The 5 Worst K-Pop Idols To Work With, According To A Former Staff Member

Korean American YouTuber Joycie spent years working with popular K-Pop groups like EXO and SHINee, which she named some of the best groups to work for. On the flip side, there were other idols who were a nightmare to work for. Without revealing their names, she shared her worst experiences with those difficult singers.

Joycie and another woman with EXO’s Suho and Sehun. | @joyciekim/Instagram

1. The Rude Male Idol

Joycie confessed she’d been a major fan of Group B and dreamed of meeting them. So when a member of that group passed by with their manager, Joycie politely greeted them with a full ninety-degree bow. She admitted that he completely ignored her, “He just turned his head and walked the other way.”

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Although Joycie had good experiences with other members of Group B, and they were constantly praised in the media for their manners, that same idol would always be rude to her. She found it even more unacceptable because greetings are a basic standard among all K-Pop groups.

I got the chance to see him a few more times, and same thing. Any time I greeted him, I never got a response. So, I think he was one of the worst.

— Joycie

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2. The Tantrum-Throwing Idol

When the manager of a different Group B ordered food for each member, one of them wasn’t as cooperative. Despite the manager making sure they were fed properly for their busy schedule, the idol loudly cursed at him.

Manager: Are you sure? I can get something from a different place if you don’t want to order from here. Just anything at all. What do you need?

Idol: I told you I don’t want to eat anything! Get out of my room!

Manager: Okay, I’m sorry to bother you. Hope you have a good night.

Idol: F*ck you. F*ck you for bothering me. Get out of my sight.

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It came as a total surprise to Joycie because the group had a soft image in the media that was a complete contrast to the nasty way they were acting.

I remember seeing this group on TV too. And this group is very sweet and innocent and look like they couldn’t hurt a fly. But to see all that anger inside…

— Joycie

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3. The Celebrity Disease Idol

When fame goes to an idol’s head, celebrity disease goes much further than ignoring people. Joycie recalled escorting a male idol, Mr. L, and their manager down a long hallway and through security doors to an interview room. Once he saw the chair he was supposed to sit in, Mr. L shut everything down and walked back to his dressing room.

Is that my chair? I can’t sit on that chair. Change it.

— Idol Mr. L

| Mikhail Nilov

The process took twice as long as necessary because Joycie had to find a new chair and get the green light to use it. She and the manager went through all that hassle for the singer to sit in it for less than ten minutes.

I had to be the person to look for more chairs. I took pictures of all the options, sent it to the manager, had to get an approval for one, and that’s the one he sat on for five minutes.

— Joycie

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4. The Lazy Idol

For one event Joycie worked, multiple K-Pop groups gathered for a family concert and stayed at the same hotel. A member of Group G hadn’t been satisfied with that because of the suite they were staying in. The staff had to “consider moving a bunch of people,” like their manager and stylists, to a new hotel just because the singer’s light switch was too far from their bed.

A member of this group hated the suite [they were] supposed to stay in for a few days because the light switch to the bedroom was too far away from the bed.

…This person requested that either the room is changed, but if all the rooms have a light switch that is that far away [from the bed], then the hotel to be changed.

— Joycie

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5. Smoking Rule-Breakers

The last experience didn’t focus on just one particular idol—it was the case for multiple groups she’d worked with. Joycie confirmed that “some groups like to ignore rules,” especially the one about no smoking. Despite many venues and hotels overseas warning against smoking in certain areas, a good amount of idols do it anyway.

You see cigarette butts in the toilets. They didn’t even bother flushing it or getting rid of the evidence. You would smell cigarettes in the shower, and you can tell they used Febreze/air freshner.

— Joycie

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Making it worse, some weren’t shy about it. Joycie said, “Even if you go up to them and say, ‘You cannot smoke here,’ they will do it.” It was so common that she would ask venues and hotels where idols could smoke instead.

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Despite those precautions, Joycie admitted that some idols just smoked wherever they wanted. She said, “Artists have been nice enough to oblige by those rules and go to the designated areas, but there are a few who just refuse.”

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