For these two young ladies, they have been performing all-day long. With dark circles around their eyes, a tiring slump, and exhausted faces, it became quickly apparent these two have not gotten much rest. In fact, their appearance on the popular music show, Music Bank, is their third showing today. Most Korean pop (K-pop) singers do only one performance a day, yet these two starlets were hard at work promoting their new single, “Ma Boy”.

The two girls of Sistar19, Hyo-rin and Bora, always knew the rigors of the K-pop industry. Perhaps after their third performance of “Ma Boy”, the fans also got a glimpse. The two ladies of Sistar’s subgroup were clearly off key.

Commentators and fans alike noted that throughout the song, Hyorin’s voice cracked. Missed notes, forced pitches, and shorter verses filled the air in its place. What was once a beautiful, powerful voice turned into a hoarse, dry croak instead.

“Hyorin and Bora really need to sleep and rest,” one Korean fan noted after the performance.

“Hyorin-unni must feel really sick right now,” chimed another female fan.

“Why are they doing three shows in a row,” a third fan expressed.

Only after their performance did the two singers get their rest. After all, they sure deserved it.

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Welcome to the “Behind the K-pop Scenes” series. In part 2, we’ll be exploring what it’s like to be a K-pop star. As exciting and thrilling as it is to be a K-pop celeb, there are also aspects the fans don’t see. We’ll examine the truths and not-so pretty details of being a Korean singing celebrity. Let’s go behind the scenes and see what really is going on backstage.

Large hoodies, black hats, black shades, and a big jacket. These are just some of the accessories K-pop stars use to avoid both the media and the general public when going out. Using cover nearby and moving around quietly, these celebs sure have a funny way of navigating through Korea. For these singers, the simple task of walking through town soon becomes difficult.

If the Japanese ninja was the pinnacle of stealth and not being detected, the modern K-pop star could be the 21st century’s version of the famed assassin. Only in this case, their job is not to assassinate, but to go unnoticed to meet their friends.

The question begs: why do Korean celebrities go out of their way to go unnoticed? Imagine hundreds of screaming fans never leaving you alone, nor giving you peace. This dilemma is further magnified when the little free time away from training, concerts, and traveling is spent on doing your best impersonation of James Bond or Metal Gear Solid. If you feel it’s a bit tiring after awhile, you’re one step closer to understanding the life of a star.

One of the aspects of being a K-pop star is nearly everyone is a fan. Fans naturally follow and take pictures of their favorite singers. As anyone could imagine, this makes living a normal life hard for the singers. Technology doesn’t help either. With technology becoming sleeker each year, any person can turn their iPhone into a camera or camcorder with a flip of a switch.

Thus, the saying “you are now being watch” definitely has new meaning as a K-pop star. When they’re about to dig into that waffle, *snap*, a picture is taken. When they’re about to enter a building, *snap*, a photo from an iPhone is snapped. When they’re talking to their friends, *snap*, a picture is shot. These pictures are then quickly uploaded to a blog, Youtube, or a magazine for the whole world to see. To say that these stars have little privacy in public is putting it nicely.

From Big Bang and 2PM to T-ara and 4Minute, all of them have had to go incognito at some point to see their friends. Many of these singers actually do not frequent the trendy coffee places and restaurants too often. Being at such a public place would blow their cover. Rather, they go to hole-in-the-wall eateries, mom and pop restaurants, and hidden locales to meet with friends.

Performing in front of thousands of fans in concert was hard enough. Avoiding these same fans to live a normal life makes K-popping even more difficult.

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