K-pop boy band TXT members Soobin and Taehyun recently got candid about their days as trainee idols, revealing that they often used to get beaten up by their choreographers.
This development has sparked an online debate about the treatment of K-pop idols during their training days.
During his recent Weverse livestream, Soobin recalled how he and Taehyun were suddenly asked to pick up difficult choreography by SEVENTEEN when they were just middle schoolers when he and Taehyun were just middle schoolers.
He said that they were urged to learn the steps all by themselves and then perform it. This was during the time they had just begun dancing for a week or two.
“They told us to learn it ourselves by watching the video so me and Taehyun watched the video at 0.5x to learn the choreography and it seemed reallllly tough so it was a given that we wouldn’t be able to dance well to it,” the 24-year-old idol said.
Responding to Soobin, Taehyun shared a comment on the livestream, saying that the both of them were beaten up during their dance sessions. Soobin also admitted that they learnt dancing through repeated beatings. However, he revealed that other trainees suffered worse blows than them.
The TXT leader said that such abusive practices have changed now and that corporal punishment is no longer allowed. “They had physical punishments back then but if they physically punish someone now, they’d get in huge trouble,” he signed off.
The idols opening up about their past has invited heated discussions and criticism from fans, who are questioning the nature of training for their favourite idols in South Korea.
“This is f****d up, before even kai joined bighit must’ve been like 2015, ten years ago taehyun was 13 and soobin was 14, kids getting hit by grown adults it makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it,” wrote a fan on X.
Another fan tweeted, “I hope bighit and Bang piggie crumble soon.”
Lauding Soobin for his bravery for opening up about his past, a fan posted, “Who the hell in @BIGHIT_MUSIC staffs abused and hit them while learning choreo? at least Soobin is so brave to talk about it live while still in contract.”