Each year, about 500 young Japanese girls join the Acopia School, a preparatory school in Seoul offering young Japanese a shot at K-pop stardom, teaching them the dance moves, the songs and also the language. Teenagers pay up to $3,000 a month for tuition.
All K-pop performers are considered to be the quintessence of Korean perfectionism. They are unusually photogenic, treated with plastic surgery, have perfect bodies and are fashionably dressed. Many young Koreans strive to be apart of the star factory, but only 1 out of 2,000 achieves success in an audition.
Japanese girls Yuuka Hasumi, 17, and Ibuki Ito, 17, also from Japan, who want to become K-pop stars, perform at an Acopia School party in Seoul, South Korea.
Nao Niitsu, 19, a college freshman from Tokyo, who wants to be a K-pop star, and other Japanese children warm up for an audition at a park in Seoul, South Korea. "I've heard stories about no free time or not being able to do what I want. But, I think all of the K-pop stars who are now performing have gone down the same road", said Niitsu. During a visit to Seoul paid for by her mother, herself a die-hard BTS fan. Niitsu auditioned for 10 agencies and was accepted by five.
Japanese girl Yuho Wakamatsu, 15, who wants to become a K-pop star, fixes her makeup during a training session in Seoul, South Korea.
Japanese girl Yuho Wakamatsu, 15, who wants to become a K-pop star, takes photographs of Yuuka Hasumi, 17, during a training session in Seoul, South Korea. Hasumi put high school in Japan on hold and flew to South Korea in February to try her chances at becoming a K-pop star, even if that means long hours of vocal and dance training, no privacy, no boyfriend, and even no phone. "It is tough", Hasumi said. "Going through strict training and taking my skill to a higher level to a perfect stage, I think that's when it is good to make a debut".
Nao Niitsu, 19, a college freshman from Tokyo, who wants to be a K-pop star, practices dancing to K-pop songs in her room in Tokyo, Japan. "I've heard stories about no free time or not being able to do what I want. But, I think all of the K-pop stars who are now performing have gone down the same road", said Niitsu.
Japanese girl Yuuka Hasumi, 17, who wants to become a K-pop star, sings a song while spending time after class in the Hongdae area of Seoul, South Korea. Hasumi put high school in Japan on hold and flew to South Korea in February to try her chances at becoming a K-pop star, even if that means long hours of vocal and dance training, no privacy, no boyfriend, and even no phone. "It is tough", Hasumi said. "Going through strict training and taking my skill to a higher level to a perfect stage, I think that's when it is good to make a debut".
Japanese girls Yuuka Hasumi, 17, and Yuho Wakamatsu, 15, who want to become K-pop stars, attend a Korean language class in Seoul, South Korea.
A K-pop applicant performs at an audition in Tokyo, Japan.
Nao Niitsu, 19, a college freshman from Tokyo, who wants to be a K-pop star, walks through Shin-Okubo district, which is known as Tokyo's Korea Town, in Tokyo, Japan. "I've heard stories about no free time or not being able to do what I want. But, I think all of the K-pop stars who are now performing have gone down the same road", said Niitsu.
Japanese girls Yuuka Hasumi, 17, and Ibuki Ito, 17, who want to become K-pop stars, perform during their street performance in the Hongdae area of Seoul, South Korea.
Nao Niitsu, 19, a college freshman from Tokyo, who wants to be a K-pop star, chooses her profile picture before an audition in Seoul, South Korea.
Yuuka Hasumi, 17, who wants to become a K-pop star, watches her friend's performance during their street performance in the Hongdae area of Seoul.
Miyu Takeuchi, a trainee with the K-pop agency Mystic Entertainment, sings during a training session in Seoul, South Korea. Takeuchi said it wasn't a difficult decision to leave a 10-year career with a top idol band AKB48 back home in Japan to sign with the K-pop agency Mystic Entertainment in March as a trainee. Even with her experience, she has seven hours of vocal training a day and two-hour dance lessons twice a week, plus early morning Korean lessons. She is not allowed to have a boyfriend but she says she has no regrets, despite the fact there is no guarantee she will make it. "I don't know how long my training period will be, but it has to reach a point where my coaches and management company say 'Miyu, you are a professional!'"
Yuuka Hasumi, 17, and Ibuki Ito, 17, who want to become K-pop stars, spend time together before taking part in an audition in Seoul, South Korea.
Yuuka Hasumi, 17, who wants to become a K-pop star, promotes her Instagram account during her street performance in the Hongdae area of Seoul, South Korea.
