One of the most difficult parts of idol life comes before debut, with some idol trainees unable to even make it to that point. While this sometimes happens due to a trainee not being selected by the company, many cannot handle the stress and other issues that come with being a trainee.
Recently, a former trainee shared why she left the industry, shocked by all she endured under allegedly active companies.
In 2021, the survival series My Teenage Girl aired, seeking to form a seven-membered group called CLASS:y.
Trainee Judy Kim (Dasom Kim) made it through many episodes before ultimately being eliminated. After this, she joined another company and ultimately left the industry.
In videos on her Instagram account, Judy explained the reason why she left the industry, mentioning her mental health and the numerous serious injuries she had.
“I Could Have Died” — Trainee’s Traumatic Experiences Still Affect Her Years Later
Judy spread her story across two clips, and revealed how controlling the company she was under was, saying that she had to continually update them on her activities. She said that she was not able to do many of the standard things that trainees couldn’t do like smoking or drinking, but this also extended to things like getting her nails done.
They wouldn’t let you do a lot of things like basic things like no clubbing, no smoking, no alcohol, but then it would also stem into things like you can’t get your hair done without letting them know, you can’t get your nails done, if you wanted to trim your bangs you had to let let them know.
— Judy
She also said that they required her update them on her location as she went from place to place, even saying she told them when she was sleeping. Judy said this created a bad sense of paranoia that she feared she was being watched.
You have to let them know where you are all the time. Like, ‘hello my name is Judy, like I just got to the academy’ or ‘I’m leaving to the academy’ or like ‘I just got home, I’m about to sleep.’ It was insane to the point where I was so anxious that someone was watching me through the window like every day.
— Judy
Naturally, viewers were appalled by these conditions, reassuring Judy that making a decision based her on feelings was the right choice.
As with other trainee experience videos, there was sure to be some curiosity over which company she was under. However, there is speculation of what companies Judy was referencing, despite them not being mentioned by name.
First, while on My Teenage Girl Judy was under PocketDol Studio, which is currently home to Fantasy Boys and BAE173.
There is speculation, however, that the final company where her career-ending injury took place is Modhaus, home to tripleS and ARTMS, as it was public knowledge she was a trainee there. In 2022, a fan shared a DM questioning Judy about not debuting in tripleS.
a fan dmed MTG’s kim dasom, seems like she is out of tripleS 💔💔 good luck in your future endeavors dasom and hope to see you soon! #tripleS #트리플에스#MyTeenageGirl #방과후설렘 pic.twitter.com/HZG3FvcCVJ
— sophi ⬢ (@yoosoyu) November 2, 2022
Though this is speculation based on the timing of her career, it is startling to consider others may currently be experiencing what she went through.
You can watch her first clip below.
