come back next week for our first direct sequel, *I spent a day with VIRAL MEME STARS 2* UNCENSORED ON SPOTIFY ▸ open.spotify.com/show/5aOLuPenneHbhLh05fmkeu UNCENSORED ON APPLE ▸ podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-spent-a-day-with/id1550213250

Props to Anthony for getting actual ex Kpop Idols and not people who were trainees for like 2 seconds.

"I have no bitter feelings." Meanwhile, the other person: "So I filed a lawsuit."

I don’t think people really realise how big After School was. When Bekah left AS we were really devastated. A lot of members changed in the group and they were all really talented but for me no one could bring the colours she did. I was so happy when they reunited and performed Bang together. I’m so happy Bekah is doing what she wants now. She looks genuinely happy. Love you, Bekah!

Imagine if she got into an accident, needed a blood tranfusion to save her life and the paramedics are like "oh yeah she's in Blady let's give her B"

The way you got an After School member, Boyfriend member, and a Kpop Star contestant is INSANE! Those are such staples in "older" kpop

i feel so bad for kpop members because of how abusive the industry is

Omg Jeongmin from boyfriend!? Bruhh im crying. I miss Boyfriend 😭 such a good group

"we're products of the company" queen said what we all were thinking. still rings true in 2021

Thanks for having me on your channel to share my experience ✨🙏

“I spent a day with ex smosh member!” Talks to himself (edit: Uhm this is an awful lot of likes. Thank you so much. Truly)

boyfriend as a group is a rare thing to find, these men where together for eight years as a group, when disbanding time came they still supported each other in their individual activities and then decided they want to continue making music together there's no contract dictating things this time around, just them and their bond probably not the right space to talk about this but it makes me emotional seeing him promoting bf instead of himself

Jeongmin seems to have a more positive experience compared to Bekah and Christine. I wonder if the difference between the treatment of boy groups vs girl groups play a part in these idols' experiences; if gender inequality affects the industry or if it's truly just the company's doing

I feel like CL might be open for an interview like this tbh, would love to hear her perspective

I love the fact that you got a translator so that Jeongmin could speak comfortably! I was honestly thinking that you would probably do something like that - and I wasn't wrong! Love how understanding and accommodating you are, Anthony! Love your stuff!

I got teary eyed when all of them talked about how the positive side were the fans. They go through so much for us...

The hip pad thing she said really made me glad. It irks me how less its talked about, it's shaping an unhealthy beauty standard and picturing S line curves for every idol in fan's eyes who eat it up

kpop idols are genuinely so talented but have to go through so much, its honestly sickening to see how mistreated they are.

After School and Boyfriend? Holy hell, the nostalgia. Jeongmin's my bias in Boyfriend! It's so important to share these stories. They might be from a previous generation, but we can only appreciate the increasing autonomy idols are starting to have if we can assess what went wrong before.

I don’t think I could ever wrap my head around the fact that some fans won’t accept an idol bc they’re dating. Like what?! Some people are delusional. That’s just weird behavior. People should be allowed to be in relationships, including idols. They already live such complicated lives, they should be allowed to at least have ONE thing.

I'm so glad that Bekah has found herself after leaving After School. She was amazing as an idol, but being free to decide things for yourself is priceless.

I feel like everyone wants to be a kpop idol but don't consider the cons

I remember Holland, who's an openly gay kpop idol, got rejected by ALL the companies he auditioned for, he also mentioned that ALLOT of kpop idols have and still call him slurs, very embarrasing really, kpop companies delete yourself challenge

I love how she said secretly dating exists, just a reality check for delusional fans. Sadly dating is never going to be normally/publically accepted with idols not unless they leave, retire or change careers.

hearing her say that idols are like “products” is so heartbreaking. the fact that they have to alter their lives to the likings of not the company but the fans? honestly i really hope that the future changes for kpop idols and they can have more freedom to be humans

It's scary how this industry is basically about manufacturing people to fit a mold.

I loved After School & Boyfriend. You never realize how much work is put into your favorite groups and how hard the members work. They make it look so effortless, but they go through so much to just to get where they are. I hope they are much happier & less stressed after exiting the industry. Too much pressure is put on idols to be perfect and it’s awful. And like Christine was saying, a lot of women experience terrible period cramps and for some it can be debilitating. A lot of idols take breaks because of exhaustion and people wonder why….

