German Broadcast Criticizes The K-Pop System To Be Brutal Like The Olympic Games

German international broadcast and media outlet DW gave their thoughts about BLACKPINK’s Netflix documentary and felt that it “ignored the dark sides of the K-Pop scene.”

German media outlet DW released an article online regarding BLACKPINK’s Netflix production Blackpink: Light Up the Sky and how although they are the most successful female K-Pop group in Korea, there still is a dark underbelly to the K-Pop phenomenon.

They felt that the documentary played it safe by staying on the surface rather than delving deeper into the dark side of life on the road to success.

K-Pop does have a very tough training program that prepares and trains young aspiring trainees for the stage.

YG Entertainment had dozens of girls spending 14 hours in training every day with an eye on putting together this new girl band. Those sessions were brutal — as if they were headed for the Olympic Games.

— DW

They did understand that the audience pays to see perfection so this disciplined work ethic is what makes K-Pop so popular.

Although the documentary focuses on the four girls who made it to become the hottest K-Pop girl group of all time, they felt that they did not shed light on those that didn’t make it in.

But dozens of such young people fall by the wayside each year because they are deemed not talented or disciplined enough, and are then marked with the stigma of failure.

— DW

Also, because K-Pop is set in a mold set by high moral expectations in Korea, they often avoid controversy and sensitive issues.

Overall, they felt that the strain of constantly having to be perfect has proven to be too much for some K-Pop artists and the dark side of K-Pop needs to be explored much deeper. What are your thoughts on this?