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The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper
K-Pop, A Star is Made. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired January 05, 2025 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:00]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to THE WHOLE STORY. I'm Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): For the past two decades, Korean culture has been exported across the world. Exploding in popularity here in the U.S. with hit TV shows, fashion and beauty products, and a genre of music called K-pop.
K-pop is performed in both Korean and English, and its stars are known as K-pop idols. Groups like BTS and Blackpink are now household names with top hits on international music charts. But the intense popularity of these K-pop idols also comes with intense pressure to succeed. Many start their careers as teenagers and have to navigate school and training inside of a strict work culture.
Over the next hour, CNN's Kyung Lah takes us to Seoul as she follows a group of mostly teenage girls hoping to make the cut for a new group that will debut this April. She finds in the K-pop world musical talent isn't always enough.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone's ready?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the heart of Seoul, South Korea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Six, seven, eight.
LAH: Seven aspiring K-pop stars are pouring themselves into practice in a small studio atop a convenience store. But not all of them will make the cut.
That's because K-pop idol bands, with their catchy songs, intricate choreography, and stunning good looks, are created in a way unlike anything else in the music industry.
So I've come to Seoul, the center of the K-pop universe, where all the most successful K-pop bands got their starts.
(On-camera): Oh, BTS.
(Voice-over): To see firsthand how hopeful artists become a K-pop band.
Are K-pop stars discovered or are they made?
PAUL THOMPSON, MZMC FOUNDER AND CEO: It's a little bit of both because the system itself, it's a development system which has actually disappeared in the United States because it's too expensive. Like Motown had this system where you find young talent and you teach them how to sing and dance and dress and give interviews and act. So that's what Korea is doing.
I like that one.
Ian, can you hear me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
THOMPSON: Good job.
LAH (voice-over): That's Paul Thompson.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
LAH: An American who runs a small K-pop company called MZMC. He came to Korea to teach English more than a decade ago, and stayed to write and produce hundreds of K-pop songs.
All those K-pop devotees out there, they have your music. You wrote that music.
THOMPSON: Yes. Yes. So I always say you can't write the story of K-pop without me. But most people don't know who I am.
LAH: Run through the list. Some of the biggest hits you got.
THOMPSON: OK, so from EXO this song called "Love Shot." NCT, I worked on one of their bigger songs called "Cherry Bomb." Red Velvet, I did a song called "Rookie." This is what I've done for over a decade.
LAH (voice-over): But he's never developed a K-pop idol band until now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, give me one more. Here we go.
LAH: I meet Paul when he is exactly one week away from selecting the members of MZMC's first idol group from its seven remaining trainees.
What is a trainee?
TAMAR HERMAN, K-POP AND MUSIC JOURNALIST: Essentially, they're an intern. They are signed on for a year, months, several years to learn the company's craft. They learn to sing, dance, everything.
WOONGHEE KIM, CASTING DIRECTOR, MZMC (through text translation): Regardless of whether you have skills or not, in Korea, we start from the basics. For vocals, we start with basic vocal techniques and gradually build up through lessons and practice. [20:05:05]
It's the same with dance. We first teach the basics, like isolation and bounce. Then we move on to choreography, and after that to styles like hip-hop.
LAH (voice-over): But before we move on, we need to back up a bit.
What is K-pop?
HERMAN: The briefest answer is it's Korean popular music from South Korea. We use the term often to relate to specifically idol music. So young, usually teen or early 20s pop stars, oftentimes in boy bands or girl groups. Songs can incorporate everything from hip-hop to jazz to classical music to pop songs.
People think of it as a music genre. It's really more the industry that is around music. So these K-pop stars, the K-pop companies, the K-pop fans, these all make up K-pop. You don't have one without the other.
LAH (voice-over): And MZMC trainees have been working tirelessly to become a part of it all.
SEOYOUNG YUN, AGE 16: Hey, my name is Seoyoung Yun. I'm 16 years old.
(Through text translation): I've been a trainee for a little over three years now. During the three years, I learned rap, singing and dancing, and I learned a little bit of musical instrument and a bit of composing.
THOMPSON: Seoyoung is one of the first if not the first girl that we actually signed. She was 13 years old when I saw her and she was so talented.
