User:PamelaMalasi/sandbox

Training System
In most cases Korean idols start their music careers as K-pop trainees. A K-pop trainee is an individual who goes through an idol training process under a Korean entertainment agency that is specialized to train individuals who pass specific auditions organized and managed by the agency. Regulations and policies are to be followed by a K-pop trainee by signing a contract developed by the agency. There are also cases when K-pop trainees change their agencies. For example, the K-pop star G-Dragon changed his agency before his debut, and he went from SM Entertainment to YG Entertainment.

Auditions
K-pop has now become a global phenomenon through it's unique music, choreography, distinctive fashion and idol groups. In the past 10 years, K-pop singers have hit the Billboard charts several times since Wonder Girls, who were the first K-pop group to enter Billboard charts with their hit "Nobody". This widespread popularity of K-pop has also intrigued many young people to join it in many different ways. One of them is, becoming a K-pop idol themselves and following the footsteps of their idols. Usually, to become a K-pop trainee, one has to first go through an audition held by the agency the aspiring artist chooses to apply at. Hundreds of candidates each day attend the global auditions held by Korean entertainment agencies to perform for the chance of becoming a trainee.[8] The agencies that aspiring K-pop trainees usually choose to audition for are well-known agencies that are also referred to as "The Big 3" agencies: 'YG Entertainment', 'SM Entertainment' or 'JYP entertainment'. Agencies hold auditions which include both public and closed auditions. There are people who are also street-casted or scouted without auditioning, based on looks or potential talent. Examples of agencies recruiting talented young people themselves are G-Dragon who was recruited by YG Entertainment at the age of 13, and Krystal Jung who was recruited by SM Entertainment at the age of 5. Those who successfully pass the audition stage are offered long-term contracts with the entertainment company. There are no age limits to becoming a trainee; thus is not uncommon for trainees, and even debuted idols, to be very young.[9][10] For example, K-pop stars such as BoA, Seungri of BIGBANG and Jungkook of BTS have debuted at the age of 13 and 15, respectively.

Training Process
The trainee process lasts for an indefinite period of time ranging from months to years[11][12]. For example, both Seulgi of girl group 'Red Velvet' and Yoona of girl group 'Girl's Generation' went through a training period of 7 years. '''This trainee process involves vocal, dance, and language[11][12] classes while living together with other trainees, sometimes attending school at the same time, although some trainees drop out of school to focus on a career as an idol.[13][14] This whole process may includes "scouting, auditioning, training, styling, producing, and managing" which first created H.O.T, a boyband of S.M. Entertainment in late 1990s. Among trainees in the same company, the elimination mechanism decides who earns the chance of settling in "the company-owned dormitories" and continue fighting for the ultimate goal to debut in new idol groups, while those who cannot show their company the potential to become an eligible idol artist will no longer be able to stay in the company. Once a trainee enters the system, they are supposed to be regulated in multiple aspects ranging from personal life (for example, dating) to body conditions and visual appearances, etc.. The whole point of trainee system is to survive this process of training and regulation of companies, which somehow one's talent does not play a relatively important role in the production of Korean idols.[15]'''

Training Costs
The investment on trainees can be expensive. The company is responsible for the trainees' dorm, food, and lessons, and an investment of at least $1.3 million dollars is needed for an idol group to debut, including the training costs. '''Investing on potential trainees can be even more expensive. In 2012, The Wall Street Journal reported that the cost of training one member of Girls' Generation under S.M. Entertainment was US$3 million.[16]'''

Reported earnings
'''According to the South Korean National Tax Service, the average annual earnings for a Korean idol in 2013 were KR₩46.74 million (USD$42,000). This was more than double the 2010 figure of KR₩26.97 million (USD$25,275), a rise attributable to the global spread of Hallyu in recent years.''' However, a rookie K-pop Idol group's average earnings are about $4000 for one show (or more if the show is held overseas). The split of these earnings is 90:10 between the agency and the K-pop group. The 10 percent that the group earns is then divided among all members.

'''Some of the highest-earning Korean idols, for example G-Dragon, receive multimillion-dollar annual incomes in album and concert sales. On June 25, 2015, SBS's "Midnight TV Entertainment" revealed that G-Dragon earned an annual KR₩790 million (USD$710,000) from songwriting royalties alone. Idols can also earn revenues from endorsements, merchandise, corporate sponsorship deals and commercials. According to The Korea Herald, once a K-pop music video attracts more than a million views, it will "generate a meaningful revenue big enough to dole out profits to members of a K-pop group."'''

Sexualization
'''There have been criticisms on the sexual objectification of female and male idols across the industry. The problem is exacerbated due to the higher rigidity of gender norms in contemporary Korean society.[32] For example, according to an MIT thesis entitled 'How K-pop Mirrors Gender Roles', "the image of a passive and submissive woman is celebrated in the Korean society like no other, when actual Korean women are not so passive nor so submissive by nature".[33] Korean idols are frequently depicted in music videos wearing revealing clothes and dancing provocatively, as part of the companies' effort to market idols in multiple ways.[34]''' Women especially are continuously portrayed as sexually appealing cute girls, so that more viewers can be approached, especially men whose sexual desires are satisfied at some extent by the sexualized image of female K-pop idols. For example, according to the Kpopstarz' writer, Jody, the members of K-pop girl group Stellar "were forced to change their concepts to sexiness to appeal to male audience". Another example is J-Park's "Mommae" music video where women appear wearing bunny costumes or lingerie, and their dancing was focused on their chest and hips.

Recognition
The Korean Wave has led to a global rise in interest in Korean idols, along with other aspects of Korean culture including Korean films and K-dramas being exported to other parts of the globe.[29] Moreover, popular Korean celebrities, such as PSY, and girl and boy groups such as, 2NE1, BIGBANG, BTS, BLACKPINK, Girls'Generation, EXO and others, have been constantly grabbing the attention of the world through their music and by winning important international awards and entering the BILLBOARD charts. This popularity has led to a greater popularity and to many international collaborations among these groups such as, 'BLACKPINK x DUA LIPA' collaboration, 'PSY x Snoop Dog', BTS and Nicki Minaj collaboration, or G-Dragon and Skrillex collaboration.

'''Note by the author: Sentences that are in bold are not mines. I have added to the information that was already there on the "K-pop Idol" Wiki article. However, I have edited and adjusted the sentences for a smooth transition so that they can go well together, without changing their meaning/purpose.'''

Added reference paragraph