My Sisters Idol — Trainee Friends

Because they are trainees (not debuted idols), the pressure is different. They aren't starving; they are miserably efficient . One friend, Soojin, showed me her "fuel" for the day: a protein shake, three pieces of grilled chicken breast, and a single sweet potato. She eats this every day to keep her "visual line" for the monthly evaluations.

Here is the honest, unfiltered reality of what your favorite idols are like before the lip gloss and the lightsticks. The first thing I learned? These girls don’t feel like students . They feel like exhausted entrepreneurs.

If you ever meet a trainee, do not ask them when they are debuting. That is the equivalent of asking a PhD student when they will finally get a real job. Instead, ask them what song they are listening to for fun. You will see their whole face light up. 5. The Biggest Lesson: They Are Just Weird Teenagers At the end of the day, "idol trainee friends" are just messy, loud, sleepy girls. my sisters idol trainee friends

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.

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. Because they are trainees (not debuted idols), the

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.

I’ve seen my sister hold one friend while she sobbed because she forgot a turn during a cover of a NewJeans song. I’ve also seen them jump up and down screaming because a producer complimented their high note. She eats this every day to keep her

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.