| Gina Maeng Talks Her JYP Trainee Years, Thoughts on the Industry + more Happy Friday, Daebak Crew! 🎉
If you haven't read our last interview with Kathy Lee (Produce 101), you can read it here. But let's get right back to it...
More glamorous returns: Aespa announced a May comeback this week, EVERGLOW , and (G)I-DLE's Yuqi announced that she's making her solo debut! BTS continues to ruin us as they share more concept clips leading up to the "Butter" release this month.
ENHYPEN doubled their U.S. digital sales chart number in a week – and won their second music trophy on "Show Champion"! Mark Tuan (GOT7) signed with major U.S. talent agency CAA, and Monsta X's Joohoney started his own Instagram account (right before their June 1 mini-album comeback). Not to mention, Red Velvet hit 200M views on their music video "Peek-A-Boo" – their 4th MV to achieve this!
My favorite news of the week was seeing NCT Dream's collaboration with the creators of "Baby Shark" ahead of their album release, the Internet crossover we didn't know we needed. And Ahgases celebrated BamBam's birthday by donating and organizing this community pantry and feeding program in the Philippines! My heart is soaring.
This week we're also talking to Gina Maeng, a former JYP trainee (now-YouTuber and travel writer), where we talk about her journey in the industry and everything from living with IU, mental health, and the song she's most proud of writing. Read it below!
 💐 In conversation with: Gina Maeng💐
A series where we explore the K-Pop world from different perspectives – talking to everyone in the industry, around it, and you!
Gina Maeng has seen the inside of the K-Pop industry for what feels like a lifetime. The now-YouTuber and writer began began pursuing her first dream of being a singer in the 7th grade by auditioning for K-Pop groups, and her talent led her on an incredibly unique journey. For 12 years, she trained at a variety of star-studded agencies, famous for turning out A-lister artists: JYP (ITZY, Stray Kids, Twice), Kakao M (IU), and CJ E&M (I.O.I., Eric Nam). But after over a decade of disappointments, mishaps, and scandals that landed in her lap, Gina never debuted, and she decided it was time to leave the industry.
Talking to her on video call from her apartment in Seoul, I was struck by her calm demeanor as she recounted her story to me. While this is not her first time telling it – she has begun explaining the inner workings of this shrouded industry on her own YouTube channel – it was told with an air of someone at peace with what was not meant to be. We chatted about her time living in the dorms, how her album fell through, and how it now informs her work (and perspective on life!).
*** [Steffi] Hi Gina! Do you want to introduce yourself to the readers? [Gina] Hi, my name is Gina. I'm a Korea-based travel writer, K-Pop lyricist, former trainee and YouTuber. And hopefully more.
I am really interested to hear about your travel writing. What does that look like?
I mostly write books rather than magazines right now – I think I prefer this format to quick writing. What I used to do demanded results immediately. I needed to prove my singing immediately, I needed to be the best dancer immediately, so taking the time to travel to a new place, taking months and weeks to write stuff, that's better-suited for me. Coincidentally, I think I started writing when I was in college (while I was a trainee).
You were a trainee for 12 years at huge agencies like JYP, Kakao M, and Mnet – later CJ E&M. In your hour-long video unpacking your entire journey, you mentioned your first audition was at SM Entertainment. What were those early days were like?
I grew up singing and dancing as a child, but I didn't know you could sing and dance as a job. When I studied abroad in Australia, I opened myself up to listening to pop music. So when I returned to Korea in the sixth grade, I found out about K-Pop and fell in love.
At the time, the only company that held auditions regularly was SM. We didn't have that many outlets for potential trainees to audition. But SM held weekly ones, and I started going and getting good feedback. That's when I realized I wanted to do this as an occupation. I was slowly building up to signing [with a company] when I saw an advertisement for a reality show with JYP. So I auditioned there and joined JYP in the end.
Was it difficult to get started?
For me personally, it wasn't difficult. Even though I didn't get picked up on my first audition, each time I tried, they would tell me something like, "Oh, you should work on this technique", or "we want to see you sing this kind of song". So I always improved. It was never discouraging – they never told me "you don't have what it takes". In my first audition, they actually called my mom. They told her that they wanted to keep seeing me audition and develop. It was very promising from the get-go.
