Munah is a good interviewer. She was able to keep up in the workout and showed sensitivity to the poor girl who didn’t fit Kpop standards. I feel like it’s such a tough industry to break into.

They say you can become addicted to almost anything, and I think K-Pop is no exception. Nothing wrong with supporting your favourite artist but some fans take it to the extreme which shows something is wrong with our society (capitalism, psychological reasons and the prevalance of parasocial relationships).

I feel sad and bad for the girl who wants to be a choreographer instead of idol because her body image issue, i hope the best for her in the future

i wish i could give that kid a hug. it breaks my heart that such young kids are being subjected to harsh beauty standards cuz of kpop. smth which was meant to bring joy is destroying a young person's self-love.

As a K-pop lover, I definitely root for these children to achieve their dreams, and I also sincerely hope that they can also take time to take care of themselves too, because they are still young and still have to learn manage their time, schoolwork and health too

Body image issues are a hot topic these days... it's common for trainees have grueling schedules and develop bad eating habits just to look skinny and fit into that image. I hope these young people understand that even though being an idol is their dream, their health is the most important and they shouldn't ever push themselves beyond their limit just for a chance at fame.

Marketing makes these Kpop stars look perfect. Meaning they give the perception of flawlessness - no bad breath, no character flaw , smooth skin all day long and having the perfect happy life. But obviously that's far from the truth. I was a K pop fan in my 20s. I'm glad now in my 30s and hitting 40, I'm no longer "controlled" by the marketing gimmicks of Kpop world. Especially when Kpop stars commit suicide so often, it makes me feel that this is one of the worst "influencers " you want your kids to be around .

Sheryl: You are a pretty girl and I like your energy; don't limit yourself, you are very young and as long as you keep going with the same positive attitude and striving for improvements, many doors will open for you :)

Hope these kids know being a popular Kpop idol is harder than being a CEO at a company. Out of thousands of people. Only a couple are chosen to be trainees Out of 100 trainees about 1-5 get picked to debut. Then out of 100's of K pop groups and solo idols. Only and handful are super successful. Dreams are great but also gotta face the reality. All the best to them.

You don’t have to spend thousands a year to be a fan. Many of us just listen to their music, watch their videos. I definitely have merch and go to concerts if I can afford but it isn’t necessary. I don’t think fans care we will buy if we want and what we can afford.

I live in the United States, and I love watching CNA’s documentaries, including this one. Please keep up the great work and release more documentaries!

This is a really good docu-series, the journalist Munah is incredible at story telling and interviewing. As an adult kpop fan myself I often watch outsider perspectives on kpop being very negative and mis-informed, this does a really good job of presenting the determination and dreams of these youngster and fans as well as presenting some of the darker sides to kpop. 👍

K pop agencies : Thank you fans for your money Singapore : Thank you for your money to use our location Business: Thank you so much for buying our merch Fans: AHHHHHHH!!!!!

as passionate as they are i hope these kids arent naive to the greatness of kpop and understand the heavy commitment they must have lol. they are most likely going to move to korea alone, and have to learn and be completely fluent at reading and speaking Korean ASAP and not only dance which is all they seem to be practicing here, but they have to be decent at singing, expression, and have stage presence. singing and stage presence is crucial. not only that, they have to be ready to be PERPETUALLY on camera, be exceptional at fan service and content production. like you can see at the end reality is setting in. its very difficult. all the best

Sheryl and Nicholas have amazing spirit and courage from such a young age, their personalities shine

2:48 "it's my life, it's my passion" I felt that so hard!

Another reason K-pop took off compared with J-pop is Korean artists will take the effort to meet their fans overseas with concerts, fan meets, etc. J-pop artists hardly go for overseas gigs as often as K-pop artists even though J-pop artists do have fans overseas. I’ve been a J-pop fan since 2 decades back when J-pop was at its peak and K-pop was rising. I have my concern for the teenager girl who dieted to fit the standard.

It's the community effect. People will usually follow the trend for a sense of camaraderie...the "togetherness". It works the same way with social movements, religion, etc.

