$10,000 A Year On K-Pop: How Far Will Fans Go To Support Their Idols? - Part 1 | Talking Point

Munah is a good interviewer. She was able to keep up in the workout and showed sensitivity to the poor girl who didn’t fit Kpop standards. I feel like it’s such a tough industry to break into.

They say you can become addicted to almost anything, and I think K-Pop is no exception. Nothing wrong with supporting your favourite artist but some fans take it to the extreme which shows something is wrong with our society (capitalism, psychological reasons and the prevalance of parasocial relationships).

I feel sad and bad for the girl who wants to be a choreographer instead of idol because her body image issue, i hope the best for her in the future

i wish i could give that kid a hug. it breaks my heart that such young kids are being subjected to harsh beauty standards cuz of kpop. smth which was meant to bring joy is destroying a young person's self-love.

As a K-pop lover, I definitely root for these children to achieve their dreams, and I also sincerely hope that they can also take time to take care of themselves too, because they are still young and still have to learn manage their time, schoolwork and health too

Hope these kids know being a popular Kpop idol is harder than being a CEO at a company. Out of thousands of people. Only a couple are chosen to be trainees Out of 100 trainees about 1-5 get picked to debut. Then out of 100's of K pop groups and solo idols. Only and handful are super successful. Dreams are great but also gotta face the reality. All the best to them.

Body image issues are a hot topic these days... it's common for trainees have grueling schedules and develop bad eating habits just to look skinny and fit into that image. I hope these young people understand that even though being an idol is their dream, their health is the most important and they shouldn't ever push themselves beyond their limit just for a chance at fame.

Marketing makes these Kpop stars look perfect. Meaning they give the perception of flawlessness - no bad breath, no character flaw , smooth skin all day long and having the perfect happy life. But obviously that's far from the truth. I was a K pop fan in my 20s. I'm glad now in my 30s and hitting 40, I'm no longer "controlled" by the marketing gimmicks of Kpop world. Especially when Kpop stars commit suicide so often, it makes me feel that this is one of the worst "influencers " you want your kids to be around .

Sheryl: You are a pretty girl and I like your energy; don't limit yourself, you are very young and as long as you keep going with the same positive attitude and striving for improvements, many doors will open for you :)

You don’t have to spend thousands a year to be a fan. Many of us just listen to their music, watch their videos. I definitely have merch and go to concerts if I can afford but it isn’t necessary. I don’t think fans care we will buy if we want and what we can afford.

This is a really good docu-series, the journalist Munah is incredible at story telling and interviewing. As an adult kpop fan myself I often watch outsider perspectives on kpop being very negative and mis-informed, this does a really good job of presenting the determination and dreams of these youngster and fans as well as presenting some of the darker sides to kpop. 👍

I live in the United States, and I love watching CNA’s documentaries, including this one. Please keep up the great work and release more documentaries!

as passionate as they are i hope these kids arent naive to the greatness of kpop and understand the heavy commitment they must have lol. they are most likely going to move to korea alone, and have to learn and be completely fluent at reading and speaking Korean ASAP and not only dance which is all they seem to be practicing here, but they have to be decent at singing, expression, and have stage presence. singing and stage presence is crucial. not only that, they have to be ready to be PERPETUALLY on camera, be exceptional at fan service and content production. like you can see at the end reality is setting in. its very difficult. all the best

Sheryl and Nicholas have amazing spirit and courage from such a young age, their personalities shine

Another reason K-pop took off compared with J-pop is Korean artists will take the effort to meet their fans overseas with concerts, fan meets, etc. J-pop artists hardly go for overseas gigs as often as K-pop artists even though J-pop artists do have fans overseas. I’ve been a J-pop fan since 2 decades back when J-pop was at its peak and K-pop was rising. I have my concern for the teenager girl who dieted to fit the standard.

2:48 "it's my life, it's my passion" I felt that so hard!

It's the community effect. People will usually follow the trend for a sense of camaraderie...the "togetherness". It works the same way with social movements, religion, etc.

Would be interesting if CNA does a documentary on Singaporeans in the other music industries as well (e.g. mandopop) There hasn't been much success for Singaporeans in kpop, but there has been quite a number who had risen to superstardom in the mandopop industry. Singapore produced quite a number of prominent musicians and songwriters/composers in mandopop as well. Unfortunately, there hasn't really been freshbloods who achieved success in the recent decade or two.

K pop agencies : Thank you fans for your money Singapore : Thank you for your money to use our location Business: Thank you so much for buying our merch Fans: AHHHHHHH!!!!!

Enjoyed seeing such passionate kids going for it. I'm middle aged but got into kpop as a tween. It wasn't popular back then and my friend's mom imported videos from Busan. It's a joyful thing. I do worry about the age if how young these kids are though. The management companies are brutal. It's not really child friendly. I hope their families are being hawkish about keeping an eye on things.