The K-pop industry is a multi-billion-dollar franchise fueled by supportive fans and drained trainees. As the Kpop industry is flourishing, so is the mistreatment of trainees or pre-debut idols that are still trainees for their future careers. Within K-pop, there are three major companies known as the big three these are SM entertainment that’s debuted groups like Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, and NCT; YG entertainment which debuted Big Bang, Blackpink, and Treasure; and lastly JYP Entertainment had groups like Stray Kids, Itzy, and Twice, though there are nearly around 300 entertainment companies that create ideal. The number of trainees in each company varies but something many have in common is the harsh mistreatment of their trainees.

Rules like female and male trainees are prohibited from eating together and are often used by K-pop agencies to enforce trainees’ focus on professional practice. While also avoiding the distraction of teenage or young adult romance since a lot of recruits are under 20. No dating is also one of the most enforced rules among both idols and trainees. A statement from Park Jin Young or JYP on Twitter said, “After the debut, I advise them to not meet friends and only stay focused on practicing for 3 years,” he further discusses this in a 2015 interview saying, “It’s only for 3 years, after that they are free to bring boyfriends over, and I would buy them dinner” but this rule is widely followed into idols professional debuted careers. while dating is a major no for trainees’ cellar phones are just bad, disliked for their distracting nature phones are prohibited by many companies during the recruit’s trainee years. widely discussed by fans trainees and idols follow strict diets 24/7 – several idols have even come out saying they would sneak in food. Groups like BTS have even said they recall RM would say he was going to the restroom, but he was going to a nearby restaurant to eat Jajangmyeon in under 4 mins. These controlling diets go alongside weight check which is used to same trainees into losing weight and maintain it. This level of control in many circumstances is a violation of human rights and proper health. These are just a few major issues with the K-pop industry there are many other problems like little to no pay, dormitory, and other issues.