Pain, suicide, abuse and stalking: K-pop stars and fans talk about their mental health problems
- Korean music stars are trained, and live, in a controlled world of rehearsals, face pressure to diet or have surgery, and fear for their reputations
- Stars and fans shared experiences at the KCON K-pop convention in Los Angeles, amid the meet and greets and K-pop dance workshops
As a teenage member of the band South Korean boy band U-Kiss, Kevin Woo has felt the hot glare of the K-pop limelight. His time in the outfit showed the California-born singer what life in the particular pressure cooker of South Korean fame meant, and how the expectations can be debilitating.
“In training, [the record labels] take a lot of privacy from you,” said Woo, now a solo artist who appeared at last weekend’s KCON K-pop convention in Los Angeles. “They take your phone away when you debut. You can’t date, which was very shocking for me. They want trainees to have a certain figure, so you’re dieting and there’s pressure to get plastic surgery.”
For young fans of the genre, the pressures of modern life can mirror those faced by K-pop stars. They live in a social media panopticon, where one false move can destroy their reputation. Perfection is expected. Gigantic corporations have colonised their lives.
So it’s no coincidence that some of the most interesting presentations and panels at this year’s KCON LA, a four-day concert and fan event that draws well more than 100,000 people, dealt with mental health issues in the scene. The main concert featured sets from rising stars such as Ateez, Stray Kids and Loona, alongside a bevy of idol meet-and-greets, Korean beauty tutorials and dance workshops.