The two members spoke about their struggles.
Content Warning
This article includes descriptions of dieting, body image issues, or eating disorders that may trigger some readers.
Two girl group idols recently drew significant attention after confessing to the toxic dieting practices they followed as trainees.
The idols in question are Yura from Girl’s Day and Youngji from KARA.
Recently, Youngji appeared as a guest on Yura’s YouTube channel, Yurayurahae, where the two candidly talked about their lives as trainees during the same period.
The two idols revealed that their first meeting was in a basement practice room. Yura recalled that Youngji had joined as a trainee when Girl’s Day had already debuted. While reminiscing about the past, the two female idols agreed that their company operated on the simple philosophy that “artists should be a little hungry.”
Yura emphasized, saying that it was not a matter of “should be,” they were indeed very hungry, thanks to the strict weight requirements. Youngji recalled the dreadful daily weight checks, which prompted Yura to confess that she once removed the scale’s batteries and pretended the machine was malfunctioning. The stress of daily weigh-ins as young trainees was clearly too much for both of them.
Youngji also confessed that she used to eat her food in the bathroom. Despite the restrictive diet, she would be preoccupied with the thought of food, and often had to eat quickly while hiding in the restroom.
While it is no secret that K-Pop idols have to undergo intense dieting as trainees to even be considered for a debut, Yura and Youngji’s candid admissions have underscored the non-glamorous reality of that system, which has now become normalized.