Korea has quite a conservative culture in general, at least from what I observed whilst travelling there. Great respect is placed upon manners, traditions and respecting elders. It is still a Christian society at its core, even if majority atheist nowadays. There are liberal attitudes to some things (legal termination of pregnancy, for example) but attitudes towards other issues, especially any sort of LGBTQ rights are majority frowned upon, despite protest from the younger generations. I can imagine this disregard is only made worse in the scandal-avoidant industry.
It is this rather strict culture that makes me wonder if it is difficult to adjust to for foreigners.
For example, Thai idols. I know that Thailand is by no means a perfectly progressive liberal country, nor is Korea some ultra-conservative traditional state. However, I do think the markedly different attitudes on LGBTQ+ people must be difficult to adjust to. It can be assumed that Thai idols enter training camps and suddenly get told that this thing they have seen as normal their whole life is actually a massive taboo.
To expand, 10% of Thai people openly identify as LGBTQ+ in some form in 2025. With this in mind, it is unlikely that a Thai trainee would not have been friends / acquaintances with at least one person who was part of this group, especially in major cities with large populations of young people. I can’t imagine the turmoil of suddenly being told that this (potentially close) person’s identity is something to be wary – if not downright ashamed – of. That’s got to mess with your head, especially as a teenager.
This doesn’t just apply to Thai trainees though. Many Kpop idols, even if ethnically Korean, were raised in countries like Canada and Australia. I’m not going to say that homophobia doesn’t exist in these countries (it most definitely does) but I would argue that the attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people are a lot more relaxed overall. Two women kissing in public would barely cause a blink for most people in these countries, disregarding a small extreme minority. In Korea, it would be completely shocking. Same-sex couples can also get married in these countries and have protection against discrimination, whilst in Korea they have none of these things (except from a few regional restrictions).
Another thing that would be a huge adjustment would be the rigidity of manners in Korea, something I struggled with at first when visiting. There was an expectation of politeness and respect (especially to elders) that I simply never felt whilst living in the west. Although I think the respect of it all was actually very pleasant, I can imagine that it would be stressful to learn all these societal norms so quickly, particularly in a high-pressure, formal environment like a trainee camp.
Honestly, I commend idols who have moved to Korea from other countries, as they seem to assimilate very well for the most part. Whether this is due to the rigorous training, I don’t know, but as someone who struggled even moving from the UK to Canada, I have to hold a glass to them.
(This is basically just me typing my rambling ADHD thoughts out. Please delete if against community rules!)
submitted by /u/ChristmasClimber2009
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