BBC's Made in Korea: Dear Alice has been in full swing now for several weeks and fans have taken to social media to express their opinions on the show and predictions on what will happen next. We have all the juicy details so read on to find out more!
As we discussed and saw in the first two episodes Heejin, the SM Entertainment casting director, gave the boys harsh feedback which some of them took to heart as other fans have said.
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By far the most stomach-churning moment, though, comes when the boys have their weekly assessment with Hee Jun Yoon, one of the K-pop industry’s most respected names.
During the band's feedback sessions, we can see Heejin being very critical of her feedback towards the members.
The leading South Korean K-pop music agencies are known for their rigorous and years-long training programs, which have come under fire at times for being exploitative of talent. Disillusioned performers have complained of being overworked, underpaid, abused, and unprotected by contracts that fail to fairly and responsibly manage their careers.
Criticism of such practices has led to unionization and some improvements in conditions for performers. However, as members of the world-famous girl group Blackpink and others have attested, the training required to reach the heights of industry success remains extremely rigorous and all-consuming of performers’ time and energy.
SM’s website makes a subtle nod to previous critiques of the industry’s methods by stating its commitment to “setting the gold standard for responsible management in the industry”. This does not mean a soft approach to raising chart-topping talent, however.
Let's take a look at one of the clips of the boys feedback sessions:
The negative feedback is unsurprising. A Blackpink documentary released on Netflix in 2020 leaves the viewer with the impression that those who survive the “trainee system” must possess an extraordinary degree of mental resilience – perhaps over and above their vocal talent and ability to learn choreography.
Overall, the boys have shown clear improvement since week one, in terms of becoming a team, their dance routine and vocals, I think if they had more time to train though, or at least, if they were under a stricter schedule, they wouldn't have much bonding time. The segment between James and Olly made it clear that they have quite a bit of free time, or at least have had a few outings over the weeks they've been training where not all the boys had to be present for filming. The show filmed the boys over a 100 day period where they worked with some top names within the K-pop industry.
As part of the training and experience for the band, they made a live performance at the British Embassy in Seoul:
Throughout the series, the show featured many hours of the boys being devoted to training, and it’s tough. Mostly, this consists of hours of classes with vocal and dance coaches in SM Entertainment’s headquarters – aka one of the most prestigious musical agencies in the entire country, with names like Riize, Aespa and Red Velvet on their books!
On Reddit some fans expressed that they were confused by the time scale of the show, let's check out some of the feedback that has been trending by fans:
Episode 4 highlights, challenges, concerns
As we see here, Dexter, James, Olly and Reese try to build bridges with band member Blaise, who’s feeling increasingly isolated from the rest of the band. It was to be expected that some of the members would clash, and of course being thrown into a band, spending all day together and living together wit different personalities would be a struggle at times. There was lots of mental health support offered to the members during the filming of the show, as we saw in all of the episodes when the boys received their group and individual welfare check.
Despite claiming to be a “unique experiment” with its British membership, Made in Korea is not the first time non-Korean hopefuls have faced the K-pop training machine. A number of non-Koreans make up some of K-pop’s most popular acts, including Blackpink, which features a Thai member, and Seventeen, which has members from China and the US, and some featuring North Korean defectors among others.
After the series finished airing, in the final episode, Heejin was non-committal in answering one of the band members' questions, when he asked, "Do you really think we have what it takes?", and she answered, "If you keep up the hard work". Since the show, the band has been working hard and trying to debut on children's TV in the UK such as CCBC to gain a fan base and get there name out there.
What else would you expect, though? This is a fascinating behind-the-curtain peek at one of the music industry’s toughest genres, and it doesn’t pull its punches in showing exactly how high the bar is for its young competitors.
If Dear Alice makes it through training and evaluation, it’s unclear whether they will be subject to the same moral and behavioral standards required of groups made up of predominantly Korean members, and this is understandable due to the difference in culture and expectations between Korean and the UK in terms of musical talent.
However, if SM Entertainment is to put its name to the group’s management, there is no question that these five young men will have to learn to bounce back from tough criticism – and show a willingness to learn and improve to a level beyond anything they have achieved before, and I am sure they are able to reach their potential with more work, dedication and perseverance.
What are your thoughts on the show? What do you think will happen to with the band after the show? Let us know in the comments below.
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