BRITTNEY JANG, AGE 20: My name is Brittney Jang and I'm 20 years old. I was born in Korea, and then I went to America. I came back to Korea after I graduated middle school to pursue my dream of becoming an idol. I convinced my family and they were really, like, supportive about my dream.
AH-IN LEE, AGE 18: My name is Ah-In Lee and I'm 18 years old. When I was very young, like 4, I like to perform in front of audience. So maybe I'm born to be an idol.
JIU MOON, AGE 15: My name is Jiu Moon. I'm from Korea.
LAH: How long have you been a trainee?
MOON: Three months.
(Through text translation): Even though it's only been three months, I feel just as desperate and determined as other trainees do.
THOMPSON: Jiu has a beautiful vocal tone. She's also very young. She's 15. I asked her, where did you learn to sing, and she said, I just sing at noraebang. And so which is karaoke.
LAH: I know.
THOMPSON: And that's -- I was like, you had no training? She's like no. That's just pure natural talent. And I was like, we can develop that.
NAHYUN OH, AGE 17: My name is Nahyun. I'm 17 years old.
LAH: Do you think you'll be selected to be an idol for this company?
OH (through text translation): To be honest, I'm not extremely confident. But I've grown a lot and I think I'm needed as part of MZMC's first idol group.
RANA KOGA, AGE 17: My name is Rana Koga. I'm 17 years old. I'm from Japan.
THOMPSON: She was a hip-hop freestyle champion in Japan. I love to ride away.
LAH: Did you speak Korean before you came to Korea?
KOGA (through text translation): I took classes in Japan for about three months. Since being in Korea, I have classes every week.
LIWON KIM, AGE 14: My name is Liwon. I'm 14 years old.
LAH: How long have you been training here?
KIM (through text translation): It's been about five months.
THOMPSON: She has this personality. Where if I tell her to do something that's incredibly difficult, she'll do it to the full extent with no fear. And so I was like, we can develop this.
LAH: Explain it to me. What is this trainee program?
THOMPSON: The trainee program, it's almost 24/7. You find these young people and they're going to train from early in the morning to late at night, and they're doing everything, dancing, singing, rapping, fitness.
[20:10:05]
LAH (voice-over): This is industry wide. All K-pop companies have similar versions of this demanding trainee program.
JANG: We arrive at the company at 9:50 and we go to the gym at 10:00 to 12:00.
LEE: Two-hour cardio and with this exercise, too.
LAH: That's a lot of exercise.
LEE: Yes. JANG: Then we eat lunch for an hour and then we all have different
classes like group vocal lessons. Rap, dance and vocal lessons. So it's all in between 1:00 to 10:00.
THOMPSON: If they're very young, they have to go to school and then right after school they have to train.
L. KIM (through text translation): I wake up, get ready, then go to school at 8:30 a.m. I stay until just the second period then take the bus to come to the office. When I get home, it's around 12:00.
LAH: It's late.
KIM: Yes.
THOMPSON: Some of the trainees live in a dorm and so they don't even live with their families.
LAH: Can we have a little tour?
JANG: So this is our living room. We usually just watch TV. And this room, it's Rana's room. She has the biggest room because she's a foreigner.
LAH: Who's this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jelly.
LAH: Jelly?
How many have come through?
THOMPSON: In terms of auditions? Probably thousands. But in terms of passing auditions and joining the company to have an opportunity, we've gone through maybe 30 or so young girls that have come in and trained and either not made it or just decided it wasn't for them. The big guys go through hundreds.
LAH (voice-over): If a performer becomes a trainee, they then need to prove they are learning and growing. That happens through monthly evaluations.
MIN, FORMER MEMBER, MISS A: It was on Sunday every month.
LAH: That's Min, an independent musician, formerly with the K-pop band, Miss A.
MIN: People sit like behind the camera. There is a singing instructor and dance instructor, and some, the executives. They see your performance and they talk and discuss.
THOMPSON: If they're not increasing at a certain rate during the monthly evaluations, then you know they're just developing too slowly and they have to go. Some girls have attitude issues or they don't get along with the other girls because it's all about chemistry. W. KIM (through text translation): The goal is to create a better team
so it's an unavoidable part of the process. Those trainees who are not part of the final lineup might leave the company or may be proposed for another team.
LAH: One week from the week I arrived at MZMC is final evaluations.
