Rumor believable kpop theories? (1 Viewer)

looloo_2 · 23 June 2026

#1 this theory has to do with sm cloning their idols have been an ongoing thing for decades. this stems from fans noticing how idols that emerge from SM resemble their past in some way. examples include hyunjin (m.i.l.k) taeyeon (snsd), irene (red velvet) and boa (soloist) resembling each other, kangta (h.o.t), siwon (super junior,) suho (exo), zhou mi (super junior M) resembling each other, taemin (shinee) and anton (riize) resembling each other, andy (shinhwa) sunny (snsd) and johnny (nct) resembling each other and D.O (exo) and sohee (riize) resembling each other among many others. i think what sm does is that they have scouts that have very keen eyes. SM has a specific visual type they scout. Certain people who have the looks of past idols and most importantly, have the aura, are likely to get accepted into SM as a predecessor to that past idol's visual. it's almost uncanny how these scouts can take a few seconds to spot out a person they want to accept into their company.

#2 is an theory that has to do with sm ent again but its with their group red velvet. for years, people suspected that sm debuted red velvet earlier than they were supposed to in order to drive away attention from jessica's removal from snsd and exo members: Luhan, kris, and tao leaving exo as well. i mean, it DOES explain a lot...yeri being added into the group during ice cream cake promotions was a crazy move even though she made a small cameo in red velvet's debut song, meaning she was always intended to be a red velvet member. When yeri got added into the group officially, a lot of people hated on her unfortunately...

#3 this theory has been on my mind for a while now, but it has to do with how companies are shelving the trainees from working class and lower class backgrounds in favor of trainees who have comfortable and rich backgrounds. these trainees can easily afford their own necessities such as housing, food, clothes and pay for their own trainee lessons completely out of pocket. it makes sense, this saves the company less money they have to spend on their groups if they have one or two members who are rich who can afford to buy the other trainees food and stuff, if you get what i am saying. zb1 was a boy group that had most of its members come from rich and comfortable backgrounds, which is already saying something...we even have a literal chaebol as an kpop idol 😭 yes this theory is believable at this point. i should also mention that trainee life is notoriously stressful and difficult. trainees risk getting dropped from weekly/monthly evaluations if an staff doesn't see any improvement with them. they're even more at a risk if they don't meet a certain weight requirement. it really makes you wonder how many working class trainees and lower class ones in that day and age got ruthlessly dropped in favor of ones with a more higher income...

Selfmate · 23 June 2026

in regards to #3 I would say the causation might be the other way around in the sense that

richer people have more access to better dance instructors, better singers etc etc and therefore they have a better opportunity to end up as kpop trainees

consider two people with equal skill levels to begin with (ie. ceteris paribus) however one person is rich and loaded and can afford all the best dance instructors and singing professionals etc etc whilst the other is poor and cannot. Obviously if their starting position is the same but with all the additional training and assistance the rich kid gets better (or gets better faster) than the poor one so when it comes down to picking someone - then if picking solely on merit then one would pick the better person skill wise.
However I've always said this is not a phenomenon unique to kpop - rich kids get better education, better food, better transportation, better equipment, better tutors, better accommodation, better opportunities etc etc
Like Bezzoes can casually drop 100K or more to attend the Met Gala whereas the poor person will never see 100K in their lives... I mean that's just life and the world we live in

I agree that poor trainees have it harder since kpop might be the ultimate escape from poverty or the trenches whereas to the rich person getting kicked out is not the end of the world since they have so many more opportunities but again that is not unique to kpop per se...how many poor kids in africa dream of being the next Soccer Superstar to get their family out of poverty. How many stories do we hear of the kid in the slums climbing out and being the next Michael Jordan etc etc and there are plenty more examples of that in both kpop and out but as I've always said the best thing that money can buy is OPPORTUNITIES

looloo_2 · 23 June 2026

Selfmate said:
in regards to #3 I would say the causation might be the other way around in the sense that

richer people have more access to better dance instructors, better singers etc etc and therefore they have a better opportunity to end up as kpop trainees

consider two people with equal skill levels to begin with (ie. ceteris paribus) however one person is rich and loaded and can afford all the best dance instructors and singing professionals etc etc whilst the other is poor and cannot. Obviously if their starting position is the same but with all the additional training and assistance the rich kid gets better (or gets better faster) than the poor one so when it comes down to picking someone - then if picking solely on merit then one would pick the better person skill wise.
However I've always said this is not a phenomenon unique to kpop - rich kids get better education, better food, better transportation, better equipment, better tutors, better accommodation, better opportunities etc etc
Like Bezzoes can casually drop 100K or more to attend the Met Gala whereas the poor person will never see 100K in their lives... I mean that's just life and the world we live in

I agree that poor trainees have it harder since kpop might be the ultimate escape from poverty or the trenches whereas to the rich person getting kicked out is not the end of the world since they have so many more opportunities but again that is not unique to kpop per se...how many poor kids in africa dream of being the next Soccer Superstar to get their family out of poverty. How many stories do we hear of the kid in the slums climbing out and being the next Michael Jordan etc etc and there are plenty more examples of that in both kpop and out but as I've always said the best thing that money can buy is OPPORTUNITIES

yeah i agree with what you're saying. i know it isn't new to kpop, but it's still jarring to see this genre start to become this way...

