4 Insanely Specific Body Parts That K-Pop Companies Ask Their Trainees To “Fix” With Plastic Surgery

Ladies‘ Code‘s Ashley looked back on her trainee life in an episode of “Get Real,” a podcast by YouTube channel DivePods. At one point, she criticized the trainers who had ridiculously high beauty standards for them.

When you’re a trainee, they tell you, ‘Oh you need to get this done, you need to get this done. You need to fix this.’ 
They would tell me they want me to shave my jaws, shave my face.

— Ashley

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Besides these common “issues,” they also pointed out body parts that not many people would think to get plastic surgery for.

1. Knees

First up, what surprised Ashley the most was how much they cared about her knees.

They care about the littlest things. I’m like, ‘You care about that?’ For example, they would say, ‘Your knees aren’t that pretty. Your knees are ugly.’

— Ashley

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Even fellow cast members BM and Peniel were shocked at this. They commented that it was their first time hearing that a person’s knees would require plastic surgery.

BM: They commented on your knees?

Peniel: That’s the first time I’ve heard knees are [ugly]. What do pretty knees look like?

2. Neck

Another body part that trainees become conscious about is on how much one’s neck deviates from the average.

They would point out the length of your neck.

— Ashley

3. Shoulders

The shoulders were not exempt from being picked on by the company trainers. Having narrow shoulders is more desirable in their eyes as it is said to give one a more delicate appearance.

[They would comment on] how narrow your shoulders are.

— Ashley

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4. Gums

Finally, Ashley was most personally affected by her trainer’s insults regarding her gums. They asked her to consider going under the knife to fix her “unattractive” smile.

When I smile, my gums show a lot. They were like, you gotta get plastic surgery to not let your lips roll up too much. Because when you smile and your gums show, that’s unattractive.

— Ashley

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Now, Ashley isn’t afraid to speak out against the unrealistic beauty standards that K-Pop trainees are forced to endure pre-debut.

Check out the full video below to learn more about trainee life.