Veteran K-Pop Girl Group Exposes How Their Company Didn't Properly Train Them

On IU’s Palette, beloved singer IU was honest about performers often losing the mindset of “We’re gonna kill this” and “I’m gonna destroy the stage” as they become more experienced.

But when time goes by, we usually lose that energy. And the know-hows are added there instead. I thought that is natural.

— IU

One group was an exception: veteran girl group KARA who reunited for promotions to celebrate their fifteenth anniversary. IU praised them for never losing the hunger to do their best on stage. KARA didn’t gain that skill from their company DSP Media.

Despite how famous KARA became for their talent and hard work, leader Gyuri admitted they didn’t receive proper training from their company. She explained, “So when we were trainees, people didn’t teach us well.”

Although Gyuri hesitated to say it, Seungyeon had been “thinking the same.” She then detailed the things they had to teach themselves.

Gyuri explained, “They just [left] us [on our own]. We didn’t even know how to smile in front of the camera first.”

The KARA members had to teach themselves the basics and used their passion to lead them to success, which is why they’re still amazing performers today.

So when we debuted, we were thinking like, ‘We should do well on our own.’ Good energy? I think because of that energy, we did show that on stage.

— Gyuri

No wonder IU wants newer idols to “learn from them.” KARA worked their way to the top, despite not receiving the proper training and learning as they went along.