakistan’s Terror Links at UN

    Steeped in Terror, Fanaticism and IMF Debt : India Slams Pakistan at UN

    India Sets Diplomatic Priorities for PM Modi’s UK Visit

    India Sets Diplomatic Priorities for PM Modi’s UK Visit: Focus on Economic Fugitives, Khalistani Extremism, Strategic Ties

    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • All
    • Culture
    • Education
    • History
    • Indology
    NCERT Textbook Reveals Mughal Religious Intolerance

    Ruthless Babur, Violent Akbar, Destructive Aurangzeb: NCERT Textbook Reveals Mughal Religious Intolerance

    India Built Gardens Long Before Babur Dreamt of Charbagh

    Before the Mughals: India’s Civilisation Built Gardens Long Before Babur Dreamt of Charbaghs

    Revisiting the MANUSMRITI: Why India’s Youth Must Study This Ancient Epic

    Revisiting the MANUSMRITI: Why India’s Youth Must Study This Ancient Epic

    Echoes of the Cholas in Today’s Bharat

    Conqueror of the Seas: Rajendra Chola and the Rise of Naval Bharat

    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • All
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Games
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Satire
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    India Becomes First Country to Digitally Preserve Traditional Medicine Using Artificial Intelligence

    India Becomes First Country to Digitally Preserve Traditional Medicine Using Artificial Intelligence

    Highest RTP Casino Games to Get Better Wins

    Highest RTP Casino Games to Get Better Wins

    How to Use Eyebrow Tinting Kits Like a Salon Expert

    How to Use Eyebrow Tinting Kits Like a Salon Expert

    One in Four Indian Married Couples Are Now Overweight

    ICMR Study: One in Four Indian Married Couples Are Now Overweight or Obese—Shared Lifestyle to Blame

    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
No Result
View All Result
Tfipost.com
Tfipost.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Defense
  • Geopolitics
  • Knowledge
  • Law
  • Lounge

Suicides, unreal expectations and more: The dark underbelly of K-Pop

TFI Desk by TFI Desk
14 December 2021
in Opinions
K-pop, suicide, Korean
Share on FacebookShare on X

Worldwide phenomenon K-pop band BTS recently announced that the group was going on an indefinite break to charge their batteries. It is the band’s second suspension in less than two years and questions are once again being raised over the K-pop culture in South Korea which tends to overwork the artists. 

If a popular band like BTS can exhaust themselves in under two years, one wonders what is the status of hundreds of other groups that are being carefully modeled to be the next big sensation.   

RelatedPosts

Regressive Mindset: Madras HC on National Medical Commission curriculum, objects to usage of terms like gender identity ‘disorder’ for LGBTQIA+ community

South Korea’s famed democracy looks to be falling apart in real time

South Korea plane crash: 179 presumed dead in country’s deadliest mishap

Load More

[공지] 방탄소년단 공식 장기휴가 공지 (+ENG) pic.twitter.com/TLmZTKyISE

— BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) December 6, 2021

There is no shadow of a doubt that South Korea has been using K-pop bands as a means of soft power. K-pop is currently giving big Hollywood artists a run for their money. BTS has been ruling the Billboard charts and has broken several big records lately. Trying to emulate their success, bands like EXO, BLACKPINK have made their mark with myriad more lining up. 

However, there is a dark side to this dizzying fame. A dark side that is rarely talked about in the popular media. For every global successful K-pop group, there are several hundred that have failed.  

It is pertinent to note that K-pop groups aren’t made in garages, pubs, or on live TV (Read: One Direction). They are manufactured in a factory-like setting with a conveyor belt churning out stars with glowing skin, perfectly coiffed hair, impeccable smile, and an overall ‘caricaturish’ feel that appears too good to be true.  

The South Korean sweatshops producing K-pop groups

There is a proper industry working behind the scenes to manufacture the next BTS. K-pop groups are usually formed by South Korean entertainment agencies that host auditions both domestically and abroad, searching for talent after the announcement of a new group. 

They have a set list of demands and places to fill. Moreover, the pre-requisites include being aesthetically beautiful and presentable on the stage. Any knowledge of English is an added bonus.  

To avoid any drama or clash of egos the individuals are chosen with exceptional hold over their particular domains. While one might be a vocalist, the other might be a rapper and the third may be a dancer. This way, the group stays intact for a longer period of time. 

 

The trainee period

After the auditions are aced, the grueling 5–10-year period of grooming these talented individuals commences. Mostly the candidates are chosen in the age bracket of 10-13 and made to sign ‘slave contracts’.  

Meaning, they are made to go through practice routines from morning to night, seven days of the week for three to four years at least, which could last even longer, if the group fails to break the glass ceiling. For instance, BTS’s Jimin trained for 10 months, while Blackpink’s Jennie trained for six years. 

