Being an Idol is not easy. Whether it be the years you spend training to debut or the hours you spend in practice. Or even the hours you spend in shooting, promotional activities, and fun greetings. It requires a different level of dedication and commitment, which not a lot of people have.
We know about the lucky trainees who had the shortest training periods. But, what about the trainees who had the longest periods of training. Cause it seems to me that they had to have nerves to steel to remain positive. You’re curious, aren’t you to know who these trainees are?
Well, before you go crazy with curiosity, I present to you five idols who had the longest training periods:
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G.Soul – Solo artist
The South Korean singer-songwriter is infamously known as the longest JYP trainee, having a training period of 15 years before his debut in 2015. In 2001 the artist caught the attention of JYP entertainment and started his journey as a trainee. Throughout the years and before his debut. G.Soul became famous for another reason which is being the protege of R. Kelly. And finally, after 15 years of dedication and motivation, the artist debuted in 2015 with his EP Coming Home on 19th January 2015. -
G-Dragon – Big Bang
The rapper-singer and songwriter, infamously dubbed as the ‘King of K-pop‘, actually had his fair share of struggles before his debut. The member of Big Bang had spent 11 years training before he had the chance to debut. In between his training, the idol also changed agencies, spending five years in SM Entertainment and six in YG Entertainment. Finally debuting under SM Entertainment in a quintet now, quartet group Big Bang on 19th August 2006. -
Jihyo – Twice
Would you believe me if I said that the leader of the famous K-pop Girl group Jihyo spent ten years training before her debut?. Well, the singer indeed spent quite some time training before her debut in October of 2015. Jihyo joined YG Entertainment as a trainee when she was eight after placing second in a contest on Junior Naver. And since then has been in the K-pop industry. -
Johnny – NCT
The singer-rapper, born in California, fell on the path of K-pop stardom after nine years of training. Johnny auditioned for SM Entertainment in a global audition held by the company in Chicago in 2008. After being in the training period for nine years, the idol finally debuted in 2017 under K-pop Boy band NCT or Neo Culture Technology and specifically under their subunit NCT 127. The long years of training added to the singer’s experience as he got to train with EXO members and even appear on shows. -
Seulgi – Red Velvet
The South Korean singer-dancer debuted after spending a total of 7 years training. The singer first started her journey after joining SM Entertainment as a trainee in 2007, when she was just in her first year of middle school. Talk about dedication huh, the artist then was introduced to the public as an SM rookie. And finally, after seven years, the artist debuted under the K-pop Girl Group Red Velvet on August 1st, 2014, alongside fellow members Yeri, Joy, Irene, and Wendy.
Edited by Anupama Roy
