What is Seoul’s new law to protect upcoming K-pop stars?

It is not easy being a K-pop star. It takes tenacity, resilience, luck and years of rigorous training to become an idol in the South Korean music industry. In the past few years, several K-pop stars have opened up about the bizarre rules they have had to follow during their days as trainees. As the Korean Wave takes over the world, these K-pop stars who are often seen projecting a perfect image and unrealistic beauty standards have been thrown into the spotlight. These celebrities are often mandated to undergo strict diets to maintain a certain body weight, which becomes stressful for many. Now, the South Korean capital, Seoul, has passed a law to help young people who are training to become K-pop idols to tackle the myriad challenges that come with the job. Let’s take a closer look at what is the new law and what Korean entertainment agencies demand of their idols. Seoul’s new rules K-pop trainees As per an allkpop report, the Seoul Metropolitan Council passed the Ordinance on the Protection and Supports of the Rights and Interests of Young Cultural Artists at the 321st regular plenary session in Seoul last December. The new law aims to protect the physical and mental health of young trainees, especially from methods like forced weight loss or cosmetic procedures like plastic surgery. To protect the rights and promote the well-being of these young people, the legislation entails providing psychological exams and counselling for such issues, the report added. According to Koreaboo, the law also offers the option of career counselling for trainees who do not debut or whose contracts end. [caption id=“attachment_13619532” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Stray Kids receives the Best K-Pop award during the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, US, 12 September 2023. Reuters File Photo[/caption] Proposed by People Power Party’s Councilor Kim Gyu Nam, the ordinance focuses on Seoul which houses the majority of Korean entertainment agencies at 82.3 per cent, making it a major hub for discovering, training, and managing idols. Underscoring the need for such a law, Kim said, “While Korean cultural content gains global recognition through the K-pop phenomenon, the challenges and uncertainties faced by young trainees until they become prominent figures in the idol industry are fundamentally the responsibility of the individual trainees." “To ensure the protection of the rights of teenage idol trainees, the city of Seoul will continue various support projects at the municipal level, facilitating a stable growth period for these trainees,” the councilor was quoted as saying by allkpop. ALSO READ: The imperfect world surrounding the ‘perfect idols’ of K-pop Becoming a K-pop trainee Idol-wannabes have to undergo a lot of auditions to even be picked by an entertainment agency as a trainee. Many children have their audition at just 10 years old or even younger. BIGBANG’s G-Dragon was just eight years old when he began his K-pop training, according to GMA Network. Once selected, trainees have to sign a contract spanning an average of seven years. After this, the agency will examine a trainee’s talent, their “ability to blend into a group, withstand the hardships of ‘idol life’ and avoid trouble,” reported South China Morning Post (SCMP). The agencies decide when the trainee is ready to debut and when that would happen is highly uncertain. The stringent rules for K-pop trainees From weekly weight checks to no phones, Korea ’s entertainment agencies have strict rules for their young talents. In 2018, Korean girl group TWICE’s Momo revealed how her agency asked her to lose 7kg in a week before her debut. This led to her eating only one ice cube and then going to the gym. “I didn’t eat anything for the whole week and went to the gym all the time. I spat all the time so there was no water in my body,” the Japanese idol reportedly said at the time. She said this was so traumatic for her that she cried herself to sleep “scared that I might not wake up again”.

K-pop trainees have to adhere to a strict diet plan 24/7, which includes refraining from consuming high-calorie foods such as tteokbokki, jajangmyeon, ice cream, hamburgers, and so on. Kim Jae-kyung, The Devil Judge actor who debuted with girl group Rainbow, recalled in 2015 that her agency checked her weight every week and put up the figures on the wall in public, as per the SCMP report. K-pop trainees are also forbidden to date. JYP Entertainment, the agency behind TWICE, is known for a strict no-dating rule until three years after the debut of the artist, the Hong Kong-based newspaper reported. K-pop idols have also shared that many a times they get access to their personal phones only after winning a music show. Agencies also ensure that male and female trainees do not interact to avoid distractions like romance. According to Blackpink’s Rosé, male and female trainees were not allowed to look at each other or greet each other, much less be present in the same space, reported SCMP. As per SCMP, K-pop trainees can have a social media account and can take up other jobs such as starring in television commercials, music videos, or modelling for brands. They have to avoid trouble by ensuring they do not drink drive, do drugs, or get embroiled in scandals. Trainees are required to manage a certain public image. With inputs from agencies