K-Pop Stars Expose The Reality Of Idol Income

Two K-Pop stars shared the economic reality of idols, revealing the truth hidden behind their glamorous image. On October 16th, a video titled “‘If you’re in Dal Shabet, people think you own a house’… A girl group asking for concern for celebrities too” was uploaded on the YouTube channel. When asked if she received profit distribution during her Dal Shabet days, Serri revealed, “I didn’t receive any profit distribution until my third year.” She continued, “Since I was the leader, I held my members’ hands and went to the CEO saying, ‘Please give us our payment.’ After that, they started paying us little by little.” Cao Lu, originally from the group Fiestar, said, “We didn’t get any profit distribution until our contracts ended,” expressing regret, “I was the eldest, and I think I should have been more assertive. I should have held the members’ hands and gone with them.” Serri recalled, “Back then, unless you were with a major agency, profit distribution just didn’t happen.” Both agreed there’s a gap between the public’s perception of idols’ income and reality. Cao Lu said, “People say, ‘Idols make a lot of money,’ ‘You don’t have to worry about celebrities,’ but honestly, only the ...