One of the winning strengths of the K-Pop industry is the active influx of new talent. Scouting agents from entertainment companies are constantly on the lookout for talented individuals with high potential who would suit the K-Pop idol career. Some of the biggest K-Pop groups in the world would never have been formed if not for scouting agents going out of their way to find and sign the idols. However, the way K-Pop idols have been scouted and signed has changed over the years.
Check out how K-Pop idols of different generations were scouted!
K-Pop Idol Scouting Trends: Then & Now
1. 1st Generation
H.O.T's Tony An - Newspaper Ad
One of the first-ever K-Pop idol groups in South Korea, H.O.T was an SM Entertainment group. Member Tony An revealed in a documentary that he came to know about SM Entertainment and the company's audition for a new group from a newspaper ad!
With K-Pop just starting out, it seems like newspaper ads were the only reliable and unsuspicious method to reach aspiring idols and urge them to audition.
2. 2nd Generation
TVXQ!'s ChangMin - While Playing Badminton
ChangMin revealed that he was scouted while he was playing badminton with his school friends because he looked good while holding the racket!
CNBLUE's Jung YongHwa - Cyworld
Photos posted by Jung YongHwa publicly on Cyworld became hugely popular on an Ulzzang Cafe, and he was scouted by the FNC casting team via messages on Cyworld.
Jessica Jung & Krystal Jung - Shopping Mall
Former member of Girls' Generation, Jessica Jung, and f(x) member Krystal Jung were scouted while they were at the shopping mall with their parents on a family holiday in South Korea.
As K-Pop became more prolific, street casting and casting through existing social networking sites such as Cyworld became commonplace, although K-Pop idols have mentioned that such scouting seemed dubious at first.
3. 3rd Generation
EXO - Various
Xiumin was discovered through a singing contest, SuHo was scouted while he was doing community service, Lay was discovered in China, BaekHyun was discovered by an SME agent and urged to audition, Chen auditioned after his vocal instructor advised him to, ChanYeol was street cast, D.O. was asked to audition after he won a singing contest, Kai auditioned because his father promised to get him a Nintendo game if he passed, and SeHun was street scouted while he was enjoying tteokbokki after school but with stranger danger in mind, he ran away from the casting associate and kept running for 30 minutes!
BTS - Various
RM was discovered through his career as an underground rapper, Suga saw a flyer for BigHit auditions and auditioned, j-hope auditioned and passed, Jin was street cast while he was getting off of a bus, JungKook was cast by 7 entertainment agencies after his audition for "Superstar K3", V was convinced to audition while he had come to support his friend for the audition, JiMin was urged by his teacher to audition based on his extraordinary dancing talent.
BLACKPINK - Audition
All the BLACKPINK members were signed after they auditioned for YG Entertainment. JiSoo auditioned in South Korea, Jennie moved from New Zealand to South Korea to audition for YG Entertainment, Lisa auditioned in Thailand, Rosé auditioned in Australia.
As K-Pop started to go global on a significant scale, it became common for aspirants from all over the world to audition for a K-Pop company. In the country, scouting agents were using all their resources to find hidden gems and talented individuals, usually in and around schools and colleges, through competitions, underground music scenes, and so on.
4. 4th Generation
TXT - Various
SooBin auditioned; Huening Kai auditioned for a different company, but when an official from the company joined BigHit, he was scouted; TaeHyun was scouted after an agent came to see him outside his school after hearing about him; for BeomGyu, the scouting agent went all the way to Daegu to take his audition; and YeonJun was scouted on both social media and on the subway!
aespa - Various
NingNing shared that she was discovered by SM Entertainment's talent agents after they saw her appearing on singing programs in China, Winter was street scouted at a festival, Karina was scouted over social media through DMs, Giselle joined SM Entertainment through an open audition.
ITZY - Various
ITZY's RyuJin was scouted at a GOT7 concert, YuNa was scouted at a festival, YeJi & Lia auditioned, and ChaeRyeong was scouted through "K-Pop Star 3".
WEi's Kim JunSeo & DRIPPIN's Kim DongYun - Social Media
4th generation idols Kim JunSeo of WEi was scouted via Instagram DMs, and Kim DongYun of DRIPPIN was scouted on Facebook.
While street casting and auditions continued to be prevalent, by the 4th generation of K-Pop, social media became a crucial tool in scouting potential K-Pop idols. However, because this was perhaps the first time this new generation was majorly being scouted this way, many had fears of it being a scam.
5. 5th Generation
RIIZE's WonBin - Instagram
When RIIZE's WonBin was first introduced to the world, we all wondered where SM Entertainment found such a gem of an idol. The answer is - Instagram! WonBin was scouted on Instagram and asked to come in for an audition, which he passed, and then became a trainee at SM Entertainment.
Nowadays, it has become very common to scout K-Pop idols through social media, such as Instagram DMs. As such, there isn't much of the fear that it might be a scam. This trend is likely to continue and extend to TikTok as well.
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