THOMPSON: Final evaluation is a culmination of everything that they've learned up to this point, and for them to kind of show that off.
LAH: So you will cut two?
THOMPSON: minimum two.
LAH: Possibly three.
THOMPSON: Possibly three.
LAH: Are you going to have more than one rapper?
THOMPSON: Definitely. You have Britney who can rap in English as well as Korean. She can also sing as well. And then you have Ah-In, who would mainly just rap in Korean. But then you have Seoyoung who can rap in Korean. There is a lot of overlap there, so probably one of those girls won't make it.
LAH: It's rough.
THOMPSON: You always have to have competition. So where Nahyun was brought in to be a main vocalist, so was Jiu.
LAH: Are you going to cast both of them?
THOMPSON: I could, but I probably won't.
LAH: If you had to say what this band is, what is it?
THOMPSON: I want to make an R&B, hip-hop, mature girl group.
LAH: What happens after you select this group?
THOMPSON: Training continues, but it becomes focused on debut. In K- pop debut is their coming out to the world, their coming out party as a new group or new artist.
LAH (voice-over): But debut is months away from final evaluations. Right now the focus is on who will make the band. We're four days out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:17:06]
LAH: Days away from final evaluations, and the trainees are gaining experience in the recording booth. And when they're not performing, they're preparing to perform.
This is what you're going to wear for evaluation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
LAH: How important is how you look?
LEE (through text translation): You could say that it's the most important thing for an idol because it's a job where being seen is most important thing.
THOMPSON: The word is idol. To be idolized. Right? Nobody wants to idolize someone who reminds them of yourself. You want to look up to someone and say, I want to be like that person. Look how pristine and perfect they are.
LAH (voice-over): To get that idol look, it's more than just nailing the moves and the lyrics. It's cool clothing, flawless skin, and being thin.
MIN: I think standard weight would be 45 kilogram for a female idol.
LAH: And in pounds that is?
MIN: Pounds, that's 100 pounds.
LAH (voice-over): Amber Liu is also a former idol turned indie artist.
AMBER LIU, FORMER MEMBER, F(X): Definitely people have been cut for their weight. I developed a very, like, unhealthy like habit of just, like, starving myself because I thought that -- I didn't know, like I was, I was like, I was 16, I didn't know what to do.
LAH: While talking with MZMC's trainees, dieting comes up a lot.
LEE (through text translation): I have to eat while lessening the amount of food, and calculating the nutritional value and calories. That's a bit difficult. I've grown a bit tired of it, and there are times I want to eat a lot.
LAH: What do you want to eat?
LEE: I really like pizza and bakery.
LAH: The diet. Is it some set rule that you help them with or how does that work?
THOMPSON: The diet is meant to develop their visual aesthetic that will show up well on camera. Music video cameras can really alter the way you look. We provide them with roasted chicken and boiled eggs and things like that.
LAH: That's not a lot of food that they're eating.
THOMPSON: They're eating enough. And so that's where I think the K-pop thing is interesting, because now that it has more recognition in the West, the West tries to like impose their ideals of like what life should be like. And it's like, why? This is Korea. And I'm not saying that Korea doesn't have its own issues, but Korea is going to function the way Korea functions.
HERMAN: It's definitely partially cultural. Korea has intense beauty standards.
[20:20:03]
LAH: Did you weigh 100 pounds?
MIN: I was never 100 pounds, but I was always 105 to 115. But I had to be under 106 pounds.
LAH: Did they check or how did they --
MIN: They check Monday to Friday. I would just step on the scale and if you gain weight, then you have to lose weight.
LAH: Do they do weigh ins?
THOMPSON: We do embody. It's like you go to any personal trainer. They put you on that machine and it tells you like how much muscle you have, how much body fat you have.
LAH: Is that like the BMI thing or?
THOMPSON: Yes, yes, body mass index. Yes. So we test them on that I think it's twice a month.
LAH: What is the BMI that they --
THOMPSON: Well, it'll be different based on each girl because it has to do with height, muscle density and things like that.
LAH (voice-over): Dieting isn't the only thing to help K-pop trainees look more camera friendly. Plastic surgery is widely accepted here. At one clinic, we find an American living in Korea who's getting some work to make her face look tighter and younger.
MEGAN MOON, AMERICAN INFLUENCER: After I recover, I'll be looking smooth like Lisa from Blackpink.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes.
