 |
| Kong Yoo-jin, former lead vocalist of K-pop girl group BONUSbaby, speaks with The Korea Times at a music academy in Seoul. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min |
By Dong Sun-hwa
You have your mobile phone confiscated. Your parents' visit is timed. An extreme diet is part of your life that comes with a 10 daily weigh-ins. On top of this, you practice dancing and singing for hours on end. Even when you are sick, you have to go on stage and perform in exactly the manner your agent wants. There is no freedom or privacy.
This was the life of Kong Yoo-jin, 19, former lead vocalist for K-pop girl band BONUSbaby. At 17, Kong debuted with the album "Urikiri" ― meaning "all by ourselves" in Korean ― in January 2017. But she left the six-piece group in September 2018, to devote herself to "studies." The band has stopped performing since then.
"I don't think I will try to become an idol singer again," Kong told The Korea Times at a music academy in Seoul. "I am uncertain if I could endure such tough times again. Living as an idol star is 100 times more demanding than most people think."
One of the biggest challenges was isolation.
"All members had their cellphones and electronic devices confiscated," Kong said. "During free time, we just made small talk or wrote letters to each other because we had nothing else to do. I could only get my phone back after I left the agency."
The singers could not even meet their parents, due to "weight control."
"At first the company let us see our parents but later they banned this, as we gained weight after going out and having meals with them. It was difficult to control our appetite," she said. "We had to be weighed whenever we returned. Sometimes, we weighed ourselves up to 10 times a day."
Kong is 164 centimeters tall, but weighed only 42 kilograms back then. The standard weight for the given height is around 54 kilograms.
"To lose weight, I only had a small pack of soybean milk a day or 10 cherry tomatoes," she said. "I was almost bony, with all my fat and muscles disappearing. Some people even said I looked gross."
She did not have personal trainers to help her work out, but was told to control her own weight.
"We did not have enough time for the exercise ― we had to debut soon," she said.
The members also were banned from dating. The female idol trainees were secluded from male companions, so that they could not even make eye contact.
"We had to leave the room whenever male trainees came," Kong said.
 |
| K-pop girl band BONUSbaby. Courtesy of Maroo Entertainment |
The dormitory ― where all of them lived together ― and the company were the only places they could go freely. Kong said she was therefore happiest when she was away from the company schedules.
"Happiness came when I headed for music shows or the vocal academy, away from the company building," she said.
But isolation was not the sole reason she quit the job, which millions of people would love to have. She was also frustrated by the musical styles that the company demanded ― it wanted BONUSbaby to resemble flagship Japanese girl group AKB48, more known for its cuteness than musical talent.
"Such styles and concepts were not what I wanted," she said. "I had to change my singing style to make more nasal sounds, although this hurt my vocal cords. I was also asked to make more adorable facial expressions on stage."
Kong, who has a husky, soulful voice, wanted to sing R&B and hip-hop. She certainly thought BONUSbaby could at least do something different that suited them better.
There seemingly was a chance to change after the members gained popularity with their hip and charismatic gigs on JTBC's survival reality show MIXNINE in 2017-18. But things did not work out in the end, leading Kong to leave the group.
"All our members cried our eyes out when I made the decision," she said. "It took us time to get organized, because we were like a family. But now, we are good and still keep in touch."
But since leaving, Kong has been suffering mentally and physically.
"I even trembled when I saw the vehicles that celebrities use," Kong said. "I was afraid of going out and meeting people. I think I suffered from depression and social phobia."
Nevertheless, she strived to overcome the problems, forcing herself to mingle with people by going to a music academy. Thanks to this, she said she had almost recovered. But she is still treating cervical herniated discs, which causes neck pain.
"I have had the illness since I became an idol trainee at 16," Kong said. "I think most idol stars suffer from it."
About a year has passed since she left the K-pop scene. She now attends vocal and ensemble classes to prepare for college entrance. She wants to major in practical music and become a music teacher.
"I believe I can be an understanding mentor for aspiring singers, thanks to my experience," she said.
![[INTERVIEW] Choi Min-sik, Lee Dong-hwi on creating Korean-style noir with 'Big Bet'](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/8b795a8f6b42492db4e8fdc47e9abd8d.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