Once you signed with JYP, what happened next?
I auditioned for a reality show with JYP that they held with the TV network SBS. And after the show, which ran for about four and a half months, I signed with JYP and trained for four years there. I ended my contract with them in freshman year of college, and then had a one year phase of legal problems.
I went to a company that had a fake project they involved me and their investors in – this company was fooling both sides. I got out of it safely without any issues, but it took a year. During that year I was pursued by a lot of companies and ended up at Kakao M. I was supposed to be in a girl group, but they changed that plan, and wanted me to be a soloist instead – but that didn't work out. I thought I was going to quit altogether, but the day after I ended things with Kakao M, CJ E&M contacted me and gave me a really good deal. But the company dissolved from a scandal, so it never happened.
After that ended, I pursued musical theater. I think word got out that I didn't make it. Not because of something I did, but because of a lot of misfortunes that took place. Many people that I came to know during my trainee time felt bad for what happened, and I think they wanted to help me out. But each and every attempt didn't realize as we hoped. So gradually, I switched to travel writing as my full-time job.
What did those trainee days look like for you?
It depends what stage you're in during the process. If you're just starting out, you'll do the basic vocal and dancing lessons. If they want you to take acting classes or language skills, they'll give you a fuller schedule. If you're in the debut stage, you'll have photoshoots and meetings with potential investors or shows that you'll go on. It's a lot more hectic – there's recordings, choreography, wardrobe fittings.
At every company I had to do all the stuff you have to do just before debut. It was fun and weird at the same time, because it's like I almost did debut. I went through the whole entire process right before the actual day. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I can put it behind me. I have no curiosity around what goes on.
And what was the moment you knew you had to leave?
I had to leave Mnet because the whole company broke down from a plagiarism scandal. Every employee had to be let go. I remember the day when everyone got the news. Lee Hyori was releasing her fourth album, while I was recording my first, with this one producer. But they had apparently copied all the songs – and went to jail for it. Nobody knew and someone had to take the blame, so the top people got fired.
Of course Hyori was devastated because her album was just released. And I was recording my first, and they had to tell me that this company would not exist anymore and they had to let me go. The repercussions of this were very big. At that point I had been training for like a decade. I had to face that fact that it was not going to happen, after all of this. After everybody's hard work, my hard work. It was at that point I realized, this is not going to happen for me.
All these difficult things happened to me, over a long time. It came to a point where I had to reassess if this is all worth it. Are you willing to be this miserable, this let down, this disappointed for God knows how much more? That's the main reason I put a stop to it. I think that's the reason I don't regret it. I'm not in that place anymore.
Do you think you'd still want to make your own music?
I enjoy writing lyrics for other singers. I love being in the studio – sometimes I'll do chorus vocals, or direct the vocals when recording is going on. I also love doing YouTube covers for my channel. But I am not driven to make my own music for now.
As a writer, I'm considered young, which is funny. Whenever I go anywhere, they're always like "this young writer". It was awkward, because I'm so used to being referred to as the oldest trainee, because I was the most veteran. In the publication sector, though, I'm young! So that's new. But I think K-Pop has gotten a lot more generous with age.
Is there a song you're particularly proud of writing?
I'm just starting out as a lyricist, so I'm still very embarrassed with all my work so far! [laughs] I'm always like, I should have or could have done better. My best is still yet to come, I think.
This is a bit of a shift, but I need to ask. I heard a rumor that you're Kim Bum's (Boys Over Flowers) cousin. Is that true?
Oh, yes!
How does that change your relationship with Korean media? Does that change it at all?
No, not really – he's kind of similar to me in the way that we don't really talk about work in detail. He'll ask like, "how's it going?" and I'll say, "yeah, you know". And I'll ask, "how's it going?" and he'll say, "yeah, you know". We would never gossip or anything. It doesn't change a lot and he acts like him in front of me. So it's weird when I see his fans, because I remember, oh right, you're a celebrity! Totally forgot. He's down to earth with his people.
