Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Stella Kim, who (unlike Clara) was set to debut with SNSD, gave some insight into her time under the spotlight in a recent interview.
The whole thing is worth a watch, but the nuggets that stood out to me were:
–SM Entertainment had weekly checks where the trainees got photographed and were given feedback on their best angles and also got their looks scrutinized. If they were deemed overweight, then they would be weighed in front of everybody and shamed for it. Additionally, when she went to the dermatologist for treatment, the people there would always tell her to get fillers or plastic surgeries.
-After she left Korean entertainment, she would get recognized at college by K-pop fans or Korean international students. What ended up happening was that people would judge her like she was still an idol, saying stuff like she was ugly or fat (sounds like our favorite netizens), and as a result she became reclusive and developed an eating disorder.
-People have frequently asked her if she regrets not going through with an idol career after seeing SNSD’s success, but she says that she’s thankful to her parents for protecting her from that life and the scrutiny that goes along with it.
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What she revealed wasn’t anything we haven’t heard before, but I thought it was an engaging story about a part her life and it was especially interesting to hear from somebody that was positioned to gain so much prominence in the Korean entertainment world.
