ARE THEY REAL?

 

SM TRAINEE EXPERIENCES

There are two things you should know about me: I am 17 years old, and I am not Korean.

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One year ago (December 2011), I participated in an international dance competition held in South Korea. I stayed there with my parents for two and a half weeks. As most, if not all, of you know, SM holds weekly auditions during weekends, so decided to wait in line and audition as a dancer for fun. I never thought about actually getting in. The chances of being recruited is very slim; SM is very picky about their trainees.

When I first got there, I was led to an orientation meeting where we talked about conditions, contracts, etc. Then, they took me to a practice room with other girls. As soon as I walked in, I felt the competition. They all looked at me like I was an alien; I don’t look anywhere Korean or Chinese. The instructor told me to dance, and I did. He just nodded and resumed practice before I came. I joined - stayed near the very back. I thought that it wouldn’t be so bad if I minded my own business. But when the instructor left, the girls dispersed into their little groups and began whispering about me. I didn’t really care since I was a newbie, but what really got on my nerves was how they LITERALLY pointed.

Anyways, SM trainees have very competitive natures. I wouldn’t blame them; some have been under rigorous training for more than 5 years without a clue of when they will debut as idols. But the thing is, if you’re not Korean or if they somehow view you as an obstacle between them and their dream career, you WILL be shunned. I was a trainee for about 10 months when I finally quit. I couldn’t handle both the pressure and isolation.

Other experiences I had were with SM artists. Yeah yeah yeah, they’re hot and sweet, but off camera? SM has very strict hierarchical rules (sunbae-hoobae). EXO was days from debuting when I became a trainee, so obviously I was very formal and rather awkward when I greeted them. I didn’t get to hold a whole conversation with them but one thing’s for sure though: the members do not have close relationships with each other. Unlike the attitudes of group members towards each other on camera, EXO seemed stiff and almost uncomfortable. I have a rather observant nature, and I was able to pick up a few things: 
- Kai, Suho, and Baehyun are a bit cocky; Kai is the worst.
- Chanyeol’s “happy virus” is an act for fans. 
- Sehun’s VERY quiet and shy. 
- The Chinese members of EXO-M are a tad closer with each other than the Korean members. I’m not sure about HunHan; I didn’t see the two interact during my encounters with the group.

As for SHINee:
- They’re losing their spark as a well-formed group. The members are kinda just working as colleagues rather than friends.
- Onew is very kind, but when I got the chance to greet him, he always looked stressed. 
- Jonghyun… I don’t know. I didn’t get a good vibe from him
- I don’t know if Key is gay or not. 
- Minho is very moody. 
- Taemin is quiet, and he responds by smiling or laughing softly.
- Jonghyun and Onew don’t seem to have a good relationship with each other.

f(x):
- Not being a hater, but Krystal really is kinda….y. I said hi to her once, and she just scoffed. Pft.
- Sulli gives those smiles that makes you wonder whether or not she’s being sincere or if she’s internally judging you. 
- Victoria and Luna were probably the nicest people I met at SM. I’ll be very surprised if they have TOOONNNSS of antis. I understand if there are some, but if you’re talk about SNSD-number of antis, then I’ll just ask those people to reconsider. Victoria and Luna really are very sweet and friendly. 
- Amber is…fun. Haha. And she’s not a tomboy at all. I don’t understand why she has to keep such a male-like image when she’s so girly.

I didn’t meet SUJU, SNSD, and DBSK.

 

 

 

 

THIS IS NOT MINE.

I GOT THIS FROM TUMBLR.

http://kpopsecrets.tumblr.com/post/39998991053/sm-trainee-experiences

 

(I DON'T BELIEVE SOME INFOS THAT ARE WRITTEN HERE)