When Anthony asked them to play their music they looked so happy and excited to show their work you can tell they're passionate about what they do

Stanning a group with a decent company is like finding a hidden gem. It sounds like the bare minimum but if an idol eats well, gets breaks, sleep, and creative control, it feels very reassuring. With most groups and idols there's always the worry in the back of your mind over their treatment from their company. One example of a decent company is HFE. There's only a handful of others I can think of.

they are barely treated like humans. crazy how it's expected of them to always work and be perfect like machines

“I was in boyfriend and wanted to be boyfriend” that was adorable. This industry though… I didn’t even know about vitamin c shots. As an Asian woman in an entirely white community I used to look up ways to pale out all the time and yet I never heard of those but it sounds like… a bad idea?

Everyone talking about Jeongmin and Bekah, I want to give some love to Christine! I know her from DKDKTV's podcast and I always loved hearing her insider perspective about kpop idol life. I know Blady wasn't nearly as popular as After School or Boyfriend but I think it's important to hear from idols who also worked extremely hard and never got their big break

As a fan of Boyfriend, I was honestly surprised to see one of the members here. They were actually my favorite group for a while and I was really sad when they didn't have a comeback, then slowly faded to the back before disbanding. I hope better things come their way, and I'm happy Jeongmin was able to share some of his experiences.

As a Kpop fan of 10 years, I'm surprised that the topic of variety shows and sasaeng fans aren't talked about. We had sasaeng fans (obsessive fans) go to the same planes with the idols, put period blood outside of the door of dorms, an idol almost died because a drink given by a 'fan' had glue and an idol had death threats for announcing that she's dating someone (another idol)*. *Kan Miyoun Variety shows on the other hand, i want to know truly how the process is, how their experiences were. If there is a 2.0 version of this, I would love to watch it. Good Job Anthony, It's nice to see Bekah, Jongmin and Soobin again.

dudes hyuna and dawn literally got kicked out of cube because their relationship was discovered. it's fucking crazy

21:25 The perfect example of it is LOONA. The girls were treated like shit and orbits started to boycott them from the moment when chuu was kicked out. Some people say that "boycott doesnt works" but yes, it does. Their comeback is delayed only cuz of boycott. Orbits are the best fandom i've ever seen. Love ya orbits

When I saw Bekah I got so emotional and started crying. She was one of the first idols I fell in love with, and when she and Gahi left Afterschool I just started realizing how bad it was and started losing interest in the Kpop industry. Thanks Anthony, this was a BRILLIANT episode and kudos to you for bringing big ex kpop stars

so many cis men would just not believe people talking about their period pains, they would tell them they’re overreacting and that its not that bad etc. but you can clearly tell that Anthony never question people going through things he has never experienced. as with everything else; he always knows to listen and to be open-minded, it is so refreshing to see. it would be so nice if more cis men were like this, so that people could talk about their struggles without being invalidated, made fun of or dismissed.

Spend a day with The president!

Bakeh has such an interesting story about her idol life, she was basically apart of kpop when it was just freshly taking the world stage and becoming popular. Afterschool is till this day one of my favourite kpop idol groups, there concepts still have not been matched and no one in the industry was dancing the way they where at the time and the way they where very versatile and almost chameleon like back then was almost unheard off. Alot of kpop fans now don't realise how big diva, because of you and bang where at those time epically considering they weren't apart of big 3. It was basically big 3 groups ft Kara, Tara, Sistar and afterschool during that era of kpop. I seriously miss afterschool and I was so happy she took part in the reunion.

I’m glad for companies like P Nation that give idols comfort and allow them to live a bit more freely while also encouraging their artists to produce their content that they want to create.

This is honestly so important.. as a long term kpop fan I know how horrible the industry is.. glad these people can share their stories with you!! Edit: OH MY GOODNESS Jeongmin??! I love him so much and boyfriend... I love them so much and am glad he's sharing is story

JEONGMIN'S NAME BEING SPELLED WRONG CONFUSED THE HECK OUT OF ME 😭 Glad to see him talking about how his career was. I used to be a huge fan of boyfriend and when they disbanded I was really sad but watching him do things outside of kpop promotions is fun

As a best friend, I cried so hard hearing jeongmin’s experiences, it’s so good to know he’s happier now than he was and that he’s still making what he loves

Let us just take a moment to recognize the strength the trainees, current idols, and past idols have? The industry is competitive, toxic, and exhausting! Stories like this should be wide spread! Our idols deserve to be treated better! They are people too! 💕

I wish Ryu Sera was part of this episode. She’d have a lot more insight on the dark side of Koop industry

Omg Jeongmin... I was such a huge BOYFRIEND stan back then, their music was amazing.. i'm SO happy he's here to share his long time experience, i miss the entire group overall, but this is indeed super exhausting and it's not healthy for a normal person, i'm glad he looks like he's doing better

woah, you got someone from a starship group AND pledis

When I think of kpop, I always think of churning. Artists are a dime a dozen as companies keep churning them out and replacing members or disbanding without any reasons.