He will tell me from time to time that he thinks it's a good idea that I didn't work in the industry. It's a lot harder for women.
Is that something you experienced?
Yes, definitely. But it is like that in every other industry. I feel that women have a tougher time in any industry – writing included. If I were a guy, I'd have an easier time.
I didn't feel it as a trainee. It was harsh and difficult for everybody. You have to be a great singer, a great dancer, you have to look a certain way. They weren't lenient with the guys either, in that way. Quantity-wise, there's fiercer competition among girls. More girls want to be in the industry than guys, so the ratio would be a lot tougher for girls.
Do you think you felt that at all? Especially since groups live together in dorms!
Yes, when I was preparing for the girl group, I lived with the members.
That's gotta be interesting.
Did you ever have to corral your members in?
Nope. We actually had a woman manager live with us. So she took care of that! She took care of all the stuff. I didn't have to do any of that.
Sometimes the manager would check a member's phone, the member would get upset, and I would console her. So I was good, and the bad guy was her!
I also heard you lived with IU.
Back when I was living with the members, IU also lived with us! It was the girl group and IU and the manager. So when the group disbanded, all the members left, and we (IU, the manager and me) moved to a place behind the company building. It was very different because I don't really chitchat. Your training is so tiring that when you get back, you just pass out. So we hardly spoke! We'd just go, [croaking] "hi", and "going to bed, bye".
You were a trainee for such a long time. You must have seen so many things in this time. How do you feel like the industry has shifted from when you began and when you decided to leave?
It's definitely easier for people to get their foot in the door – it's so much easier. I think it's a positive thing for the industry and potential trainees. They have a greater pool of talent to pick from, and trainees have a lot more ways to reveal themselves.
The fact that K-Pop has gotten so global is very encouraging for future singers. They get to dream bigger. The training process is also a lot more disclosed than before – they know what to expect. So the bad companies don't have that much room to cheat or trick you anymore. There's more formalized and standard contracts, so you won't get trapped into a bad contract. Things are a lot more transparent.
I also think the industry is dealing with mental health a lot better than before, because they didn't do anything about it before. They didn't have a concept on what it was. Now people are speaking up and dealing with it better, but not enough. They're not spectacular at it, but it's better.
What does K-Pop mean to you?
Finding out who I am throughout my trainee years has helped me. I realized that I work better in situations where I can call the shots. I'm a lot happier when I make decisions that affect me. Everyone thinks that the end result of training should be your album. So they think I didn't get anything out of all that time. But everything I've learned about myself has made me a better writer – it's shaped how I see things and make decisions in my life.
K-Pop used to be everything for me. Now, it's one of the things that I do. I used to be in a love-hate relationship with K-Pop, but now I'm in a mutually happy relationship. I think it's better. It's a lot less intense. And it's something I don't have any regrets about. K-Pop and I are in a good place right now. What I hope for K-Pop is that it brings more happiness than unhappiness for everybody.
***
You can follow more of Gina Maeng's content on her YouTube channel.   BTS Reveals Video Teasers For Upcoming Single "Butter," And 5 More K-Pop Headlines You Need To Read BRB, watching Ten and Lisa dance to "Kick Back" together for the hundredth time...  A K-Pop Idol Hopeful Opened Up About Why She Walked Away From It All  It's Time To Test Your BTS Knowledge With This Super Hard Quiz 👨🎤 Even More K-Pop 👩🎤  We Had ITZY Rank Their Own Songs, And You'll Never Guess Which Was The Winner  BTS Announces New Single "Butter," And 5 More K-Pop Headlines You Need To Read  Jackson Wang Performs On "The Late Late Show," And 5 Other K-Pop Headlines You Need To Know  Blackpink's Rosé Performs On "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," And 5 Other K-Pop Headlines You Need To Know  These Are The 6 K-Pop Headlines You Need To Know From This Week  Kai Collabs With Gucci On New Capsule Collection, And 5 Other K-Pop Headlines You Need To Know
|
Gina Maeng Talks Her JYP Trainee Years, Thoughts on the Industry + more
May 07, 2021
0
Tags
