JYP's U.S.-based group VCHA member KG announces departure and lawsuit against JYP Entertainment.

VCHA's KG announces she's suing JYP Entertainment and leaving the group after multiple incidents of abuse and mistreatment:

“I am not in support of the working and living conditions that led a member to attempt suicide. Nor do I support an environment that encourages eating… pic.twitter.com/oGKfmbcMRR

— Pop Base (@PopBase) December 7, 2024

Among international fans, the content is shocking, and it's causing a huge stir right now.

Apparently, they were not allowed to eat properly, endured insane working hours and harsh conditions, suffered various injuries, and were treated in ways close to physical and mental abuse, to the point where one of the members even attempted something extreme...

THE COMMENTS: 

1. I had a feeling there wasn’t much activity.
2. Whoa
3. Oh no...
4. Huh? But it’s not a member who’s active anymore?
5. So Korean idols actually do that... wow.
6. Lack of food, extreme restrictions on personal life, and intense work — these three things pretty much represent the overall K-pop industry. Fans love it too: the skinny appearances, mandatory team life + dorm life (if they live independently, they’ll probably get punished for dating), intense workloads (constantly releasing albums, touring, performing passionately on stage, always appearing cheerful). Every time groups aiming for overseas markets emerge, I can’t help but think, "Westerners will never be able to endure this," even if it might work in China or Japan.
7. The translated content below is something everyone in the K-pop industry knows but turns a blind eye to. Fans also tell idols to "eat well" but then praise them endlessly when they lose weight and look stunning. It’s genuinely sad.
8. Every time localization groups aimed at Western audiences appeared, I thought, "They’ll never endure this," and here we are.
9. I’d need to hear more details about the situation, but the K-pop system doesn’t seem like something Westerners would easily accept or handle. There’s a reason the "K-" prefix exists: the group living at debut, extreme training regimes, restricted autonomy, etc.
10. Poor diet and abnormal working conditions are common in K-pop... even though it’s obviously wrong.
11. I’m curious why JYP seems to have a member leaving in every group. And there’s never a proper explanation.
12. They’re restricted in their personal lives, work excessively hard, and don’t even earn much.
13. Forcing American trainees to do what Korean idols have been doing since their trainee days is bound to cause problems. That’s why K-pop localization won’t work in the West. It just doesn’t make sense; the cultures are entirely different.
14. K-pop really deserves to be discussed publicly.
15. This genuinely makes me feel bad... sigh.
16. ☞ Comment 9 ☞ Comment 11 Totally agree. Westerners absolutely can’t do it; I expected something like this to happen.
17. Thinking back to when Wonder Girls were promoting in the U.S., local staff accused JYP of abusing the members. Park Jin-young had a tough time explaining himself. The cultural mindset is completely different.
18. This might explain why K-pop groups don’t have Western members.
19. China, Japan, and other Asian countries have somewhat similar cultural attitudes, but Westerners can’t endure this.
20. Westerners can’t endure it.
21. If you bring the K-pop system directly to the U.S., it’s bound to fail. They created these groups without a localized system.
22. I recently remembered hearing about a rookie girl group member who couldn’t even go to the bathroom without her manager, so she just held it in and waited. In other countries, this would be incomprehensible considering how this industry operates.
23. This is the average labor environment in K-pop, but it’s especially harmful for minors. For foreigners, it must be even harder to endure.
24. I knew something like this would happen when they said they were going to localize in the West. This is just the beginning. Only East Asians seem to accept this bizarre culture and policies.
25. Setting everything else aside, they don’t even treat people humanely. Agencies need to wake up—idols are human too.
26. This is the reality of idols in Korea. If they try the same system for foreign localization, of course, there will be backlash.
27. That person was born in 2007. It must have been hard to endure the K-pop labor environment at such a young age, especially in a foreign country. I support them.
28. Finding an agency without members leaving a group might actually be faster... Even big companies like SM and YG often have members leave their groups. JYP, too, with 2AM, Miss A, TWICE, ITZY—they’ve had cases without it, but it’s rare.
29. This would be hard to understand in other countries.
30. JYP’s practice of withholding water if choreography is done wrong hasn’t changed in 20 years. This is abuse.
31. I thought, “They wouldn’t tolerate this,” and, of course, they didn’t.
32. If they implement the same system they use in Korea abroad, it won’t work. Even in Korea, it’s a system that’s hard to endure. Forcing young trainees into such conditions is bound to face criticism.
33. It feels like JYP is using this as an opportunity to deflect onto all their groups, but every group has its own circumstances. Some may not want to reveal their reasons for leaving. Even when health reasons are disclosed, people don’t believe it years later.
34. I knew Western groups couldn’t endure the K-pop system as is. This really highlights the darker sides of the K-pop industry, which need to be addressed.
35. This is just the typical process K-pop idols go through, but I wondered if Westerners could endure it—and they couldn’t.
36. Once again, JYP groups get targeted, but every agency has members leaving for their own reasons. Who in JYP has left without reason besides the person from NMIXX? Members leaving happens in every agency, whether voluntarily or due to scandals.
37. It wasn’t the active member but another who left. Westerners can’t tolerate this system—it was only a matter of time before this happened.
38. Please stop framing every group this way when it’s not the case.
39. They really made this decision to localize Western groups without much thought.
40. I think our approach needs to change. Extreme control and pushing for unreasonably thin idols aren’t necessary to create amazing artists. The more idols are controlled, the more the young fans grow up influenced by this culture, perpetuating the same cycle.
41. Mixed-race idols can endure somewhat because they have ties to Korea, but for Western members without any foundation here, how can they endure such abusive environments? While many Asians tolerate it because of similar cultural values, individuals from countries prioritizing individualism and human rights clearly can’t last long. Of course, K-pop management isn’t normal.
42. Honestly, it’s so bizarre. All the idols who are popular nowadays look like they have eating disorders, and fans still praise them.
43. Did they really go abroad and replicate the same system used in K-pop? They need a reality check.
44. It’s a system close to abuse. Everyone does it, so Korean idols and some foreign Asian members endure it, but Western idols clearly won’t.
45. Hopefully, this bizarre culture gets improved with this opportunity, though who knows if it’ll actually happen.
46. Western localization isn’t worth pursuing unless they localize the system to match the region. Otherwise, it’s better not to do it. They’re unlikely to make much money this way, so they should just let it go and shut it down.

ORIGINAL POST HERE