I feel like dating is getting more and more accepted and that’s a good thing (probably mostly for already established successful idols though). Maybe you can try getting in contact with Hyuna and Dawn at PNation. I feel like that company is very open and might be okay with an interview. They were let go by their companies at the time for dating. (I don’t think they can talk a lot about that topic but they’re still very interesting)

Some idols make it seem easy, but behind the scenes, I’m sure it’s super hard. From the constantly being on camera, not being able to be in public without being recognized, delusional fans, the stamina you need to have to dance and sing at the same time, and the horrible beauty standard. As a kpop stan myself, I already know of the bad things that go on in the industry, but this really opened my eyes

I've been a K-pop fan since 2010/11, and I was honestly so upset the first time I heard about how idols are actually treated. It was a surprise to me when I first heard it, because the members seemed to have so much fun. I realized then how much of it is an act, and that you don't really know exactly what's happening behind the scenes, because that's not something you're allowed to see There are many factors that go into this treatment - Korea's work ethic in general, the idols "knowing what they signed up for" and so on - but I'm really hoping that Idols can be allowed to form some kind of Union. There was a lot of talk about that after the horrific tragedy that happened to the group Ladies' Code, but I think the discussions around that have slowed down or stopped completely. There's definitely a dark side to K-pop idol life, and while some companies are definitely better than others, none of them are entirely free from these kinds of problems. No, not even your favorite company is free from these kinds of problems. I support the idols themselves because I think they deserve it from working so hard, but my position on K-pop companies has become a lot more cynical over the years.

Talking about physical regimes, AFTER SCHOOL (the group Bekah once in) was famous for their ever-changing performance concepts. From executing marching band skills to bringing pole-dancing to their stages. *True legends.*

You should interview Kim Samuel his whole story is crazy. His dad was murdered the company he was in taking advantage of him. Him being a really young trainee.

Korean idols work so hard and yet still get backlash from the media about their body, especially female idols. They don’t deserve it at all and it’s honestly so sad.

Guys imagine he brings us SOOJIN ex former of GIDLE😭💔

11:53 that´s exactly the problem, though. That is the DAMN problem. Idols are more often associated with how pretty, cute, handsome or sexy they are, than with how talented they are, the moment these companies start marketing them as ARTISTS, that’s the moment TRUE fans will want to stick around. Let’s use Mamamoo and TWICE as an example, 2 absolutely talented and successful girl groups, but if you compare their fanbases you will notice how solid Mamamoo’s fan base is in comparison to TWICE’s, that´s because Mamamoo were always marketed as a group of vocalists, whereas TWICE were marketed as cute girlfriend’s and, yes their fanbase is big, but as soon as they make changes, fans are quick to turn on them. I mean, when they changed to a more mature concept, many fans left them. As soon as 2 of the members started dating publicly, many fans left them, one of the members is sick and gained weight because of the hormones in her treatment, and many fans have turned their back on her and are now disgusting towards her. Those attitudes from fans are a consequence of how these companies market them. They allow for these fans to feel like buying albums and merchandise somehow gives them ownership over these people when the reality is, IDOLS DON’T OWE YOU ANYTHING OTHER THAN WHAT YOU PAY FOR WHICH IS MUSIC, MERCHANDISE, CONCERTS AND FAN SERVICE, YOU DON’T PAY TO HAVE A SAY IN THEIR FAMILY LIFE, LOVE LIFE, OR FRIENDSHIPS. The only positive thing is that daily, we see more and more groups starting to step up and self produce and write their music, sadly it is mostly seen in boy groups, but What else is new, women always have to work twice fold to be respected. Anyways… there’s my rant. Goodbye. Stan TWICE and Mamamoo, and send good vibes to Jeongyeon

glad many k-idols went to rest/hiatus nowadays for mental health reason, been a fan of kpop for 8 years and i can see that the industry is getting better as time goes by, the fans also become more accepting of them dating as it should be

Anthony, I would love to see "I Spent A Day With Children of Adoption" - and maybe even share my story! I have encountered negative language surrounding adoption throughout my life and I am passionate about dispelling it. It would also be super interesting to hear from someone who was adopted from Foster Care because that is such a distinct experience and it's so important to hear different perspectives!