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sutekris #1
If EXO-M members DO close with each other more than the Korean members... well, they experienced the same things; being in a foreign place, miles away from their family and the language barrier and all, it's understandable. I can't say much about SHINee but the thing with Minho is moody, LOL, so what? He's a human, too. It's as if because he's an idol he has to be someone who's all smiley, all friendly, all sweet that it hurts my teeth? Nah. And also the thing with Jonghyun. Well, he seems to have lot of friends, he's sociable and he even approaches ppl who's kind of distant/shy (from what i observe) so how can he's not good. Idk why but I also find Krystal to be the same as Kai (lol no, not trying to make a KaiStal here) because she looks like she has a problem with showing her emotion, people calls her cold when all I see is a shy girl who's unable to open up. People can't simply demand her to open up or change because hell, it's not as easy as what people thinks. If dwelling with personality change is as easy as flipping your hand then why would there's even psychology study. IDK about Sulli but she seems like another girl; cheerful, has her phase of sudden mood change. Amber is nothing girly IMO, i mean, look at her pre-debut photos omg and now would she (this said trainee) still asking why the company gives her a manly image? .-.

what baffle me the most is the fact that trainee doesn't (more like can't) meet the company's artist that easily because they're surely busy as hell with their schedules and after all, what does artist have anything to do with a trainee to really have a proper interaction? I mean, Shindong even stated his first proper interaction with EXO-K was on the Show Champion which means after they debuted, so how could trainee judge the artist if they even only passed by them OTL

Oh, well. In the end, who am I to judge them. I'm already fine with the way they are right now, fake or not. ;}
sutekris #2
I personally take this with a grain of salt 'cause this could be another lie or true idk. Because everyone always making horrible statements of being a trainee (especially SM ent who seems like to have so many antis). The thing with people looking at her weirdly when (as she has stated) she is not a Korean makes me wonder whether or not she had at least learn a thing or two about Korean culture because Korean is homogeneous, they look upon people who is non-Asian looking as foreign. I'm not saying it in a harsh way but even other Asians than Korean would still getting the attention because well, you're not a Korean. If you know their history then you'd probably understand why, though nowadays Korean young generation is a bit more open than way back before when it comes to other Asians or non-Asians. And I don't believe some things mentioned in her story. Kai being a cocky would probably a misunderstanding for his introvert attitude because pls everyone can see it that he's a shy boy who is having a hard time to open up, that's why he's much more expressive when he's dancing. IDK with Baekhyun and Suho but Baekhyun seems to try hard to satisfy the fans, so does Suho. And so what if Chanyeol's Happy Virus personality is fake? Every idol has an image, that's what differ them from others and if he's being a Happy Virus simply for the sake of for fans then why would we fret over it? Let's be real, there's no one who's happy all the time and people should be grateful he's generous enough to always look extremely happy in front of us because it's not easy. That also means he is smart, he always knows what fans want from an idol and he's doing good at it. Call him fake all you want but look at the reason behind his mask; to please us and also to gain himself a name amongst the sea of idols, it's a win-win solution so why complain. :\
WeiShan #3
Hmmm, I wonder if its true. I want to be an SM idol or trainee IF I have the chance. They make statements like being a trainee is a horrifying experience and talked about the idols they met. I don't think trainee will met SM artist as both should be busy all the time and artist will not care about trainee. Just saying maybe these people are pouring cold water to those who want to be an idol in SM. Same like you, I don't believe some info in it. I don't think a group can be succesful when they are not close enough. They will be extremely stress when they attend interview as they need to act. (I'm talking about EXO) To debut, I think they should be one like their slogan. I can understand if the chinese members are closer because they speak their mother tongue but I think they are quite close with korean members as they can improve their korean through speaking to them. Chanyeol will be really stress if its true that he is pretending all the time. Kai, Suho and Baekhyun are cocky? No way! Suho speak politely. He is a good leader from what I heard when he talked about managing their members, I think he is selfless. Well, Kai is still a teenager who can't express his feelings well. A person who loves dog, 99% of them are good person with good personality. Baekhyun is respectful towards everyone (from what I observed and I don't stalk or live in their house). Amber is really pretty if her hair is long. She is already pretty with her short hair. Victoria and Luna are those person who smile brightly in reality shows and more, so I assume that they are friendly. I expected they will make remarks like Krytal has ____y characteristic, I saw it for million times already. Same for Jessica. Maybe they just don't like to smile or laugh (I don't really know them well so I can't judge them). I'm not a fan of shinee so I don't know what I can say. There was one post in allkpop, similar to this one. It was said that the stylist in studios or some workers exposed the artist's attitude
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