Food habits and body standards are overly regulated

The back-breaking routine often leads to breakdown as many are not able to cope with the madness of the management companies to invent a new money-minting outlet. Apart from the dancing, the food habits of the performers are closely monitored. 

Bordering on anorexic levels, these performers are made to eat less and less food, so as not to gain weight and look stuffy on stage. If someone has a slightly wide nose or a facial feature that does not conform to the ideal South Korean beauty standards, they are forced to go under the knife.  

Cannot date and cannot reveal their sexual orientations

While K-pop groups bat for gender equality, fluidity, and liberty of practising their sexual orientations, most of them are not allowed by their management companies to reveal their true sexual identities.  

Homophobia is still rife in South Korea, where very few mainstream music stars have come out as gay. The country has no comprehensive anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBTQ South Koreans. There are exceptions who are starting to turn rogue but they are very few and far in between.  

Moreover, K-pop trainees are not allowed to date anyone during the teenage years when an individual has their first instance of a romantic association with someone, which sounds crueller than being confined in dancing studios for 16-17 hours a day.  

Depriving people of love means going against the basic tenet of what the big, influential K-pop groups preach. Labels worry that any relationship would make stars lose their mystique among fans. Consequently, for the major labels, public same-sex relationships appear to be out of the question. 

Selling singles is no way for a pop star or group to make money these days. Thus, obligated under contracts, the K-pop groups are forced to say yes to excruciating scheduling of concerts, world tours and public signing events.

Amidst all the chaos, they are made to work on their next album, the one after that and the one after that, and so on and so forth. As a result, most are on the edge and have a burnout rate much quicker than other artists. 

Sulli, a former member of the South Korean girl group f(x) committed suicide in 2019 after being under depression due to the glossy standards of the industry. Similarly, Kim Jonghyun, the lead singer of the popular boy band, SHINee committed suicide. 

In his suicide note, Kim spoke of how he was “broken inside” and that he “couldn’t fight it anymore”. His fans were heartbroken and blamed the over-competitiveness and pressure of the K-pop industry.

Speak Yourself?

Kim Namjoon aka RM in his famous UN speech signed off by saying “What is your name? Speak Yourself!”. Hopefully, BTS and other K-pop groups can speak themselves in the future, speak about their identities without being fearful of the record labels and help bring about the desired changes in the South Korean sweatshops of producing the next K-pop group.  

Meanwhile, those trolling and calling out the K-pop groups incessantly over the internet just because they look different and wear makeup should understand the struggles they have endured to be where they are. Cyber-bullying is harmful in any shape or form and those indulging in it are certainly not the ones the internet was meant for. 

 

Tags: BLACKPINKBTSEXOJiminK-PopLGBTQSouth Korea
Share14TweetSend
Previous Post

Fabindia has registered massive losses and it has only itself to blame for it

Next Post

Supreme Court thrashes environmentalists stalling the Char Dham project, gives the government a free hand

Related Posts

How Manusmriti Differs from the Epics
Opinions

How Manusmriti Differs from the Epics

17 July 2025

Ancient Indian texts are among humanity’s richest intellectual and moral legacies. From the Vedas and Upanishads to the Mahabharata,...

Western Media’s Civilizational Insecurity Against India
Opinions

Western Media’s Civilizational Insecurity Against India Masked as Journalism

16 July 2025

Western media's relentless bias against India stems from deep-rooted civilizational jealousy and colonial guilt. Unable to accept a rising,...

India Built Gardens Long Before Babur Dreamt of Charbagh
History

Before the Mughals: India’s Civilisation Built Gardens Long Before Babur Dreamt of Charbaghs

16 July 2025

While Mughal-era gardens like Shalimar Bagh and Humayun’s Tomb are widely celebrated as the epitome of horticultural art in...

Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Currently Playing

Britain’s Million-Dollar Bird Finally Takes Off!

Britain’s Million-Dollar Bird Finally Takes Off!

00:06:43

Maharashtra targets crypto christians. fake dalit quota scam exposed.

00:04:16

The Forgotten Maratha Legacy in Tamil Nadu

00:07:37

India’s ULRA Bomber: 12,000-km Beast That Can Strike Anywhere Without Refueling

00:07:39

The Shocking Truth About Mass Conversions in Tamil Nadu

00:07:26
Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
tfipostTfipost.com
Right Wing | News Analysis | Indian Opinion
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Brand Partnerships
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
MASHABLE IS A GLOBAL, MULTI-PLATFORM MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY. FOR MORE QUERIES AND NEWS, CONTACT US AT info@mashablepartners.com


©2025 TFI Media Private Limited

No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
TFIPOST हिन्दी
TFIPOST Global

©2025 TFI Media Private Limited