Ladies’ Code Ashley Choi Reveals The Harsh Reality Of Being A K-Pop Idol

It was very different from what she thought!

In the latest episode of DIVE Studios Get Real podcast, Ladies’ Code‘s Ashley Choi spoke about how her expectations compared to the reality of being a K-Pop idol.

| DIVE Studios/YouTube

During the podcast, Ashley shared that she had many ideas about what to expect when she started training to be an idol at CUBE Entertainment. Yet, after being there for a year, she worried whether she would even be able to debut.

They didn’t have any plans to debut a girl group anytime soon. I wasn’t even sure if I would be in that one because everyone else was so much younger than me.

— Ashley Choi

It has become more common recently to have idol groups debut at a much younger age. Ashley remembered how she was one of the oldest trainees, born in 1991. Aside from one other trainee born in ’93, the rest of the trainees were born in ’96 and ’97.

Ashley then recalled how she felt when Polaris Entertainment wanted to take her to their own company. The agency already knew that they wanted to debut a new girl group, and Ashley was so relieved hearing the news she would finally debut.

When she arrived at the company, it was just starting out. Because of this, her initial experience was unique.

They treated me like family. In the beginning, we went out to eat and drink every day, and we barely practised. It was so much fun.

— Ashley Choi

Ashley went on to say that this should’ve been a “red flag.” When Ladies’ Code first debuted, she thought, “We’re going to make money and, we’re going to live in nice houses.

After their debut, she experienced the real life of an idol, saying, “It was just, no sleep, working every single day, and not even being able to eat. Just feeling tired all the time and being on auto-pilot mode.”

I didn’t know it was going to be like that!

— Ashley Choi

Fellow host Leah Kim added how all of her friends back home would get so excited at the opportunities she had. Although she was so grateful for the messages, she added that, in reality, it was a completely different experience.

You can watch the whole clip below!