"I've worked with both female and male idols. Across all those experiences, there were three cases that I found truly shocking.
The first one was a trainee who was very talented and diligent. The kind of trainee that everyone thought could become the main vocalist of the group. As usual, the agency called in trainees' parents for a consultation. I wasn't part of the rookie development team, but I happened to see the meeting from a distance. Something about the father just felt... off. I got this bad feeling.
After that meeting, that trainee suddenly disappeared. I asked the rookie development team about what happened, and they called me into the conference rom. They told me, "His father is a criminal." They didn't exactly said what kind, but it turned out that he had served a prison sentence. Not for something extreme like sexual assault or murder, but still... He was a criminal. So the agency decided not to debut that trainee.
If the father is a criminal, there must be a victim involved. And it's just not right for a family member of someone who made others cry blood tears to have career that receives love from the public. Some might argue that the trainee didn't do anything wrong, and that's true. But the agency are just not willing to take on that kind of risk. It takes a lot of money to produce an idol after all.
The second case was a male trainee as well. He was also incredibly diligent, extremely dedicated. The kind of trainee who would show up before everyone else to practice early. He was young too, so everyone thought he had great potential.
But one day, he was just gone. I asked the rookie development team where he went. I learned that all trainees undergo growth plate tests, since you know... Height is important. The result said his maximum height was predicted to be 165cm. Height is something that you just can't change. Even with modern medicine, the most he could possibly reach was 167cm. If he could've reached at least 170cm, maybe there'd be hope. But he was under 170cm."
-Firing a trainee just because of height is so cruel... If he had an incredibly small face and excellent visuals, they'd let him debut even if he was just 168cm tall.
-Getting fired just because of a growth plate test result... That is so unfair.
-This might be harsh, but also realistic. Idols make money off their looks and image, after all.
-There are a few short male idols, though...? Why..?ㅠㅠ
-My cousin has no family members over 170cm tall and he grew super slowly. But then, he suddenly grew to 173c at the age of 19ㅠㅠ Firing someone just based on a growth plate test result is just so cruelㅠ
-Honestly, there's no job better than being an idol for a short, good-looking guy.
-The trainee with the criminal father... That's heartbreaking... He lost his dream because of something that was not even his faultㅠㅠ Especially since he was almost ready to debut tooㅜㅜ
-There are quite a few short male idols... Maybe his skills weren't good enough to make up for it.
-There's definitely demand for short male idols, though... What a shame.
-That's understandable... Agencies are investing billions of KRW to produce idols.
-Even big agencies debut male idols under 170cm these days...
-At the end of the day, this is business that involves money and investment. No one wants to take unnecessary risks.
-The cold truth is... Maybe that second trainee didn't have enough strengths to outweigh his weakness.
-It actually makes sense. It's okay for female idols to be short, but not for male idols...
-Growth plate tests are not even that accurate. Maybe his visuals and skills weren't good enough for the agency to take that risk.
-I actually understand the height issue. Looks are everything for idols. 165cm tall is just way too risky. If anything, the trainee who got fired because of his father is more pitiful.