M. MOON: I feel like in the West there's a bit more of a stigma on, like, plastic surgery whereas here, if you ask, probably most people have had some sort of procedure done, or at least they're going to the skin clinics to get, you know, regular skin treatments and facials and lasers.
LAH: How prevalent is plastic surgery in K-pop?
MIN: It's very, very common. When you graduate high school, parents give you money for your eye surgery. In Korea, it's like a graduation gift. So it's very common.
LAH: What else happens in K-pop? Plastic surgery?
MIN: Some kids get it done, like during the trainee years and some people do like right before the debut.
LAH: Did the company ever ask you to do anything like that?
MIN: No. Not me.
LIU: I was told that I needed certain things done and I just was like, no, I don't want to do it.
LAH: What would they change about you?
LIU: They said my nose, my chin.
LAH (voice-over): The topic comes up when I visit Seoyoung Yun and her dad at their home outside Seoul.
Your daughter talked to you about plastic surgery.
DAEHEE YUN, SEOYOUNG'S FATHER: It's for the eyes.
LAH: Seoyoung wanted to do that?
D. YUN: Before. Before I object for this opinion because Seoyoung's eyes is very unique. Now, I think she's confident for her eyes. But in the future, I don't know. She can do a little bit. It depends on the discussion with the company, because it's not my world.
LAH: OK, in the back. Your father, he said you were talking about plastic surgery for your eyes.
S. YUN: Yes.
(Through text translation): My job is one that needs to be loved by the public, so if the public wants or needs me to show a prettier side for my debut, I think it's OK to do so. By the way, where do you think I should do it?
LAH: So you're asking me where I think you need to change anything?
S. YUN: Yes.
LAH: OK. So I'm Korean-American.
S. YUN: Yes.
LAH: And that's a very different view than a Korean woman, right? So from my perspective, you're beautiful. I wouldn't change anything.
S. YUN: Thank you.
LAH: But it's easy for me to say. Right?
S. YUN: Yes.
LAH: I'm not trying to be an idol.
S. YUN: Yes. LAH: I don't consume K-pop in the same way.
S. YUN (through text translation): K-pop fans in Korea generally like pretty people with small faces and big eyes. However, I believe that even if I don't conform to the image the public pursues, being confident in my natural self often makes the public appreciate that authenticity.
LAH: But you said that, and I think your father said that as well, that if you needed to, you would still get plastic surgery to succeed.
S. YUN (through text translation): If it's plastic surgery that doesn't deviate too much from my current appearance, then yes. If it's success, then I think it's OK to do it.
LAH: Would you cut Seoyoung if she didn't get plastic surgery?
THOMPSON: No, I don't think I would cut anyone who didn't get surgery, so they wouldn't be that far in my company because of their look. They would be that far in my company because they're extremely skilled and talented. I'm a music producer. Music is first.
LAH (voice-over): And it's now two more days before this producer makes his first K-pop band.
[20:25:08]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAH: On a Sunday afternoon, early in the year, MZMC trainees are playing a game where one wrong move can send everything crashing down.
[20:30:01]
How many days before a final evaluation?
S. YUN: Tomorrow.
LAH: Tomorrow?
S. YUN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through text translation): I just want to have fun and whatever happens next, I'll leave it to the CEO's decision.
LAH (voice-over): Tomorrow is a big day for all of the trainees. But for the oldest ones, they need to make the band or face the likely end of their idol dreams.
LEE: In the idol world, 18 is very old age. So --
(Through text translation): If I miss this opportunity, I worry whether there will be another place, other than this company that would accept me.
LAH: Do you feel that they'll select you? JANG: Yes.
LAH: What happens if they don't?
JANG: Because that means that I can't become an idol. Because this is my last chance.
LAH: I think the cafe -- yes.
(Voice-over) The youngest trainees face the possibility of losing something, too. Their formal educations.
So why are you wearing your school outfit?
J. MOON (through text translation): I'm wearing my school uniform because I graduated today.
LAH (voice-over): From middle school.
Will you attend high school?
J. MOON (through text translation): If I make the debut group, and get to debut, then I likely won't be able to attend high school. If I don't make the debut group, then I will continue training while attending school, but leaving school early.
