All YG Entertainment Trainees Receive These 4 Special Benefits For Free, As Confirmed By Casting Leader Suk Eun Jae

Have you ever wondered what it’s like being a K-Pop trainee especially in one of the biggest companies?

WINNER‘s HOONY (also known as Lee Seunghoon) recently interviewed Suk Eun Jae, the leader of the YG Entertainment audition and casting team, on his YouTube channel. Here, she revealed lesser known facts about the trainee life in the perspective of a staff member.

Dubbed “The Mother” of YG trainees, she is the one who put together groups such as TREASURE and BABYMONSTER. She noted that they do their best to ensure their trainees grow up in optimal conditions, affirming that they “have benefits, too” and “none of it is charged back to them” unlike most debts in the K-Pop industry.

pre-debut until now that theyre idols still TREASURE loves to hang out in hongdae eating ice cream pic.twitter.com/OTwJyenzLR

— WANGGYU. (@jikyuist) November 1, 2020

Check out some things they receive for free below!

1. Cinema Days

First up, YG Entertainment trainees are encouraged to go out and have fun in their free time. The company personally shoulders social expenses such as tickets to watch movies they are interested in.

There are social activities present like watching movies.

— Suk Eun Jae

BLACKPINK Pre-Debut with (G)I-DLE’s Miyeon

2. Concert Tickets

Another form of social activities that the company sponsors is the chance to watch concerts. As YG Entertainment trainees, they are given their own spots to watch the concerts of their seniors whenever they happen nearby. BLACKPINK, TREASURE, and more are artists they can all support live.

[YG BOY TRAINEES] SPOTTED AT TREASURE HELLO CONCERT

5-6 MEMBERS same boys who are spotted during TRACE CONCERT#YGNBG #YGNewBoyGroup #YGTRAINEES #YGentertainment pic.twitter.com/rQBGe2vODj

— YG TRAINEES (@YGTRAINEEES) November 15, 2022

3. Academic Tutoring

The trainees in high school are also given free tutoring to help them pass their classes. Considering that they spend a huge chunk of time in the practice room instead of the classroom, the company believes that providing this sort of help will be beneficial to them overall.

For those finishing high school, there are tutors to help them.

— Suk Eun Jae

TREASURE’s Jeongwoo | *YG Entertainment*

4. Entertainment Opportunities

Finally, certain trainees sometimes have the opportunity to “be involved in making things.” BLACKPINK’s Jisoo, for instance, was able to participate in commercials and in the K-Drama, The Producers, even before debuting in 2016.

Others such as iKON and WINNER were given the chance to be background dancers in Taeyang‘s “Ringa Linga” music video and G-DRAGON‘s “Crooked” live stage.

Suk Eun Jae agreed with HOONY that “YG spares no expense for trainee support.” They do not allow them to spend a single penny on extra benefits such as these.