What is it like to live as a trainee, before all the glamour that your favorite idols live today? If you think that being a K-pop trainee is the same as studying in an art dormitory school, then prepare yourself to be completely flabbergasted. Life as a K-pop trainee is far more challenging than you think—it’s a closed system of sleep-deprived schedule, controlled dorm life, strict evaluations, and beauty standards that push young people past their limits.
And now, for the first time, we’re diving into that world using only verified firsthand accounts—from BBC and CNN to former trainees who have actually lived through it.
What the Life of a K-pop Trainee Really Looks Like
Previously, we have talked about what it actually means to be a K-pop trainee and how it’s entirely different from what you have ever imagined. Today we’re going to invite you to dive deeper into what it’s like to actually live as a K-pop trainee, with the rigorous training life and unbelievable schedule they have to experience.
A typical day in the life of a K-pop trainee is anything but typical. It’s relentless, repetitive, and completely draining. And it starts far earlier than most people believe.
In a 2025 CNN documentary following trainees at MZMC, a new K-pop agency in South Korea, the girls began their day with two hours of gym workouts before heading into a full schedule of vocal and dance training, stretching into the night, often until midnight.
Meanwhile, those still attending school, like 14-year-old trainee Liwon Kim, went to class in the morning before heading straight to practice until late hours.
A former trainee at JYP and Cube Entertainment shared similar experiences in a 2023 Quora post. Her schedule, as a 13-year-old at JYP, started at 5 AM with stretches and schoolwork, followed by full-time classes from 8 AM to 4 PM, then hours of evening training until 10 PM or later.
Once transferred to Cube, the structure intensified. She reported that staying past midnight or even sleeping in the dance room was common. Not because it was mandatory, but because leaving early was seen as a sign of weakness.
K-pop Trainee Dorm Rules: Shared Spaces, Zero Privacy
All this time, you may be thinking that those trainees living in dorms for a bonding experience, but the reality is much more restrictive.
According to a 2020 BBC interview with Euodias, who trained in Korea as a teen, company dorms were heavily regulated. Boys and girls were separated, and trainees were not allowed to leave without permission. Even family visits required prior approval, and surprise visits by relatives were flatly denied.
She described a system where each trainee had a number and a stage name, and staff referred to them only by their number—no real names.
“I was given the name Dia, but our instructors would only ever call us by our numbers, which they read from stickers on our shirts.
It felt weird, a bit like we were in some sort of science experiment.”
Euodias, a former K-pop trainee.
The shared rooms were small, cramped, and often assigned based on rank: top trainees slept four to a room, while others slept on mats in large open spaces.
Even the Reddit post from an anonymous former trainee confirmed these conditions. Her company assigned a “manager” who texted every trainee at night and expected replies within minutes. Ignoring the message resulted in immediate follow-up calls, regardless of the time.
K-pop Trainee Schedule: Surveillance and Sleep Deprivation
Surveillance is normalized in the life of a K-pop trainee. Katherine Lee recalled how security cameras monitored every inch of the practice space, which meant the changing rooms were the only private space—and even there, trainees would hide to nap because they weren’t being watched.
Training stretched beyond structured lessons. Most trainees added extra hours to practice alone because they fear falling behind. Euodias mentioned that her group’s schedule ran until 11 PM or later, and after-hours curfews were strictly enforced.
National holidays like Lunar New Year didn’t apply—staff took days off, but some trainees remained locked in the building with routines uninterrupted.
CNN’s report confirmed this culture of exhaustion. One MZMC trainee, Yun, suffered a panic attack after three years of training and monthly evaluations. Though the agency allowed her four months off to recover, she was ultimately cut from the debut lineup.
Monthly Evaluations and the Fear of Elimination
All agencies—big and small—employ some form of monthly evaluation. It’s a system where trainees perform individually in front of instructors and executives, only to be graded, critiqued, and potentially eliminated.
Euodias shared that her agency operated a tiered trainee system, dividing everyone into Team A and Team B. Team A trainees got better dorms, opportunities, and training. Team B trainees often trained for years without being considered for debut. The division, she said, was largely based on visual potential and body weight, not skill.
Katherine Lee added that out of 20 trainees at her company, only seven remained after 10 months. Cuts happened every month, often with no warning. “You just stop seeing them at practice,” she said.
Weight Surveillance and Disordered Eating: A Systemic Problem
If there’s one detail all testimonies agree on, it’s the obsession with weight.
MZMC founder Paul Thompson told CNN his agency tracks each trainee’s BMI twice a month and provides boiled eggs and roasted chicken as a standard diet. But trainees themselves tell a more disturbing story.
Euodias revealed that her company weighed all trainees publicly, announcing their numbers aloud in front of staff and peers. Those over the company’s maximum were placed on water diets, had full meals taken away, or were denied food until after performances. She recalled passing out from dehydration during dance practice, only to wake up in the dorms. And disturbingly, her peers praised her for her “dedication” instead.
Katherine Lee was also subjected to weigh-ins in front of both male and female staff. To lose weight quickly, she was taken to a Korean diet hospital, where she was given herbal appetite suppressants and underwent carboxy injections to break down fat. She recounted memorizing the calories in each food item and surviving on yogurt, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and boiled eggs.
A Reddit user training in 2023 reported being told explicitly that she had to drop to 40kg (88 lbs) and was handed a diet plan that triggered bulimia. In her own words: “I don’t know what a normal meal is anymore.”
Favoritism, Image Control, and Emotional Fallout
Favoritism is another silent rule. The Reddit trainee noted that she and a small circle were consistently assigned center positions, photo shoots, and MVP titles, while others weren’t even allowed to showcase their skills.
“It really beat down a lot of girls, as some expressed, they weren’t allowed to demonstrate their talents fully.
In the end, we think it was because of appearance, which is honestly sad as hell.”
A former K-pop trainee on Reddit.
Even when trainees got close to debut, their image was never their own. Katherine was made blonde overnight without her consent to match a more “American” idol look. She wasn’t asked—she just took a nap and woke up in the salon with bleached hair.
“Part of my contract was that the company could market you however they wanted. So right before ‘Produce 101,’ they took me to the salon. I literally took a nap and woke up with bleached hair.
I did not ask for this! But you gotta do what you gotta do, you know?”
Katherine Lee.
By the time many trainees walk away—or are cut—they carry not only disappointment, but a sense of identity loss. “I realized I don’t feel like hiding myself anymore,” Katherine said.
The Life and Schedule of K-pop Trainee: A System Built on Pressure
Finally, behind every K-pop idol’s smile is a rigorous life of a trainee with a schedule that leaves no room for rest, a dorm that erases privacy, a weight standard that endangers health, and an evaluation system that rewards survival, not just talent.
And this isn’t a one-off account. It’s a pattern—one verified across BBC interviews, BuzzFeed exposés, Reddit confessions, and CNN investigations.
So, the next time you cheer for a debut stage, remember: the life of a K-pop trainee is not just about discipline. It’s about what they gave up to get there, and what the system demands they become to stay.
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