K-pop is one of the main calling cards of South Korea. Stars, or idols, win the hearts of fans not only in their homeland, but throughout the world. But the path to success is incredibly difficult. And girls and boys even have to leave school if they want to become famous. CNN writes about this.

Seven girls sit in a room waiting for their name to be called. They are all young, slim and beautiful, between the ages of 14 and 20, with shiny hair and flawless skin..

They're about to find out which one of them will make it into South Korea's newest K-pop group, a dream shared by countless young talents across the country and increasingly around the world as the multibillion-dollar industry rapidly gains popularity around the world.

But it's a long and grueling path to get to this room.. The girls spent months or years learning to sing, dance and rap - all while following complex exercise and diet regimens.

Some abandoned formal education or moved hundreds of kilometers away from their families. And in the fast-paced world of K-pop, where stars become popular at a young age and groups often disband after just a few years, some girls feel this is their only chance.

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CNN's Ken La got exclusive access to MZMC's final week of training ahead of the group's first-ever launch for a documentary.

MZMC founder and CEO Paul Thompson, an American who has written and produced hundreds of K-pop songs, estimates they held thousands of auditions before selecting about 30 girls as official trainees, of which only seven now remain.

The rest either dropped out or were dismissed during a monthly assessment that checked whether trainees were progressing quickly enough.

These exceptions are the norm in the vast K-pop machine, which stands out among the world's music industries in the scale of its artist development and production programs.. Agencies don't just train and cast stars—they dictate their schedules, prepare their public debuts, manage their media appearances and concerts, encourage online interaction with fans, and even control many aspects of the stars' personal lives..

The United States once had a similar version of this system at Motown, where the label scouted young talent in the 1960s and 1970s and trained them to perform.. But it disappeared "

But it's thriving in South Korea - MZMC is a relatively small company. Thompson estimates that larger labels could sign hundreds of trainees before cutting them down to final selection.

One of these seven girls in MZMC is Brittney Jung, a quiet 20-year-old who grew up in the US and then returned to her homeland of South Korea to pursue her K-pop dreams.. The eldest of the trainees, she seemed confident in her chances of making it to the final five - perhaps because she knew what was at stake.

For girls, every day starts with two hours in the gym before the whole day? classes, including vocal and dance lessons. Younger members, like 14-year-old Livon Kim, attend half a day of regular school before jumping right into training, which can last until midnight.

Some don't even live with their families, but rather stay in dormitories, like 17-year-old Rana Koga from Japan, the only non-Korean trainee.

The pressure can be unrelenting, with close attention to their appearance as well as their skills. This partly reflects South Korean culture, where rigid beauty standards traditionally value fair skin, a slender physique and hyper-feminine features.. Plastic surgery procedures such as double eyelid surgery are so common that they are often offered to teenagers as graduation gifts from their parents..

Beauty standards are even higher for K-pop stars.

" Nobody wants to idolize someone who reminds them of yourself. You want to look up to someone and say, “I want to be like that person.”. Look how flawless and perfect he is," Also, girls and boys are mercilessly excluded from K-pop applicants if they are overweight. South Korean showbiz is constantly criticized for this, but to no avail..

" I developed a very unhealthy habit of just starving myself... I was 16, I didn't know what to do,"

Min, another independent singer who was formerly part of the K-pop group Miss A, said that weighing around 45 kilograms is considered the standard weight for a female idol..

These expectations shape the daily lives of MZMC trainees, who closely monitor their intake and weight.

" It's a little difficult,"

But she is ready to make these sacrifices. And Paul Thompson says the agency measures trainees' BMI twice a month.. "

He also stressed that the agency does not force trainees to undergo plastic surgery, saying that it values \u200b\u200btheir musical talents first.. But girls are ready to change their appearance if it helps them get through.

Even when the group is finally formed and makes its public debut, the pressure continues. On the contrary, rates are rising.

According to Unhee Kim, MZMC's casting director, of all the groups that debut in a saturated market, less than 1% reach the level of global fame set by now-famous names like BTS or Blackpink.

And popularity imposes its limitations. Ardent fans of famous groups often study the appearance, performances and personal lives of the members. Smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs may ruin the career of a South Korean musician.

This even applies to dating.. Angry fans speak out against artists who advertise their relationships. Last year, K-pop singer Karina of girl group Aespa had to post a handwritten apology online after confirming her relationship with the actor, prompting fans to threaten " After just a few weeks the relationship ended.

This phenomenon is partly due to the fact that the industry is built around fans, who typically make charitable donations on behalf of celebrities or pay for independent advertising promoting tours or albums. But this extreme loyalty also means that artists and agencies are closely tied to the demands and desires of fans.

" If you're going to do these things (dating or drinking) when you're older, you'll have to keep it private,"

In recent years, some agencies have relaxed their rules after a string of high-profile deaths highlighted the serious toll it takes on idols' mental health..

Despite the enormous pressure that comes with the job, it remains a lifelong dream for many aspiring stars as the industry evolves.

Since breaking into the US with Psy's 2012 hit " K-pop has always been one of South Korea's biggest cultural exports, and that influence has only grown as other best-selling titles, from K-dramas to K-beauty, sweep the world in what's known as the "

As a result, out of seven girls who sat in the reception area of \u200b\u200bthe MZMC company, five passed. They formed the group VVS, named after a rare type of diamond, which will debut in 2025.

Let us remember that Focus previously wrote about how the South Korean idol Jongwon, a member of the group ENHYPEN, was covered with mourning wreaths. Fans thus expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that the young man dared to start a relationship.