![[theqoo] “OUT OF 10 FEMALE TRAINEES, 8 OF THEM DON’T HAVE PERIODS” THESE ARE WORDS FROM AN ENTERTAINMENT AGENCY’S ROOKIE DEVELOPMENT TEAM](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUJ4CdVq1GjCsXmLcWaDsmjD-arQA03_73tFc2-z9RSjoCQpEPlDXvM7fI3Tm3de6zL8LNdcocDGEtuUpy0EEJK6JXxYWE-GgPkN7LAoqtt92LCuD0vG8FFzv-uX-OeOclrAUxJBY1pEwLMoNi8Tesz825kS4urIt8gjF_bwWEm-EM4ELDK5eB3HiI8d4_=w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu "[theqoo] “OUT OF 10 FEMALE TRAINEES, 8 OF THEM DON’T HAVE PERIODS” THESE ARE WORDS FROM AN ENTERTAINMENT AGENCY’S ROOKIE DEVELOPMENT TEAM")
“Eight out of ten female trainees don’t get their periods.”
This is a statement from a person working in the rookie development team of an entertainment company. Waking up at 5 AM and returning home at 2 AM, living on just water for a week to lose weight—such is the life of trainees in the entertainment industry.
“Most of them don’t get their periods. They don’t eat and only exercise during their growth period. There is no ‘healthy’ dieting system here. They’re just told to reach the target goal. When they don’t get their periods, the kids actually prefer it. It’s more convenient for them. Young girls who don’t go to school think nothing of the fact that they don’t get their periods. There’s no s** education here,” the person said.
“If my weight was even a little higher than the previous day, I couldn’t go home. I had to stand in punishment in front of the staff until I reached my target weight. As this lifestyle repeated, I reached a point where I had to be hospitalized from eating just a little. I lived with gastroenteritis,” recalled Ga-eun (a pseudonym), who was a trainee for seven years.
While there are countless children suffering physically and mentally, there is no one to take care of them. This kingdom is neither a school nor a company. Because entertainment is not a school, there is no obligation to care for them. Since trainees are not recognized as workers, they are not in an ’employment’ relationship with the company. They are made to train and punished, but there is no obligation to follow labor laws. I met with No Hye-ran, a former member of the girl group Brave Girls, to hear about life as an idol and trainee.
15 years old. She practiced until early morning every day after school. It was common for her to stay up all night and then go to school. This was the daily routine of trainee Hye-ran. To increase her practice time, she moved into a goshiwon (a small, shared dormitory) near the company. She nurtured her dreams in a cramped room that smelled musty. “Practice time was also dream time. It was the most exciting time, running toward an unknown world.”
She spent three and a half years like this. At 19, she was finally given the opportunity to debut. Standing at 170 cm, Hye-ran was constantly pressured about her weight. Baby fat was not allowed in front of the camera. ‘Dieting’ was prioritized over skills. The schedule was also demanding. During busy periods, her day ran from 7 AM to 5 AM the next day. She only had 2 hours of sleep.
She weighed herself, went on diets, and worked out for 8 hours a day. There were times when she didn’t eat anything or even drink water for 10 days. She would take a sip of water without swallowing it, then spit it out, and repeat the process. She endured like this.
Eventually, her body broke down. She suffered from severe stomach cramps, and once a week, she had to be taken to the emergency room. Even when she was still, she broke out in cold sweat. After her debut, she didn’t get her period properly. There were times when she had continuous bleeding for three months.
Even when her body was in pain, the dieting continued.
“The industry itself has that kind of atmosphere. It’s common to hear things like, ‘You look a bit puffy, so try to add some volume to make yourself look slimmer.’ If someone gets gastroenteritis, it’s seen as a good thing because they lose weight. There’s a diet pill that’s popular here. If you take it, all the moisture in your body is drained out. But you take it no matter what. I also took it voluntarily for months. You have to meet the weight requirement. A friend of mine even developed seizures from taking it.”
1. 8 out of 10 hul
2. What’s the point of living like that ㅜ
3. I feel so badㅜ They take those kids’ dreams as hostage to make them do stuff like that…
4. This is honestly creepy
5. I’m not shocked
6. You will really ruin your health if you don’t get proper periods. I feel so bad ㅠㅠ
7. This is getting worse and worse, it’s insane. I still remember looking back at the 3rd generation and people looked chubby in comparison to right now
8. There’s no way you can diet healthily to start with
9. I’ve seen so many idols in real life and I’m honestly not surprised.. They’re so skinny they make me wonder if they’re even human. I feel bad looking at them, they don’t even look pretty to me
10. There’s no way they’re healthy… In every post of celebrities looking skinny to the point it’s worrying, you’ll see comments praising them
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