Sorn’s Honest Thoughts On CLC’s Disbandment And How Cube Entertainment Mistreated Her

She was picked on by the company.
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Koreaboo

Former CLC member Sorn sat down for a tell-all interview with the Thai YouTube channel, ป๋าเต็ด.

Sorn | ป๋าเต็ด/YouTube

Last year, Sorn departed CUBE Entertainment, also leaving CLC. In the interview, Sorn revealed the reasons behind her departure from the company and more struggles idols faced under the company.

What many K-Pop fans might not realize is that a lot of K-Pop entertainment companies have CCTVs everywhere, including the training center to monitor trainees. So, management is always aware if they are “slacking off.” If caught slacking, the trainee would be marked with a “warning sticker” by their name on a board, and if a trainee accumulated a total of five stickers, it would result in being kicked out of the company.

Sorn as a trainee.

Sorn was never kicked out. Instead, after two years of training, she was added to a rigorous training project.

| ป๋าเต็ด/YouTube

It became so demanding that she dropped out of school and would even rest in the training room along with the other five project trainees. Eventually, it was so bad that the trainees even had mats in the room so that whenever they finished too late at night, and too exhausted even to walk, they could just sleep there.

The environment for a trainee was not good. It was both demanding and cold as they lived in fear of being eliminated.

Considering a trainee’s main goal is to finally debut after all of the sacrifices, the struggles didn’t end there for Sorn even after debuting as a member of CLC.

Sorn said one time near when CLC was formed, Sorn & the crystals were so tired that they laid down, looked at each other, and cried. They were so tired that they fell asleep in the practice room together.

— @updatesCLC/Twitter

K-Pop groups are known to change their concepts with each comeback, but, in CLC’s case, it was so frequent and drastic that it would exhaust the members. Some couldn’t help but wonder if it was a primary reason why CLC wasn’t always successful.

They checked fans’ feedbacks and saw comments of fans expressing similar concerns. It was a song that members thought meshing with their characters well and was responded positively but, the agency changed concept again next comeback. Members were very frustrated, singing songs and wearing costumes they disliked. One day, they discussed they should not just let the agency dragged them by noses and fought for themselves. They discussed what concept they wanted and Sorn was assigned for presentation. The result were ‘Hobgoblin,’ ‘Black Dress,’ and ‘No.’

Hyuna gave some advices for ‘Hobgoblin’ presentation. Before the promotion, the agency forced members to be very slim but, humans were born differently and someone just could not reach that level of thinness. Hyuna was the one spoke out to stylist to pick clothes that fit the member, that emphasized each member’s good points, not forced the member to fit the cloth.

— Neatboot 1/Reddit

CLC’s Seungyeon (top) and HyunA (bottom). HyunA is friendly with CLC and wrote lyrics for “Goblin” and more.

Unfortunately, Sorn was often blamed for CLC’s “failures.” Netizens would cyberbully her for this very reason.

Yet, she tried to remain positive as depression was still a taboo topic in Korea. So, she attempted to focus only on family, friends, and the kindhearted fans who would message her sincere and encouraging words.

The Korean perceived it as ‘budam’ or burden. They did not want to levy their burdens onto others’ shoulders.

— Neatboot 1/Reddit

| ป๋าเต็ด/YouTube

When it came time for members to decide whether to renew their respective contracts, Sorn explained that they all had communicated to CUBE that they wanted to continue promoting as CLC. The company had different plans, though.

Instead, CUBE Entertainment wanted each member to promote individually. The girls did not see a reason to stay with the company if they were no longer going to be CLC.

Around this time, Choi Yujin (now of Kep1er) decided to participate in Girls Planet 999. Although it was already decided that Sorn would not renew her contract with CUBE Entertainment, she postponed announcing it out of fear that the news could negatively affect her fellow CLC member.

Now that Sorn has moved on from CUBE Entertainment and is signed under WILD Entertainment, she hopes to continue growing as a music artist, challenging herself with different styles. So far, the agency has been supportive. It also helps that a friend manages her new agency!

Sorn also released a new single just a month ago, this one featuring J.Tajor.

While every CLC member is exploring their own path, Sorn did share they are truly like sisters. So, she emphasized that they hope to regroup in the future if possible.

CLC | CUBE Entertainment

Meanwhile, CUBE Entertainment has continually been criticized by fans due to the poor handling of CLC’s disbandment. Read more below:

CUBE Entertainment Under Fire For Poor Handling Of CLC’s Disbandment Announcement

You can watch Sorn’s full Thai interview below:

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