DONGYOO MOON, JIU'S FATHER: In the beginning I thought about stopping her. But she really wanted to do this. So now I have decided to support what my child wants to do. I am proud of her and hope everything goes well.
LAH (voice-over): For it to turn out well for Jiu, she needs to make the debut team at 15 with only three months of training.
LIU: I debuted within a year and a half. That's extremely short. Some of my friends trained for four or five years.
LAH: And then MZMC's debut team will need to attract lots. A devoted fans who attend events like K-con held annually in Southern California for the last decade.
Have you been to K-con recently?
HERMAN: I have been to K-con. I will be going to K-con. I was there for the very first K-con.
LAH: The audience change is extraordinary. We talked to older black women.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've loved Korean culture for a very long time.
LAH: Talked to a German who flew in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really want to go to Korea one day.
LAH: The demographics at K-con, they're not Korean. HERMAN: No. Definitely not.
LAH: So then what is the nexus here?
HERMAN: Why does anybody like K-pop? The answer is it's reliably good content.
LAH (voice-over): K-pop fans from outside Korea who don't understand Korean may seem random.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like K-pop from a young age.
LAH: But it's all by design.
HERMAN: The fandoms in Korea cannot support artists enough. Korea is relatively too small of a country with only 40 million-ish population. You can't fund an entertainment industry that is making big bank. So K-pop has always had this kind of idea that it will be exportable. So the first audiences were in Asia. You had groups like HOT. So usually considered the first K-pop group, they performed in China. You had groups starting to go in Japan. Groups like TVXQ. But before then you had singers like Boa.
THOMPSON: Boa's the queen of K-pop. Every Korean knows who she is.
LAH: She was a young queen who began performing in Japan at 14 before heading to America in 2008. The world's top music market. Just as K- pop was beginning to gain real traction here.
HERMAN: The two artists that made it onto the billboard charts were Boa and the girl group Wonder Girls.
LAH: But K-pop didn't really breakthrough in the U.S. until Cy.
HERMAN: 2012 was "Gangnam Style."
THOMPSON: I was in the United States, and I remember watching it like 10 times, like, what is this? This is crazy.
LAH: That crazy song by an artist who was more K-pop adjacent than K- pop, was the first YouTube video ever to hit one billion views.
HERMAN: That effect kind of blossomed. It was like, what's going on in this industry? Oh, this industry is big. This industry is popular. They have good music.
THOMPSON: Cy was the first one to really put it on people's radar, and then BTS was the one to really show the world that you can have a sustained career outside of Korea with international fans.
[20:35:09]
HERMAN: BTS famously used to use Twitter and YouTube to share content before their debut as a way of building up the audience so that when they debut, they have a following.
LAH (voice-over): These days, you can't have a successful global K-pop band without social media.
HERMAN: K-pop is the relationship between the artist and the fans, and a lot of that fandom takes place online.
LAH: And like everything on the internet, it can get mean.
HERMAN: You have something that's called an anti-fan.
LAH: And they do what trolls do -- criticizing live performances, what idols eat, what they wear and on and on.
MIN: For me, I didn't look at the comments. I still don't, because when I read like all this stuff about myself, I found myself going into like deep, dark place.
LIU: I think when it gets to like death threats that does really mess with me. It's like --
LAH: Did you get death threats?
LIU: Oh, yes. Yes.
LAH: Why?
LIU: Yes. I don't know.
HERMAN: In South Korea, celebrities are supposed to be upright, moral people who are setting the standard for our country. You know, these are the people representing us. And so if they misstep, that's it.
LAH (voice-over): So what's considered a misstep?
THOMPSON: Dating when you're young, it's not going to be received well by some fans. Drinking alcohol in public. There's nothing wrong with that when you're legal. But just some fans don't like when their idols do something like that. So there's certain things like that that we train the girls to be aware. If you're going to do these things when you're older, you have to be more private about it.
MIN: Maybe you get caught by like having a boyfriend, right? These haters would say, oh, well, I used to love you, but now you're gone. Bye.
LAH (voice-over): This happened to Karina of the K-pop group Aespa, whose fans demanded the 24-year-old apologize for a relationship with a Korean actor. And she did, posting a handwritten letter to convey how sorry she was and promising not to disappoint in the future. The pressure can be intense, and there have been some highly publicized K- pop suicides.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through text translation): Sulli, also known as Choi Jin-rin, was found dead in her home.
