To Yuna, Soojin, and Haeun— fighting! And stop stealing my sister's hoodies. Do you have a friend in the trainee system? Or are you dreaming of becoming one? Drop your questions below—I’ll ask the girls for their honest answers.
You see, my sister isn't a trainee herself. But somehow, she became best friends with a group of girls who are currently grinding away in one of Seoul’s mid-tier entertainment agencies. I’ve gone from being a casual listener to an unofficial “big sister mentor” for three girls who wake up at 5 AM to dance until their knees give out.
We all know the glamorous side of K-pop (or J-pop/CPop). The music shows, the fan chants, the flawless Instagram posts. But what happens before the debut stage? For the past two years, I’ve had a backstage pass to a world most fans only dream of—not through a documentary, but through my little sister’s friendship circle. my sisters idol trainee friends
Every Monday, the agency posts the "Monthly Evaluation" rankings. If you drop below the cutoff line? You get a "consultation" (industry speak for "pack your bags").
I walked into my sister’s room last week to find three future "it-girls" doing face masks, arguing about which member of a boy group is the ugliest (they were all lying), and trying to microwave ramen in a coffee pot because they broke the stove. To Yuna, Soojin, and Haeun— fighting
Because my sister is not a trainee, she is their escape hatch to reality. They love her because she doesn't care if their high kick is 5 degrees off.
The scariest part? The . Most agencies pay for housing, food, and training—but the trainee pays it back out of their first earnings. My sister’s friends already owe roughly $40,000 each. They joke about it, but you can see the terror in their eyes when they talk about "what if I don't debut?" 4. How They Treat "Civilians" (Like My Sister) You might think idols-in-training look down on normal people. It’s the opposite. Or are you dreaming of becoming one
They have inside jokes about farts. They have a group chat named "Flop Era." They steal each other’s concealer.