Thursday, April 21, 2011

Part ① [Tour Cube]: Meet Cube Entertainment’s two trainees, Im Hyun Sik & Han Yeji




It seems that every few weeks, a new idol emerges in Korea’s entertainment world. The idol industry is undeniably at its height this year, with rookies popping up left and right. The standard course for rookie interviews seem to take the route of revealing the hardships and obstacles they faced in order to achieve their debut, but what really goes on behind the scenes?

In a lengthy investigative report run by Sports Seoul, the media outlet dug into one of Korea’s rising entertainment agencies, Cube Entertainment, in an effort to see just what it takes to become an idol in this competitive industry.

Join us in this eye-opening five part tour of the inner workings of Cube Entertainment!


Sports Seoul was able to get access to two trainees who have been training under Cube for the past two years for an in-depth interview straight from the source.

Singer-trainee Im Hyun Sik (19) is currently a college student who travels to and fro from Ilsan. In order to keep up with the younger, more energetic high school trainees, he comes in for practice earlier than most. After rehearsing until 10 PM, he heads back home all the way to Ilsan.

Like many others, he only sleeps for four, maybe five, hours at most. “Everyday, I think to myself that I have to cut back on my sleep. I’m physically tired, but it’s when I’m the happiest. It’s upsetting for me that I’m losing rehearsal time because I live so far away.”

Han Yeji (17) auditioned for 15 other agencies before she got in as a trainee under Cube. Because she’s a high school student, she must attend all of her classes before she’s allowed to come in for training. “I go to sleep at 1 AM and wake up at 6:30. I finish my training at 10 PM.”





Han Yeji continued, “I thought it’d be easy, I had no idea that it would require this much sweat.” Im Hyun Sik agreed, “Before I became a trainee, I didn’t think it’d be this hard to become an idol singer.”

When asked what her greatest concern was lately, she revealed, “Dieting is so hard. I love spicy rice cakes but it makes me gain weight easily so I can’t eat it as I wish.”

Im Hyun Sik answered, “I feel frustrated every time I get put in a slump because I don’t feel satisfied with the pace at which I’m improving. Even if I debut, I’m worried as to whether I’d be able to pull it off successfully.”

Han Yeji nodded her head and added, “I’d definitely rather be prepared when I finally get to stand before the public as opposed to debuting too early unprepared.”

From attending classes to fulfilling their training, where do they get the will to continue living such a lifestyle? “It’s worth it when I see myself improve. We recently performed at the company’s showcase and the feeling was indescribable. Our passion overtakes our fatigue.”

When asked their opinions on audition programs debuting singers at the speed of light, Im Hyun Sik replied, “It’d be a lie if I said we weren’t upset. But still, I’ve learned a lot for the past two years I’ve been training. I’m sure there are consequences that come with becoming a star too fast.”



credits : allkpop

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