LAH: 25-year-old Sulli, Amber Liu's bandmate in f(x), took her own life in 2019, the same year she recorded this. AMBER LIU, FORMER MEMBER, F(X) (through text translation): I don't
feel people think celebrities are humans. Even when they didn't say I was a product, everyone treated me like one.
LAH: What happened with Sulli?
LIU: I, honestly, I don't know. I don't know.
LAH (voice-over): There was also Kim Jonghyun, the leader of a top band called SHINee in 2017. Goo Hara of the girl group Kara in 2019. And most recently suicide was suspected in the death of Moonbin of the band Astro in 2023.
There's been a lot of high profile suicides. Do you understand?
MIN: I think I could understand, and I remember saying this to my friend and she was shocked. When you feel alone and no one understands you and just they're too busy criticizing you and talking about you, and no one just gets you, you know? But I think just having good people around you is the most important thing.
HERMAN: Korea in general has an extremely high rate of youth suicide.
LAH (voice-over): It is a nationwide problem. Suicide has been the leading cause of death of South Korean youth since 2017, and the country has had the highest suicide rate among developed nations for more than two decades. The idol industry has begun making some changes.
HERMAN: You hear of some companies, like setting up different, you know, resources or giving their artists a break. Professionally, you could take a few months off. That didn't used to happen.
LAH: Paul Thompson has given breaks to some of his trainees.
S. YUN: X trainees, X trainees, X trainees.
LAH: I learned this earlier in the week while visiting with Seoyoung and her dad, who explained the stress of surviving three years of eliminations.
D. YUN: A few months ago, she faced the mental panic.
LAH: A panic attack?
D. YUN: Yes, panic attack. Immediately I discussed with the MZMC, the CEO, and then she got a four or five 5 months' vacation.
LAH: So she was on vacation for four or five months.
D. YUN: Yes. Yes. And after that she successfully back to the MZMC and without any panic attack.
[20:40:03]
LAH (voice-over): And tomorrow, Seoyoung and her fellow trainees will show Paul and the other MZMC executives just how ready they are.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:45:12]
LAH: The time has come for the trainees to transform into idols. After months and years of practices, it's finally the last evaluation. They take pictures with their mentors. And the room settles in for a series of group and solo performances designed to showcase the trainees' dancing, rapping, and singing skills.
Vocals are first. Nahyun is up for lead vocalist. So is Jiu. Most of the trainees also perform a rap. Brittney does two. First with Ah-In. And then with an energetic Seoyoung.
Dance is next. There are a series of solo performances. And then the group dance. The final act of the day.
THOMPSON: This is going to be maybe the last time some of you perform all together. So let's just have fun.
LAH: But the day is not over. There are interviews and Paul's questions reveal his concerns. With the older trainees he worries about leadership and drive.
THOMPSON: When things are easy, that's when you tend to lose your motivation.
JANG (through text translation): If I do debut, which is big, everything from start to finish will be important. So I firmly believe I will never coast or take it lightly.
THOMPSON: Ah-In, how will you be able to handle still needing to improve a lot of your skills, but also leading the younger girls?
LEE (through text translation): I would prioritize more on contributing to the group rather than focusing on my own skills. I feel like that would help the team become more stable. By then, I'd be able to work on improving my own skills that I may have overlooked.
LAH: For Seoyoung, it's her big dreams and her big personality.
THOMPSON: If I gave you a choice and you could be a supporting member of this group, or you could be the star of your own group, which one would you choose?
S. YUN (through text translation): My strongest desire at the moment is to debut with this group.
THOMPSON: Nahyun, you're ready?
LAH: With Nahyun it's whether she can adapt her Korean singing style for global fans.
THOMPSON: Do you think that you've learned enough about our style that you can debut here with MZMC style? OH (through text translation): I really admired the MZMC vibe and
thought it was really cool. I've been trying hard to embody that vibe. So I think I'll do well.
LAH: With Liwon and Jiu, Paul seems worried it's too soon.
THOMPSON: With such little training, do you think you're ready for this debut?
J. MOON (through text translation): I believe that if I join the team, I can bring my unique qualities to fulfill the roles needed within the group.
L. KIM (through text translation): I think I'm about 60 percent ready.
LAH: And Rana, it's her distance from home.
