K-Pop Idol Drops To 38 KG To Meet Abusive “Hell Company’s” Demands For Debut

A female idol has discussed the hard road she had to take to make her debut.

Former FANATICS member and solo artist Doi recently shared some of her experiences from her more than 10 years in the K-Pop industry. In a video shared on her YouTube channel, she revealed she spent about 9-10 years as a trainee under various K-Pop companies.

She explained that one of the companies told the trainees that they were not people, but products and that selling well was the only thing that mattered. Doi also said that the monthly evaluations were one of the worst parts.

It was a place where dozens of staff members watched while only your flaws were pointed out.

— Doi

She mentioned that under her debut company, the control over her weight was taken to an extreme, with the company wanting her to weight 42 KG at 170 cm tall as a trainee. She added that the company pressured her to get under 40 kg for debut.

She managed this through dangerous and disordered methods.

At the time, I survived by inducing vomiting or chewing food without swallowing it. I even intentionally ate spoiled food so I would get sick enough to be taken to the hospital. […] My body broke down after my weight dropped to 38 kg.

— Doi

She also claimed that verbal abuse was frequent as well, and still suffers the effects.

Doi is currently active as a solo artist in Taiwan and a YouTuber, and says that her health has improved since moving.