Enjoyed seeing such passionate kids going for it. I'm middle aged but got into kpop as a tween. It wasn't popular back then and my friend's mom imported videos from Busan. It's a joyful thing. I do worry about the age if how young these kids are though. The management companies are brutal. It's not really child friendly. I hope their families are being hawkish about keeping an eye on things.

Enjoying the docu-series, small feedback to include subtitles for the whole episode to help those who may not be able hear it from the audio! The partial subs are great, but trying to look at the KZfaq captions + CNA subs at the same time can be quite confusing :/

Would be interesting if CNA does a documentary on Singaporeans in the other music industries as well (e.g. mandopop) There hasn't been much success for Singaporeans in kpop, but there has been quite a number who had risen to superstardom in the mandopop industry. Singapore produced quite a number of prominent musicians and songwriters/composers in mandopop as well. Unfortunately, there hasn't really been freshbloods who achieved success in the recent decade or two.

Although I don't dance or sing since I'm introvert, I loved to see them dance, same as idols. Its really giving me happiness.

Munah's really good at dancing!

The cuties dancing to Queencard made my heart flutter, aawwwnnn. 😍😍

I think it's cool for kids to have a hobby to learn k-pop dance but one should not delude these kids that they have any chance of making it in K-pop. Even if they make it into a training group, it's like a slave contract where you essentially lose the best of your 20s, then what? Everyone looks to the success of BTS and Black Pink but to break into that stratosphere is about as likely as winning the lottery or winning gold in the Olympics. However, learning how to dance is a nice hobby to have. Hopefully their parents are supportive but also give them a healthy dose of reality.

Just wanna short out to Cheryl: You look absolutely stunning and you are extremely talented! Just believe in yourself and stick to your dreams, and there is no one to stop you if you set your heart to what you love! ✊✊✊

Munah showing them muscles 💪🏻💪🏻

Nowadaus, idols makes us happy. In the world of danger and full of disappointments, there are idols that makes our day

Oh dear, this is the slow and inevitable descent of Munah into K-pop fan... Don't do it Munah!! There's so much more to life!! Joking aside, I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

the way my jae dropped to the GROUND when he said txt like i'm so gagged 😭😭😭

Nice topic! Totally can relate to this! 💜

Cna should talk about popularity of Japan culture too (idk if its been talked about yet) but i think the popularity of events like AFA is quite big thing

Holy moly Singapore fans showing lots of love for k-pop!! Wow!!

I wonder how the positive effects like getting joy and encouragement measure against the negative effects like bad spending habits, body insecurity etc on a hardcore fan/stan.

Munah is an excellent host!

Singapore produces top notch documentaries like this that educate the society about what going on in thei community, whereas Malaysia’s content is all about killing , busting KTV and policitian tokkok 😂

The craze is never gonna end

omgg i literally watch z-axis i love them sm

5:53 minsung ❤ Aah, honestly, buying albums is just fun. It has the thrill of it being a surprise, and you can share it with a community of other fans. It is important to remember your limits, tho. If you need to choose between necessities or merch, pls go for necessities

18:42 girlie you're literally so gorgeous

18:32 Broke my heart.

lowkey love that SVT is who she was unboxing aha

Nicholas and Sheryl are such pure souls. They must be protected ❤

7:00 TXT yes ❤❤❤

I was surprised thta craze is epic level and its like a Big thing for Singaporeans to attend concerts and have merchandise!!! This looks a bit exxtreme. A few fans have seen but whole country is crazy about it is very surprising!