THOMPSON: Do you think that you can live in Korea for seven, eight, nine, 10 years away from your family?
KOGA (through text translation): I have friends that have been training with me until now. So it will be OK.
THOMPSON: You all did great today, and I will see you all tomorrow.
LAH: OK. That's it. Final evaluations are over. Oh, final evaluations are over. The last time these girls are all going to be together as trainees.
[20:50:05]
(Voice-over): Less than 24 hours now, until the aspiring K-pop stars learn if their idol dreams will come true. Only five will make the cut.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAH: Years of dreaming, practicing and sacrifice. All come down to this. The wait. One by one, trainees are about to learn if they've made the band. Ah-In is first.
THOMPSON: Hi, Ah-In. You will be in the debut team.
LAH: Paul's band of five has its first member.
[20:55:05]
Nahyun has been nervous all week.
THOMPSON: How are you, Nahyun?
OH: Happy and sad.
THOMPSON: Happy and sad? OK, so, I'm going to just say it, just so you don't have to anticipate. Unfortunately, you're not going to make debut. We're going to turn off the cameras now. LAH: Paul explained his decision fully once we left the room.
THOMPSON: You worked as hard as I know you possibly could.
LAH: It's Rana's turn.
THOMPSON: So, Rana, you are going to make debut team. So congratulations.
LAH: Brittney is next.
THOMPSON: You were the decision that was hardest for me. But we've decided that you will make debut team. You showed enough for me to believe what you said yesterday. What you said, just trust me.
LAH: The two youngest trainees are asked to wait the longest.
THOMPSON: Liwon, you are going to make the debut team.
L. KIM (through text translation): What? Really?
THOMPSON: Yes. You didn't think so?
LAH: Jiu is last to learn her fate.
THOMPSON: You are going to make debut team.
J. MOON (through text translation): Me?
LAH: The wait convinced her she'd been cut. Jiu becomes the final member of the band. But you may have noticed a certain gem missing. Seoyoung.
THOMPSON: You're not going to make this debut team, but I think there's a greater path for you than being in this debut team.
LAH: The cuts upset the brand new K-pop artists on what should be one of the happiest days of their lives.
THOMPSON: I know some of your friends aren't in the group, but that's just part of this industry.
LAH: His talk is tough, but the cuts are difficult for Paul, too.
THOMPSON: This was the hardest to let some girls go that I didn't want to let go, but I just had to because they didn't fit what I'm trying to do.
LAH: Why didn't you select Nahyun? And what happens to her now?
THOMPSON: She did amazing in the more traditional Korean melody style. But we're not going to do as many of those types of songs.
LAH: That's rough.
THOMPSON: It hurts. I told this to Nahyun. You can either continue to improve your skills and try again, or you move on. For Seoyoung, she has such an aura and such a strong presence that we didn't feel like her being put in this particular idol group was going to be the best for her to show who she is.
LAH (voice-over): In spring, the new band, Rana, Brittney, Jiu, Liwon and Ah-In, who will debut as Ilee, is introduced to the public in Billboard magazine.
VVS. It's their band name. It's also a grade of diamonds, ones that are nearly flawless and rare. The band is on its way, but how far it will go, how brightly it will shine is still unknown.
You have been in the industry a really long time. What percentage of these groups become Blackpink or BTS?
W. KIM (through text translation): It's barely even 1 percent. Maybe even 0.1 percent.
THOMPSON: We will achieve a certain level of success. We will find the right fan base and the right people that will enjoy our music. Does that mean we'll be Blackpink? Remains to be seen.
LAH (voice-over): For now, the newly minted artists are preparing and recording. Their debut is planned for April.
Can I take a picture with you?
(Voice-over): But wait. The members of VVS are not the only MZMC artists working on a first album.
Seoyoung.
S. YUN: Hello.
LAH (voice-over): Now 17-year-old Seoyoung Yun is a solo rap artist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. That was fire.
LAH: When we talked those many months ago, you said you really like Cardi B. Are you going to be in five years someone like Cardi B?
S. YUN (through text translation): I want to become an icon like her, recognized by everyone in that particular genre and have people eagerly anticipate my albums, thinking oh, a new album is out. This is so exciting.
LAH (voice-over): Something else exciting, Nahyun won a spot at another K-pop company and is hoping to debut as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
