HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – From “Squid Game” to Gangnam Style to the BTS Army, the “Korean Wave” has reached the shores of Hawaii — a phrase used to describe the global success of Korean music, beauty, content and culture.
And while Korean stars are almost always from Korea — one Hawaii teen got the chance of a lifetime.
In 2005, 16-year-old Bekah Kim was approached by a Korean talent scout at a church volleyball game in Honolulu and asked her to audition for a new K-pop girl group.
“I was super shy,” she recalled during an interview in her Kakaako home. “I love to dance, but I was like a secret dancer.”
At the time, K-pop wasn’t that big in the United States, but Kim jumped at the opportunity.
She got the gig and began training in South Korea during her school breaks until she graduated from Moanalua High School.
In 2009, she made her big debut as part of After School, the first girl group from Korean company Pledis Entertainment, now owned by Hybe Corp., which manages BTS.
“The concept was basically like a school, you have new students, and then you can also graduate,” she said. “Originally I was the rapper, the main rapper of the group.”
For nearly 3 years, Kim lived the idol lifestyle – performing, meeting fans and training.
“Four to eight hours, maybe 10-12, depending. So it’s demanding physically, and sometimes you have a schedule right after that. So it’s a 24/7 life,” she said.
She said media executives managed every aspect of the singers’ lives. Kim recalls being taken to a plastic surgeon to discuss ways her appearance could be “improved.”
Luckily, she said the doctor did not recommend any surgery.
“I definitely struggled with mental health things because you’re not sleeping, you’re not eating right. I’m always dieting,” she said.
She said the singers had to get IV treatments of vitamins before big performances.
“Some of my diets were so severe that I did have to do a couple of times, I needed vitamins to go back in. That’s not the lifestyle that I liked, but at the time, I did what I thought I needed to do.”
Despite the demanding schedule and challenges, she loved every moment.
“I miss being in Korea, I miss working in Korea, because it was just, I felt like it really suited my personality and what I wanted. And so I definitely missed it and miss it still,” she said.
When asked why she left the group, Kim said it was the right time.
“I was like, super naive. I didn’t know this whole world of entertainment. And I was just like, where am I? Who am I?”
“I wasn’t going where I wanted to go. And so I just felt like okay, what is my plan B. And so at the time, I wanted to study design, and so that’s why I transitioned out,” she said. “My company threw a party for me.”
Kim said she doesn’t regret her decision to leave, but struggled with the transition back to a quiet lifestyle in Hawaii.
“I was lost, to be honest, coming back from that fast paced life, and coming back home. I wasn’t used to it. So I just kind of wander a little bit,” she said.
“Sometimes I forget I did that and then some people would be like, I’m at the doctor’s office, and someone will be like, are you Bekah from After School? And I’m not gonna lie. So I’m like, yes, yes, I am.”
While a Hawaii-born member was novel in 2009, Korean media executives say they are casting more foreign talent.
“Previously, the members were usually from an Asian country, however these days, we are trying to recruit the members from other than Asia,” said Young-ju Ok, vice president of music at CJ ENM, through an interpreter.
CJ ENM is a major media and entertainment company in South Korea that produces music, shows and films like the 2019 Oscar-winning film “Parasite.”
HNN got a peek into the K-content business during a press tour of CJ ENM in South Korea.
To minimize the need for on-location shoots, the company built a massive multi-production facility with cutting edge technology in Paju, about 23 miles north of Seoul.
One virtual production studio has an impressive 1,000-inch screen wall that has up to 32K resolution, one of the highest in the industry.
CJ ENM is also known for its live music shows, Korean culture festivals and K-pop concerts, such as KCON LA, which it hosts in partnership with iHeart Media.
Media executives say K-pop resonates with music fans across the globe for its interesting combination of genres and ability to connect with people from all walks of life.
“K-pop can overcome that language barrier,” Ok said. “It’s about visual auditory, it’s things such as dance and style. So that is the reason why it is beloved by many countries around the world.”
Hawaii entrepreneurs are cashing in on the popularity of K-culture — Beauty Touch’s owner Anna Lim says demand is high for K-pop merchandise and Korean products.
More than a decade since leaving stardom, Kim is a government finance analyst.
She returned to Korea to perform in an After School reunion special in 2021 which rekindled her love for the stage.
Now that K-pop’s mainstream, Kim says she’s ready to get back into the spotlight, starting with social media and hopefully to TV or film.
“It’s a way of therapy for me to and to connect with people that I’ve kind of left hanging,” she said.
And those signature moves? Harder than they look for the average person.
But second nature to Kim who’s graduated from After School — and ready for new school.
View more episodes of HNN’s special series “Focus on Korea” here.
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