I greatly admire how hard these auditioning kids work! Not to mention that super-fan who's delivered food for, like, every company 😆to afford paying for concerts and merch. That takes dedication. I've never been a super-fan of any artist--but I think it's sweet that all these people are engaging with their passion in different ways, be it through attending concerts or auditioning to become stars themselves. While the fans may be experiencing a parasocial relationship with the idol they admire, they are still enjoying real-life interactions with their fellow fans. So I bet they have more of a social life than onlookers suspect. I also believe the young auditioners are developing a very strong work ethic that will serve them well throughout their lives. I hope children such as Nicholas come to understand that, even if he doesn't get chosen at the audition, his hard work IS worth the effort. It may simply take longer for him to recognize the payoff in a different area of his life. That being said, it breaks my heart to hear such a skilled dancer as Sheryl put herself down and diet to such an extreme. I hope an adult intervenes to help her learn healthy, balanced eating habits and overcome her negative body image. Nevertheless, I think Sheryl is also pretty cool for turning what she believes are faults into a slightly different career aspiration: choreography! She clearly has a passion for it, and she could turn it into a pro career or a teaching career when she grows up. I'm always impressed by people who demonstrate the creativity and practicality of finding new avenues to pursue their passions in achievable ways.

CD players should make a comeback due to Kpop! I missed having those 90s CD player.

im so lucky i did not get addicted to this.

I love u Kim sunoo 🥰❤️

pls interviews prime drink in sg too.

Not raining on anyone parade, but idols come and go, i still think its better to get a good education

2:38 the way i started screaming when i saw the p1h p1oneer vip tag.. i was there too and was vip but i arrived late and missed out on taking pictures with p1h 😭

Me too I am actually a very hardcore fan since 2008. I am 26 this year. so been a fan for 16 years started out being a VIP. Secondary school period to ITE and halfway poly is really my prime. Can literally do many part time just to earn the money for supporting my favourite idols. But nowadays tone down a bit already because feel like this cannot carry on in my life. Have to take up a career and support myself one day not to mentioned if I wanted to get married and have a family. And yes 10k a year is consider a lot already for a many people. But I would say during the period where I am so crazy, I can literally can spend about 50k a year no joke 😅😅 but mostly is because I love to travel to korea to attend local events such as fansigns, promotion event, music show like mcountdown, music bank and also some local concert like year end daejeon and daechukje. so I count the expenses and flight as part of fandom spending. if never attend those event, then the money is used for PCs or sometimes bulk buying albums to see what benefit and member PCs I get. And sometimes just to get into more popular group like BTS fansign, I bought at least 80 albums just to play safe. But nowadays, less of those. Need to know how to manage financial properly.

no one but I completely focus on Heaven album of SEVENTEEN in 4:19:)))))

I like this host

As a big kpop fan I Guess I'm proud that I haven't exceedingly spent on kpop, probably have spent under $100 so far in my life. Maybe that'll change when my favourite group comes to Singapore, newjeans. Confirm + chop I going to their concert

Is this the series where u guys will post abt AGUST D D-DAY TOUR???

Thank you 6:45

Singapore's revenue will be more skyrocketted as Coldplay and Taylor Swift will come this month and on March! Ive been a kpop fan since 2ND GEN ERA but i stop on it because i will not able to save 😂

CNA should do one for Anime as well

Sure, keep putting your young children in the entertainment industry. Great idea. Not like they get abused at all in various ways 🙄

The truth is SK doesn't like other race 😢

Yoooo Munah is killing it even though she's not a kpopper. Love this CNA. FIGHTING EVERYONE!! 🔥🔥💯

So thankful am not a slave to Kpop

While I don't understand I respect their dedication! Do what you love

ik kade wow

Why no Singaporean member in a K-Pop group nowadays

$10,000 for me includes birthday and comeback support cos I choose my merch and I don’t buy all but right now I’m minimising kpop.😊

Nicholas was my orientation group leader in catholic high 😂 P.S he’s also in dance cca in catholic high

this is just sad

Woah

there is no such thing; Jiwoo of Nmixx is not thin for an idol; Jeongyeon is not the same post her anxiety.. of course dancing is subjective.. Jiwoo of NMIXX is still in her teens..

being an trainee also depends on which company is hosting the auditions; big corp like JYP/SM/YG/HYBE is the better agency while CUBE is the best Trainee company but being an idol is still the big dogs like JYP/SM/YG/HYBE.... the smaller agency run on debt system & initial 7 years exclusive contract looks like a slave contract.. most idol can't stay pass the exclusive contract (GFriend, 2NE1, 4-Minute, SISTAR and Miss A, CLC, Fiestar, Hello Venus, Dal Shabet all didn't get pass the initial 7 years contract).. it's a tough industry as some big agency think the expenses of training a trainee as cost to make more money while smaller is debt driven which is a sad thing as it'll pile a lot of stress to the potential trainee as not all song will be a banger and also good music and producer cost a lot of money to hire unlike big agency who have inhouse producers/mixers and outsourced producer/mixers...

