hankyoreh

K-idols who have had health problems this year. From left to right

South Korea’s teen pop performers are ailing. Recent years have seen more and more calling it quits due to internal and external conditions - over ten this year alone.

On Oct. 4, Crayon Pop’s Soyul, 26, stopped performing due to panic disorder. Winner’s Nam Tae-hyun, 22, halted his activities on Oct. 12 due to psychological issues. In an official statement that day, his agency YG Entertainment said that “psychological health issues Nam Tae-hyun had been suffering from since his apprenticeship days seriously worsened over the past months.” On Oct. 8, Oh My Girl‘s JinE, 21, announced she was quitting her activities due to symptoms of anorexia.

Performers have also hit the wall in terms of physical health. In April, Oh My Girl’s SeungHee, 20, had to be rushed to an emergency room after fainting from hyperventilation syndrome. On Oct. 11, Exo’s Lay, 25, fainted due to exhaustion just before boarding a plane at Incheon International Airport. In February and March, EXID’s Hani, 24, and Girl’s Day’s Hyeri, 22, were respectively hospitalized with fatigue-related enteritis and encephalomeningitis. Pop singers account for a large portion of the 20 or so entertainers - including comedians Lee Kyung-kyu and Kim Gu-ra - who have admitted to suffering from panic disorder in the past three years.

Many say the physical and psychological ailments afflicting so many pop singers are evidence of the current state of South Korea‘s pop idol system. A 2015 yearbook published by the exclusive teen pop webzine “Idology” counted 60 groups with 324 members debuting that year alone.

“People who have to constantly race to build recognition amid such intense competition have no time to tend to their physical and mental health,” said one entertainer manager.

Indeed, the artists who have fallen ill tend to be in their first to fifth years since their debut. The group GFriend has released new singles more or less non-stop since making its debut in 2015. Member Umji suffered a sprain to the sartorius muscle in her left femoral area - a result of overexerting muscles used for walking and moving the knees.

“There’s almost no personal time in the agency schedule until the fifth year after debuting,” an entertainer manager said. An irregular lifestyle and inability to eat meals on time are routine.

Some argue the psychological problems are related to the teen pop ecosystem: with so many avenues of exposure to public scrutiny, youthful performers are having trouble dealing with the torrent of malicious posts triggered by even the smallest actions. Also adding to the symptoms is a society that views slender performers as objects for voyeuristic consumption.

“JinE‘s anorexia came as a shock. There are probably more teen pop performers in a similar situation,” said an entertainment producer for one terrestrial network.

Another source of stress is the aggressive monitoring of performers’ weight every morning and evening at their group housing.

“Some of the controls and conflicts that come from the group living system result in psychological problems,” said a manager at another entertainment agency.

Most of the agencies have said they provide access to mental health services and counseling if performers request it, while monitoring their condition through regular health checkups every year.

“We provide ‘healing programs’ where all trainees are offered regular lectures from their apprenticeship period onward,” said FNC.

Agencies also appear to be paying more attention as debut ages decrease and teen pop groups proliferate.

“I can’t go into detail, but there’s more investment in performers’ health than people think,” said a source with one agency.

But it’s a management approach with clear limits. The more popular a performer is, the more likely he or she is to shun hospital visits - fearful of the public’s watchful gaze. In 2011, the Korea Creative Content Agency set up the Popular Culture Artist Support Center to provide psychological counseling services. Since then, the number of entertainers receiving counseling has risen steadily - from 40 in 2011 to 107 in 2013 - but few have readily chosen to visit hospitals due to fears about rumors spreading.

“Even if you want counseling, you avoid it because you’re not sure it will remain a secret,” said one actor. “That’s even truer for teen pop performers, with their frequent exposure.”

“Pop performers who are still very young are likely not to realize the importance of getting regular health checkups,” the actor added.

As recent years have seen entertainers debut at younger and younger ages, more and more observers have been calling for more systematic programs.

“It’s important to get people used to asking for help at dangerous moments,” said psychological counseling analyst Lee Seung-wook. “It would help if the agencies set up programs where [performers] could get regular psychological counseling twice a year.”

By Nam Ji-eun, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]