DPR IAN opens up about “inhumane” experience as a K-pop trainee
"You don't know what that gruesome and grueling side of that life is, because no one really tells you"
by Gladys Yeo · NMEKorean-Australian musician DPR IAN has opened up about his past experience training to be part of a K-pop group.
On the Australian leg of DPR’s ‘The Dream Reborn’ world tour, DPR IAN sat down with SBS to discuss his experience in the K-pop industry. The singer shared that he moved to South Korea alone to pursue his music career, and became a K-pop trainee several months later after being scouted on the street.
“[The training schedule] back in the days? Very strict,” he said, detailing how they would wake up every morning at 5am to practice, only to return home hours past midnight. “If you’re late a minute, you have to kneel on the floor and sit in the corner, like a timeout.”
“It’s a lot better now, that’s what I hear,” DPR IAN continued, adding that this happened during what he described as the “peak” era of “slave contracts” in the K-pop industry.
He went on to share his thoughts on the experience: “I thought it was inhumane, but that’s literally the life that trainees live. […] You don’t know what that gruesome and grueling side of that life is, because no one really tells you.”
DPR IAN debuted as a member of K-pop boy band C-Clown in 2012 under the stage name Rome, where he was active until the group disbanded in 2015. He later established the label Dream Perfect Regime with fellow musicians and creatives DPR Live, DPR Cream and DPR REM, where he also serves as a visual director.
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In 2021, he released his debut EP ‘Moodswings in This Order’, which he followed with a studio album and two more EPs. His latest release was his June 2024 EP ‘Saint’.
DPR IAN, along with labelmates DPR Cream and DPR Artic are on the Asia-Pacific leg of their ‘The Dream Reborn’ world tour, and will perform next in Singapore later tonight. The trio will then perform in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and more in the coming weeks, before completing the leg in Hong Kong on December 28.