Thank you for giving our Jeongmin a large platform to share his thoughts and feelings - it's so good to see him again! Boyfriend had the potential to go all the way but were failed by their company so horrifically, it's something that will always irk me as a BestFriend, I wish we could've done more for them.

Seeing Jeongmin smiling so happily after getting complimented for his music is so precious and pure. I need to go check out his music, it sounds up my alley. And I was a Boyfriend fan so I miss them lol. And Bekah! She was definitely awesome in After School so I wanna check hers out bc it sounds really fun. Thanks Anthony for all the updates. As international fans, we can't keep up with stuff as much and don't know where to look to find old idols that might be doing new things so thanks so much!

I really hope people don’t think every idol’s situation is the same. The industry is crap but every company is different with their policies. I hope people don’t diss fans for liking kpop because of the industry because no one hates industry more than kpop fans and they diss the companies constantly. Also I’m so glad you got seasoned idols to actually tell their stories. I really loved Boyfriend when I was in middle school and high school🖤

i love how he makes his guests feel comfortable no matter what they are talking about

I saw Jeongmin on the thumbnail, and I'm already crying. Knowing his perspective during all those years just made me cry more. I'm just so so so happy that they're gonna release a mini-album soon.

Another good idea for another episode “I spent a day with famous child actors” inviting actors from Disney or Nick o:

Jae from Day6 would have spilled everything if he was on here. He wouldn't hold back bc he has a lot of pent-up frustration against his company. Although he's still an active idol so he wouldn't have fit in the "ex" part of this video. Edit: This comment was written before Jae showed his true colors. I no longer support him and do not believe he should be here (or on any show/channel).

Literally lost it when I saw Bekah and Jeongmin - i still love and listen to both Boyfriend and After School to this day

Anthony, thank you so much for this interview! Those were all huge people for those who like k-pop for such a long time - I mean, freaking Bekah? A Boyfriend member, and a K-POP Star contestant? You were also very respectful towards their experiences and what's more, towards the industry. Your tone was totally respectuful and no hints of trying to paint the K-Pop industry as having this "DARK SIDE" but instead letting the idols speak. Love how you handle those interviews!

It’s crazy how differently K-pop idols are viewed by fans VS the company, they’re not even human to the company

Props to Hyuna and Dawn for helping break down the dating stigma in Kpop. Stream Ping Pong ♡

Kpop idols could be on another level if they were treated nicely. I bet the trainees would also then actually want to work hard because they are shown respect through the process, being treated like actual human beings, not as tools

I'm glad Anthony interviewed Kpop Idols that I knew because most of the time others interviews people I never ever heard of. After school was my childhood and I remember being impressed with their English lines pronunciation in Bang! but now that makes sense cause Bekah is actually Korean American. And I remember Boyfriend songs like Bounce and Witch because of their halloween like concept. Also I heard about Soobin because of DKDK tv. All in all it was pretty good interview with great cast.

I will never stop reminding kpop fans that they’re human beings that deserve a life and most fans have unhealthy obsessions… it’s sick

A “I spent a day with K-pop idols” would be so interesting now. You’ve got fans, ex-idols, and then idols would be so interesting. Loved the video Anthony!

I feel like Woosung and the other members of the The Rose would’ve been perfect for this too. They went through so much from their company. edit: lol guys THEY STILL EXIST, but i figured since their contract with their previous company ended, they would be good examples for this video 😭

I remember being so upset when I read that Bekah was leaving After School 'coz she was one of my favorite members. She really was such an awesome performer. She even got to collab & perform with the K-Pop queen Lee Hyori. I got so teary-eyed when I saw her perform again with the rest of the girls recently. It was just great to see her perform again after so long. I'm glad she's dabbling in music again. She's very talented and I hope nothing but the best for her! ❤️

It's interesting to notice how the industry has changed over the years, too...I've been watching many videos of 2nd gen groups losing members, replacing people, etc., but nowadays you get a bit less of that. I'm hoping it's because when an idol is injured, needs rest, or has personal issues, they can more easily take a break and come back after (like Jeongyeon in TWICE) instead of being removed from the group and never spoken about again (9Muses, anyone?). It's obviously still a ruthless industry, but hopefully it's veering more into that positive territory when it comes to idols' health.

I was a huge fan of afterschool and boyfriend back then.

Idol culture is so incredibly toxic and abusive. Humans are not products to be owned. Until this mentality changes, the abuse will continue. Slave contracts is what these companies thrive on and they prey on children as well, not just adults. Someone needs to step in and force these companies to adhere to basic human rights. I adore Kpop, but when I learned the behind the scenes secrets I was heartbroken. P Nation seems to be changing the mold. I wish others would follow suit!

