The Grueling Daily Routine Of A K-Pop Trainee, According To A Former Idol

K-Pop aspirants go through many hardships just to get the chance to debut. Their daily schedule is packed with classes that range from the standard vocal, rap, and dance lessons to personal training, language, and musical instruments. Former idol Minu from BOYFRIEND revealed behind the scenes information about trainee life on his YouTube channel.

Trainees go to the company as early as 10am and stay as late as midnight. If they’re still studying, they head over as soon as class is finished and they stay in the practice room until just before the last bus departs.

They have a strict timeline that they have to follow everyday for up to six days a week. The first thing they do is to hand over their devices so they can concentrate on practicing.

There’s a time table on the wall too that’s for the week or the month. You would take lessons that are scheduled. During individual practice, you’d prepare for other lessons.

— Minu

At least for Starship Entertainment trainees, they needed to write down their experiences in a physical notebook. The trainee manager is in charge of going over their thoughts and monitoring their growth.

You also write a practice journal. It’s kinda like a diary. You will write things like what you practiced and felt during the day.

— Minu

Many other things are strictly supervised. None of the trainees are allowed to have social media pages—though they secretly set one up. Even more constricting is the company’s fixation on dieting.

Body weight is tightly supervised. It’s tight for boy groups and even worse for girl groups. You weigh yourself in the morning and regularly, your body weight is strictly monitored.

— Minu

Minu personally saw instances where people were taken to the hospital because of the effects of the unhealthy lifestyle that comes from being a trainee.

In terms of meal plans, it’s mostly diet food such as chicken breast and salad. Some people dance the whole day for practice and don’t get enough sleep. They refuse to eat even diet meals to keep their bodies in shape. I’ve seen some of those extreme cases who fainted and were taken to the hospital.

— Minu

To him, events like these “really break one’s heart.” To know more about the hardships trainees face, check out Minu’s video below.