The Dark Side of K-pop Survival Shows: Why They Do More Harm Than Good

The fact the producer of one if the shows made it for something not sfw is just sick, the disturbs me so much..

mnet produce 101 made and broke this genre.

I love the chinese and japanese girls for speaking out. The koreans one can't do it without blurring who they are. The chinese girls were wild, they exposed all.

these shows are so extreme. idol school sounds like an actual squid game minus the death. thank you for sharing this im shocked

I think you should say "welcome to midnight theories and if you're returning, it's good to have you back." The repetition can get grating.

The reality is, the lifestyle of an idol 'pushes them to the brink'. These people literally get next to no sleep regularly to keep up with the pace of learning new songs, being able to dance, sing, and memorize choreography. It's a merciless industry and only the most motivated and determined (along with looks) survive. Whether it is fair or right is not the question.

They could just cast people 17 and older that way if they do sexier concepts its more accepted with the general public. They wont stop the evil editing but at least they could treat them fairly.

Like seriously!!! These low people made those lil children cry bro they would be traumatized for their life

I heard by a trainee that Idol School was wasn’t even supposed to be a survival show until the trainees got there and were told SURPRISE!! This is a survival show. It was in a Grazy Grace video who was the one who interviewed Alex who by the way is the idol AleXa who you definitely should go listen to.

I'm not gonna lie. If I were a parent, I would not let my kid go into this. Stuff like this can lead to someone developing eating disorders, depression, etc. I would be furious, and hell bent if I had to watch and hear that, my kid isn't being allowed to eat and sleep 🤬 and let's not even talk about the sexual exploration, I'd kill somebody 🤬

Edit: I've never watched these shows before and never will

You can't blame only the judges for talking about age. It's about how public consume products from older artists. Only a few become successful when debuted late, even a lot of artist who were big in hey days disappears as they grow old. The audience call them selfish for taking away opportunity from younger people. It's easier for you to criticize them as third person but when a huge chunk of money is involved you need to take precautions. They're there for business not for charity. Not trying to cover up the remarks but if the audience isn't ready to accept then there's no point of talking trash about judges

New Kpop group 2024:
Three of Hearts
Leader:Hitomi Honda
Nako Yabuki
Rio Sakurai
In 2020 they had a different lineup. Olivia Rodrigo left to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Rio Sakurai

It always stood out to me the way that idols would talk about the shows that they were on and how it’s literal hell broadcasting.

yes, X1's contract was long but kinda misleading to leave out that the contract was 5 years together, with the first 2,5 years as solely X1, and the last 2,5 years promotng in X1 AND personal projects (as in, their already existing groups or their new groups)

I'm amazed why people still watching this shit show after voting rigged exposed. They not made up the voting but push screen time for some contestants even they're doing nothing interesting

The age discrimination part makes me angry lol. Like man I'm 27 I must be ancient AF 🤣 but it's not like that at all really when it comes to western entertainment. Alot of our most popular female pop artists are late 20s, 30s and even 40s

Just a comment, but X1’s contract, although it was 5 years, was non exclusive after 2.5 years. So after that, they would’ve been able to promote with other groups.

I haven't watched any survival shows but I've watched lots of clips from them and know about many of them. I also follow a lot of idols and groups. I think there are some problems with the concept of survival shows partly because every part of the show has such a different view of their part. Like the judges care about finding a group that will do well and have wide interest so things like being old are a problem because if you are a woman in your 30s you have to make choices about having children and family which would make being an standard idol nearly impossible. Then from the view of the contestant they see it as a their chance to be seen and get picked up by some company by showing their skills and talent but because there are so many skilled people its not possible to bee seen. From the producers of the show's prospective its just about views and drama that drives them, so you get the editing. Lastly there is the viewer which I think goes into it wanting to find idol's they care about and support because of their traits and whatnot. All of those perspectives conflict in the conflicts brought up in this video.

I think the only way to make it work is if you can get everyone on the same page on what they are producing, watching, participating and getting from the production. It's not likely that would happen though because ultimately to some its about running a business and to others its about talent and skill, and both sides have to meet in the middle.

Lastly and perhaps a hot take. I don't mind the problems related to extreme physical and mental hardships associated with the filming. I think its ultimately an unfortunate but necessary filter for who is fit to be an Idol and who is not. Like just because you are attractive and talented is not enough you also have to smile through the pain and be able to in spite of your human weaknesses appear as an Idol who endure. I think this is what makes the ones we do see so successful because they can work 40 hours straight. It shows what humans can do if they are oriented properly. That discipline is what I find most appealing from kpop Idols. Particularly the bonds formed between members which honestly resemble that of soldiers who stormed beaches and fought with blood sweat and tears, together. If that bond is formed it keeps the group together, if anyone is at all weak then the group falls apart.

From my understand and research on how groups are formed from trainees it does appear that's actually a strategy used by the companies. Every day could be your last as a trainee, through that mutual fear you and your peers seek to do the best, you loose friends over time to the cuts, things get harder and you still work hard even though there is still a chance you get nothing. Only the strongest make it into a group that will debut.