Selfmate · 23 June 2026

looloo_2 said:
yeah i agree with what you're saying. i know it isn't new to kpop, but it's still jarring to see this genre start to become this way...

unfortunately my friend that is the way of the world
everything is more expensive and everything is about money

I'm sure that there are a lot of talented people who just don't have the opportunity to become trainees let alone idols because of their financial situations

velvet · 23 June 2026

looloo_2 said:
#3 this theory has been on my mind for a while now, but it has to do with how companies are shelving the trainees from working class and lower class backgrounds in favor of trainees who have comfortable and rich backgrounds.

Selfmate said:
richer people have more access to better dance instructors, better singers etc etc and therefore they have a better opportunity to end up as kpop trainees

Also wanna add that a lot of Koreans nowadays are very comfortable. There were poorer trainees and idols in the 90s/00s because Korea was building their economy, and they had the backlash of the Asian Financial Crisis. Obviously there are still some poor citizens but we're seeing richer idols because Koreans are simply richer than they were. This isn't to say that there are no working-class trainees/idols currently, and the korean economy has been super super strong, but i do think times have changed.

looloo_2 · 23 June 2026

velvet said:
Also wanna add that a lot of Koreans nowadays are very comfortable. There were poorer trainees and idols in the 90s/00s because Korea was building their economy, and they had the backlash of the Asian Financial Crisis. Obviously there are still some poor citizens but we're seeing richer idols because Koreans are simply richer than they were. This isn't to say that there are no working-class trainees/idols currently, and the korean economy has been super super strong, but i do think times have changed.

yeah i know of that asian financial crisis...shit i should've mentioned that. but it's good that you did because i noticed that some famous idols came from poor backgrounds like IU and i think i remember reading somewhere that some idols were effected by the crisis

looloo_2 · 23 June 2026

Selfmate said:
unfortunately my friend that is the way of the world
everything is more expensive and everything is about money

I'm sure that there are a lot of talented people who just don't have the opportunity to become trainees let alone idols because of their financial situations

i mean i know we still have working class and lower class trainees, but i can't help but to feel for them... because if they get dropped then they're pretty much screwed with hundreds of dollars in debt.

velvet · 23 June 2026

looloo_2 said:
yeah i know of that asian financial crisis...shit i should've mentioned that. but it's good that you did because i noticed that some famous idols came from poor backgrounds like IU and i think i remember reading somewhere that some idols were effected by the crisis

Oh yeah we're never getting an IU or Yunho story ever again. We're in the days where really rich people wanna be involved, which isn't inherently bad but it's gonna be weird seeing them having lived different lives I guess

looloo_2 · 23 June 2026

velvet said:
Oh yeah we're never getting an IU or Yunho story ever again. We're in the days where really rich people wanna be involved, which isn't inherently bad but it's gonna be weird seeing them having lived different lives I guess

iu had a whole rags to riches story and yunho too

Bottles · 23 June 2026

We have Woni from Rescene right now. Trending it girl of 5th gen, born on the tiny rural island of Geoje. So these stories can definitely still happen.

alo · 23 June 2026

looloo_2 said:
i think what sm does is that they have scouts that have very keen eyes. SM has a specific visual type they scout. Certain people who have the looks of past idols and most importantly, have the aura, are likely to get accepted into SM as a predecessor to that past idol's visual. it's almost uncanny how these scouts can take a few seconds to spot out a person they want to accept into their company.

i think to add to that - certain looks can be achieved with makeup and cosmetic surgery. in south korea, just to have a chance at getting a job the average joe would have likely gotten a nose implant or double eyelid surgery. surely kpop idols go under the knife just as much, if not more than the average person.

also i find it interesting that sm specifically has this "type". there are other companies with well-known visual lines. jype is known for their "cat" line - sohee, yeji, kyujin all look more "cat" than "dog". but you can't mistake any one of them for the other. (side note: god, wonder girls had such diverse visuals and images! all of them looked great, and had their own styles)

about income - i also think a lot of it stems from poorer or middle class kids probably just not seeing the entertainment industry as a viable career choice anymore. sunmi had financial trouble growing up, so as a naive 12-year-old she thought she'd become a trainee so that she'd quickly debut as an idol - much like boa just did. but it wasn't as quick for her, it certainly wouldn't have been the get-rich-quick career she thought it would be, even though she debuted in one of the biggest girl groups of the country. the fact that her father (whose treatment her family needed money for) passed before she debuted is definitely telling of that. i think, perhaps, kids aren't that naive anymore.

