Mission K-Pop

Caty finishes her three months in Seoul and prepares to return home to LA. She faces one final hurdle as her academy surprises her with a last-minute evaluation. So far, Caty hasn’t passed any auditions to become a trainee at a K-Pop entertainment agency. Caty’s wondering if she should continue pursuing K-Pop stardom at all. Haeryun meets Caty in California to ruminate over what’s holding her back and what she should do with her future. Consultant: Suk-Young Kim

If Caty were cast by an entertainment agency, she’d become a trainee. That is far from the glamorous lifestyle of a K-Pop superstar. Haeryun finds out the reality of traineeship by meeting two former trainees, including one who almost made it to K-Pop megastardom in the group BTS. Along the way, Haeryun reveals what motivates Caty to continue pursuing her dream despite the constant disappointment and rejection. Consultant: Suk-Young Kim

Despite many try-outs, Caty isn’t passing auditions to become a trainee at a K-Pop entertainment agency. Haeryun doesn’t know exactly why. She’s never been allowed to go into an audition room to actually see how Caty performs. Finally, Haeryun receives permission to watch and record one of Caty’s auditions. She also scores an interview with someone who holds Caty’s fate in their hands: a casting director.Consultant: Suk-Young Kim

K-Pop idols are basically synonymous with good looks. Female K-Pop stars generally have fair skin, big eyes, small noses, egg-shaped heads and weigh less than 50 kgs or 110 lbs. Caty’s vocal coach says that if Caty wants to be a megastar, she needs to lose weight. This is no secret in K-Pop. This narrow idea of beauty shocks Haeryun. She looks at a 90s financial crash that led in part to South Korea becoming the “plastic surgery capital of the world” where it is no longer taboo to have botox, a rhinoplasty or double eyelid surgery. And Haeryun talks to the head of the academy about these toxic beauty standards. Consultant: Suk-Young Kim

While K-Pop has been embraced all over the world, it’s still difficult for foreigners to find their place in the industry. Caty speaks Korean well, but struggles with communication at times. Haeryun wonders if this is getting in the way of her being cast by a K-Pop entertainment agency. Then again, there are very successful foreigners in the industry like Lisa in Blackpink. In order to determine Caty’s place as an Asian-American in K-Pop, Haeryun traces the origins of the genre from Seoul’s underground nightclubs in the 90s to global stars like Psy and BTS. Then, both Caty and Haeryun meet the K-Pop girl group Blackswan, which is composed entirely of non-Koreans. Consultant: Suk-Young Kim