Content Warning
Former Teen Top leader C.A.P (known as Bang Min Su) recently opened up about the “dark side of K-Pop” in a new documentary.
Channel 4‘s British foreign affairs program Unreported World recently released a new 23-minute documentary titled The K-pop Dream Factory.
Unreported World goes inside the K-pop dance schools of South Korea, investigating the hidden cost of becoming the next big idol.
— Unreported World/YouTube
Bang Min Su was interviewed by Reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy for the documentary. He was able to candidly share his personal firsthand experience with the K-Pop industry. He quit Teen Top after fans complained when he smoked and cursed during a live broadcast, which he previously confessed he did intentionally because he wanted to leave the group.
I thought I’d get to do cool things on stage, but in reality, I just had to act like a doll. ‘Do this. Do that.’ Everything was controlled.
— Bang Min Su
The former idol explained that it’s not one person’s fault that the idol industry has become toxic. He blamed fans, companies, and even the artists. When Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked if he believes many K-Pop idols share this sentiment, he responded, “I think it’s safe to say that most people feel this way. Nobody likes having their life controlled.”
The fans are the ones responsible for this culture, but it’s also the record label’s fault for not stopping it and the artists for not being honest about the impact it has on them. All this contributes to the rotten culture.
— Bang Min Su
Bang Min Su revealed that he developed alcoholism. He also opened up about losing two of his friends, which he holds lots of regrets, as he wonders if things would have turned out differently if he had been able to answer their missed calls.
Two of my friends took their own lives. They both called me the day before but I must have been asleep because I did not pick up the phone. And I can’t stop thinking that maybe things would have turned out differently if I’d just picked up the phone. This is the dark side of the industry.
— Bang Min Su
Bang Min Su, who is now a painter, revealed a project he was working on. The flowers represented K-Pop idols.
The painting is almost finished. Up here, we see the K-pop idols as they are now. Underneath, we see their roots, which represent the lives they lived before becoming an idol. To truly represent K-pop culture, you have to cut off their roots. That’s what people want.
— Bang Min Su
While the documentary on YouTube has 126K views, the clip of Bang Min Su has gone viral on TikTok with 781.3K views at the time of writing.
@unreportedworld ‘I just had to act like a doll.’ In South Korea, K-pop fans have significant power over their idols. For Unreported World, Krishnan Guru-Murthy discovers the aspects of life K-pop stars must give up to conform to the industry’s expectations. #Kpop #SouthKorea #Korea #UnreportedWorld #Documentary #DocumentaryShort #Channel4
Netizens praised Bang Min Su for speaking his truth. They also sympathized with him, as they noticed that he still carries a lot of trauma, as his hands were shaking.
Previously, Bang Min Su revealed the struggles of K-Pop idol life via a live broadcast, discussing the problem of selling fantasies as part of an idol group, amongst other issues.
I feel like the word “Idol” isn’t even the right word. It should be “Dancer-Singer” or something. Like, what do idols do? If you think about it… Trainees who want to debut as idols want that because they want to sing and dance on stage. It’s the management agencies who dress them up in such “fantasies” because how else would they make money? And it makes them think, “I just want to sing and dance. I’m not interested in selling any fantasies… But then, all of a sudden, I’m being held to impossible moral standards and unrealistic expectations. What am I even doing?” You know? It makes no sense how trainees, who just wanted to perform on stage, go on to debut just become idols who, then, have to pretend they’re some fantasy boyfriends/girlfriends.
— Bang Min Su
Bang Min Su revealed the sexual harassment that many idols suffer on the job. He claimed that “the crazies” sexually harass idols, verbally and physically.
Celebrities have eyes too. Asking to hold hands or link arms right in front of my salad. The crazies also straight up harass you sexually. Male idols also get harassed. Touching the butt or sticking out their own chests. This is where your mental health starts to crumble. The really weird ones ask you to do all sorts of things.
— Bang Min Su
In a candid interview, Bang Min Su also shared about hostile fan interactions and more. Read below.