RandAlThor · 24 June 2026

Ironically i think the bigger agencies are the less well off best chance, since most of the factors you listed don't matter if the kid has the star potential.
SM still has open call on Saturdays.

RandAlThor · 24 June 2026

I think the SM female Visual line starts with Eugene and flows thru Yoona, Krystal, Irene.... Eugene is the look they go for.

looloo_2 · 24 June 2026

RandAlThor said:
I think the SM female Visual line starts with Eugene and flows thru Yoona, Krystal, Irene.... Eugene is the look they go for.

they go for these idols they take after: kangta, eugene, jaejoong and yoona. these are like the visuals of sm that they still try to recreate to this day. also krystal looks like yoona.

Selfmate · 24 June 2026

looloo_2 said:
i mean i know we still have working class and lower class trainees, but i can't help but to feel for them... because if they get dropped then they're pretty much screwed with hundreds of dollars in debt.

that's why when I said the best thing about being rich is the opportunities it affords - one can fail fail and fail again and still not be affected by it financially at least whereas for the poor person they just aren't afforded such luxuries
you can't really blame the companies or the rich person for such circumstances its really just the system that we live in

Selfmate · 24 June 2026

Bottles said:
We have Woni from Rescene right now. Trending it girl of 5th gen, born on the tiny rural island of Geoje. So these stories can definitely still happen.

the exception as oppose to the rule no?
since for every Woni we hear about and we only hear about it since she and her group went viral how many others we don't hear about since they are nugu

Bottles · 24 June 2026

Selfmate said:
the exception as oppose to the rule no?
since for every Woni we hear about and we only hear about it since she and her group went viral how many others we don't hear about since they are nugu

I’m just not sure we’re seeing a trend going one way or the other, there’s always been rich kids in kpop (Sunny was LSM’s niece) and there’s always been members that come from rural/working class backgrounds.

Selfmate · 24 June 2026

Bottles said:
I’m just not sure we’re seeing a trend going one way or the other, there’s always been rich kids in kpop (Sunny was LSM’s niece) and there’s always been members that come from rural/working class backgrounds.

my niece you mean!!!

jokes aside - historically that's been true however we rarely hear of poorer idols debuting say within the 5th generation - although that could be because:

1. they are from groups so nugu that we don't hear from them; or
2. (but for some of the top 5th gen groups like h2h or BM or Illit) 5th gen groups just haven't made enough waves to put them on the map
3. that there is a trend of less poorer idols these days since kpop is becoming less lucrative (for the average idol) as a career path out of poverty

Bottles · 24 June 2026

Selfmate said:
my niece you mean!!!

jokes aside - historically that's been true however we rarely hear of poorer idols debuting say within the 5th generation - although that could be because:

1. they are from groups so nugu that we don't hear from them; or
2. (but for some of the top 5th gen groups like h2h or BM or Illit) 5th gen groups just haven't made enough waves to put them on the map
3. that there is a trend of less poorer idols these days since kpop is becoming less lucrative (for the average idol) as a career path out of poverty

It’s all anecdotal as far as I am concerned. You are usually a man of metrics, how many poor idols debuted in 2nd gen? how many have debuted in 5th? How do we define a poor idol? I think we have no data on this. However, there are still idols debuting who come from humble backgrounds, so I am questioning if there is a trend at all.

Another example is Sujin from H//pe Princess. In this video she goes to visit her Grandma who is a small time allotment farmer in Iksan (timestamped):

If anything if I had to guess at the trend I would say, as wealth inequality grows in South Korea, much like it does in the rest of the world, we’re likely to see more rich and more poor idols. It’s the middle class ones we’ll see less of, because the middle class on the whole is in decline (K-shaped economics and all that 📉)

Selfmate · 24 June 2026

Bottles said:
It’s all anecdotal as far as I am concerned. You are usually a man of metrics, how many poor idols debuted in 2nd gen? how many have debuted in 5th? How do we define a poor idol? I think we have no data on this. However, there are still idols debuting who come from humble backgrounds, so I am questioning if there is a trend at all.

Another example is Sujin from H//pe Princess. In this video she goes to visit her Grandma who is a small time allotment farmer in Iksan (timestamped):

If anything if I had to guess at the trend I would say, as wealth inequality grows in South Korea, much like it does in the rest of the world, we’re likely to see more rich and more poor idols. It’s the middle class ones we’ll see less of, because the middle class on the whole is in decline (K-shaped economics and all that 📉)

I like analytics and metrics but I don't know the numbers per se. It's more that if someone provides me with said numbers I like to consider them and critique them but I often don't know where to actually find them lol

obviously everything is anecdotal since it will be hard to judge the numbers from all 5th gen groups

I guess if one wanted to one could compare the numbers for say the top 5 or 10 groups from the 3rd and then top 5 or 10 groups from the 4th and now the 5th to see if there's an increase or decrease in idols coming from wealthier or poorer backgrounds. obviously like you mentioned - who is "rich" and who is "poor" is also a question to be determined

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Rumor believable kpop theories? (1 Viewer)

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