I was obsessed with TVXQ in my early 20s but after they disbanded, I lost interest. My mid20s, I was busy working and pouring my blood, sweat, and tears I’m no longer that into K-pop anymore. I listen to it once a while but not a fan

Is there a Singaporean idol yet? Maybe 1 of these kids can be the first (or 2nd)? But they really need to prepare mentally, i hope agencies actually have mental health providers on standby for all young trainees! As a casual fan it's pretty wild that we feel compelled to spend sooo much money just to see our bias/group become successful... and maybe this is also a big reason why certain fans think they have a say in idols personal lives? Also, nowadays most major groups could fart on a track and their fans will still support, its barely about music, more about buying stuff and getting them to chart

It’s better than doing drugs and illegal stuff.

NO WAY !!!!! I SAW MY EX SCHOOLMATES INSIDE THIS VIDEO👽👽👽👽👽👽

I’m also buying an Album every now and then even though i don’t have a way to actually play the cd but i did always think that that’s kinda odd😂

I do play my CDs...

The price is heavy if you wannabe in the industry. Not just individuals but business wise it's going to be a bloodbath with a proliferation of artistes. We'll have to see if the kpop fad can last past the next generation.

TOMORROW TIMES TOGETHER I AM CRYING

The music is all by design and designed so well. It’s thought out extensively, they work hard to make it entertaining audibly and visibly. That’s why people like it. It’s music that someone has put lots of creative thought and hours of sweat into. We don’t get that type of hardworking from other pop music.

Tasha failed despite being the most popular member of her group. Nobody learnt from her??? 😅

Oh crap...

Waste of valuable time & money...Period!!👎😠

yeah i relate to him about kpop and my parents often said that's the waste of money but never accepts me as loving as a kpop obsession and i love by boys and girl group band, first its bts then straykids and blackpink

There's a Half Singaporean in KPOP. Hori7on's Ng Kim Huat/Kim Huat Ng 😂

20:22 relax boy, you're just 13 you will start growing taller when you'll be 16/17+

👍

I can buy a blouse for $80 worth

sad i wont be able to experience this with enhypen☹️ 0:43

i love kpop so much love blackpink the most and the new group by yg babymonster too blackpink will always be my favourite group ever wont change

all the way Until when reality hit them, then they will return to the real world by than Sent a lot of money already. But must continue if not the companies will die😢

As a Kpop cover dancer and Kpop lover I will root for the kids also I was at the BlackPink concert and I bought the light stick for $55 and it’s a good invest for me 😅😅

It's okay to like and support your favorite artists or musicians, but please don't get fooled to part with your money to buy junks that will be thrown out in 5-10 years time. The photo card cost less than $1 to produce, you can produce it if you have a computer and a printer for goodness sake. At the end of the day, these industry is a business, and the fans are the cash cow.

As a Korean myself I find this Seriously disturbing. Korea is still homogenous and them ever accepting non Koreans as idols is still rare. There’s exceptions like Blackpink has a Thai girl, but still very rare.

Blackpink in your area !!!! Sure they r gonna sweep away all d money in ur area 😂😂

09:03 kade will be good idol

I love k dramas but the only kpop group I ever got invested on is monsta x but even that is limited to listening to the songs on Spotify and catching concerts when they are in the area. Kpop has copied the comic books culture formula and put it on crack. My bestfriend loves kpop but she knows not to be extreme about it around me. Nothing wrong with being a fan but there is such a thing as too much and capitalism being what it is, companies will sell you all types of ways to get hit rick bottom. Moderation is key, people

Splurging on a concert or two during the year, some merch, and an album or two is reasonable if you are a committed stan.