So yes on one hand its a mega corporation putting young people through a meat grinder. However what's coming out is some of the most disciplined and talented people, in the world. Idol's global success and captivation is proof of that. I think if we lobbied so hard to stop the cruelness you might end up throwing that part out with it too and you end up artists who won't be able to live up to people expectations and groups that fall apart way more often and definitely not Idol's worthy of the name.

I hate how knetizens calls them old hags (especially ggs) when they start hitting 22 onwards

After X1……

I can’t look at any MNET show willingly! I’m boycotting the show and companies but not the participants!

I never liked these survival shows, ever since they first started popping up they seemed so fake, so manipulated and so "just for entertainment" rather than to actually help people debut as idols or develop as artists or something.

"HEALTHY P*RN"?!?!? 💀 I'M SORRY???

Dislike, overreacting

That time when i was watching I-Land, the part when taki was responsible for leading the group i felt so bad, he was not well at all. He needed rest, and he was pressured. Luckily Heesung helped him.

And plus why are there even survival shows honestly the Korean music industry is just toxic that’s all

Dude I feel bad that K-pop trainees have to go through these things when they are on survival shows

I was 20 when I started dancing, including heels, burlesque, femme hip hop, basically all the overtly sexy styles. I don’t think many people who don’t dance realize how much confidence you need to have to have a healthy relationship between yourself and this type of dance. I never thought too much of young idols debuting and dancing until I started to notice some of the moves and looks they would have mimicked the ones I had in the dance studio. It made me so uncomfortable, and a bit nauseous. I have the luxury of dancing for myself, but what about those 14 year old kids, omg, what a horrible thought to have. Even more so when you realize they are most likely aware of who are watching their videos 🤢🤮

OMG THERE IS A NEW "BLACK SWAN" MEMBER!!!!!

Kpop is a tough industry, so producers GOT TO BE TOUGH. OTherwise, you can find your own people and try to debut yourself and see how it feels.

I'm suprised I just found out that Alexa was on produce 48

This harder than modern USA basic training. Even has some elements of special forces training!

I honestly have stopped watching survival shows for several years now. They are trash reality TV that are exploitative.

I liked produce 48. I watched it because I knew of most of the contestants from the akb group. This show brought me over from the jpop side to kpop. The ones that keep my interest are ones with contestants I am familiar with, shows like road to kingdom, and queendom2.

The thing i hate so much is that they trying to debuted minors and some people on the internet sexualize them. Not to mention, some survival shows literally judge contestant for their visual, says that theyre ugly and fat (if theyre fat, then wtf am i??) which lead to low self esteem

The viewers also at the wrong here. Some kpop stans tends to say 'they look healthy' when some idols are clearly underweight. Its so crazy how these people will support literally everything about their idols

People try to deny it… but they continue to support only young idols thats why younger and younger idols debut

that note from the producer from produce 101 about wanting to create healthy porn shocked me so much..i had to pause and take a second cause wtf 😭

correct me if I'm wrong but Pd101 S1 highly resembles the rounds and system that Sixteen had, no? maybe except for some aspects like the photoshoot one. Though, I'm aware that YG technically did the whole thing first. But it is quite interesting to consider that JYP might have inspired/influenced the format of pd101 and the shows that followed.

wack

The only survival show I watched was Girls Planet 999 because 3 Cherry Bullet girls went on the show. It’s not only traumatizing for the contestants but also viewers, that’s what I realized. Voting was frantic and difficult. I liked so many of the girls and I wanted to see them all debut and be successful but it’s impossible.

Though there’s also the stupid amount of hate some of these contestants get. I don’t know if other shows had such an issue but in GP999, Sein got so much hate for falling asleep during Yujin’s performance. She was 15 and it was later announced it took 48 hrs (?) to record the first performances for all the members. Fans dropped her and her cell mates just for THAT. It’s wild… and then there’s hiyyih who got instantly hated from the start. “Oh she’s always mentioning her brother” when she never brought him up, only other people did. Even now she gets massive amounts of hate and I don’t understand. I personally feel trauma bonded to Kep1er which is why I love each of them so much and why I’m so invested in them because as a first time watcher of a survival show, it was traumatizing in a sense. But I don’t think I’ll ever watch one again… too much heart ache

i dont know if youve seen the japanese version of produce 101. i highly highly suggest watching it. its so so possible to make survival shows more humane and even has evidence since pd101 japan is literally right there

im so mad korean shows are like this when its entirely possible not to make them like that. how on earth is it so hard for them to do that?

all of the participants have positive accounts of their time in the show, they all have more or less equal screen time

their production team is completely different and they just used the produce name for fame but really i think pd101 japan is one of the most humane survival shows out there if not the best in general

also those that have emerged from the program are really successful Permanent groups (the trainees were not tied to companies)

Yurina was ROBBED!

I land in the best one

Honestly surprised with the gender issues because Korea is largely a patriarchy. 😒