As a fan of Kpop for more than ten years, I loved this interview. It is very realistic and you can see the interest, beyond talking about Kpop being a popular topic today. It made me nostalgic to see Jeongmin and Bekah, After School and Boyfriend were giants, great groups, I miss them. 😭 And I love Christine, she’s so honest. 💜💜💜

Boyfriend was one of the first K-Pop boy bands that i loved :( I was so sad when they went inactive. I'm happy Jeongmin is doing alright

If a video ever comes out with the title “I spent a day with the president” i wouldn’t be surprised dude

The part about the blood type got me shocked. I knew that there was kind of a belief that it relates to personality but to make a whole group based on that idea and then hiding one member's real type sounds crazy

Omg afterschool really handled that departure the best I've ever seen. I wish everyone had that healthy parting and closure, for fans as well💕

I just recently got into Kpop and avoided it for so long specifically because of the toxic fan culture and the abuse that companies do to idols. Even though I listen to it now I still keep it at arms length. I’ve seen a lot of content where it’s clear an idol is sick, injured or uncomfortable and it makes my skin crawl. The crazy part is not many fans seem to realize of even care that much. I’ve seen a few performances where an idol is clearly in a lot of pain and all the comments are thanking them for performing anyway or just commenting on how good they look. I go back and forth on whether or not it’s ethical to support Kpop. On one hand I can see how many idols genuinely enjoy performing, on the other I think about what great cost it is to them. This video eased me a little bit when they said that what got them through the most was their fans. I’m still going to be highly critical and avoid things that clearly are shady, but for all they go through I think they deserve to be supported on their craft. I think it’s possible to be a fan but also be highly critical and speak out on things that are wrong about the industry.

I'm glad he talked to real idols about this. I can see in some groups and companies nowadays things are getting better, but I can imagine how hard it was and probably still is to go through the kpop industry

11:46 it just reminds me how cube treated hyuna and dawn, and how they lost fans due to them dating :(( so glad they’re both in pnation now! edit: support them both by streaming ‘ping pong’ ★彡

JEONGMIN! MY BOYFRIEND BIAS

I will forever and always be most curious about how the queer community exists amongst the kpop industry

this is bound to be one of his most interesting “Spent A Day With…” videos yet

i'm so sorry but that "i'm in boyfriend but i can't be a boyfriend" tho aaa xD kidding aside, it's nice seeing them once again, i really love after school specially

After school member AND Boyfriend?!? These were like actual big famous idols! Christine is a cutie and I follow her, but Blady was never too big, it was a shame but she made the best of it.

Wow! I loved BLady, it’s so interesting having this insight from Christine. Thank you for this video Anthony! I’m glad you got actual ex idols and not trainees who trained for a really short time.

As a best friend who was there for their hiatus,disbandment,disbanding and reforming- I'm so happy I was able to see this. Anthony thank you so much. Best friend truly appreciate the love you gave to our bubbie Jeongmin. It's hard and was hard seeing the boys deal with all the pain but we are here always to support and love them.

Seeing members from Boyfriend and After School brings back memories of being a kpop fan from the 2nd gen. Glad they're doing better and especially for Christine

I am SO excited so hear from Bekah. I guess it has already been 10 years, huh? I absolutely adore her and followed her long after she left. I am so beyond ecstatic to learn she is continuing to make music!! I wish her, and all the others featured here, the best and they find happiness in their new ventures on their own terms. So proud of them all.

The faith of AfterSchool is just tragic because in 2009-2010 they were so successful and active. I think with Bekah leaving and Kahi a year after the group started to fall apart and go into decline. They became barely active and eventually just disappeared and now only 1 member is still left in the company, who is a very famous model in Korea and Japan. Kahi has been more vocal how displeased she was with the company(Pledis) that it resulted her "storming out" from a label she helped to create. Raina, the main vocal, went to a show where she talked about her life after the group stopped its activities, how she expected a solo career but the company just left her hanging for many years, in which she lost energy and joy to do anything, developed depression, lost her vocal abilities but created her own KZfaq and Twitch channel, since she became a gamer.

The fact that there's still people who think being a kpop idol is easy AND seeing how many haters group have, is disgusting. These people need support, they're HUMANS. Thank you for this!

You should do “spending a day with maladaptive daydreamers”

As a fan of your channel and an EXTREME KPOP multistan, this was an incredibly impressive to see. I remember being awestruck over After School and Boyfriend, and hearing of Blady. So thank you, Anthony! (A sequel diving deeper would be appreciated, however