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PODCAST

Mission K-Pop

Caty Szeto is a woman with a dream: to become a K-Pop superstar. The 23-year-old Asian American is traveling from her home in LA to South Korea’s capital Seoul to attend a K-Pop academy. There she’ll do hardcore training in singing, dancing and styling. All this is to prepare for make-or-break auditions for K-Pop agencies like SM Entertainment, Big Hit Music and YG Entertainment. If she makes it, Caty could become a chart-topping idol like the megastars who perform to legions of fans and make

arts performing arts

All Episodes

39:49

Hope Torture

Mission K-Pop ·

2025/11/24

Caty finishes her three months in Seoul and prepares to return home to LA. She faces one final hurdle as her academy surprises her with a last-minute evaluation. So far, Caty hasn’t passed any auditions to become a trainee at a K-Pop entertainment agency. Caty’s wondering if she should continue pursuing K-Pop stardom at all. Haeryun meets Caty in California to ruminate over what’s holding her back and what she should do with her future. Consultant: Suk-Young Kim

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36:44

Lift the Curtain

Mission K-Pop ·

2025/11/10

Despite many try-outs, Caty isn’t passing auditions to become a trainee at a K-Pop entertainment agency. Haeryun doesn’t know exactly why. She’s never been allowed to go into an audition room to actually see how Caty performs. Finally, Haeryun receives permission to watch and record one of Caty’s auditions. She also scores an interview with someone who holds Caty’s fate in their hands: a casting director.Consultant: Suk-Young Kim

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41:59

Foreign Idol

Mission K-Pop ·

2025/10/27

While K-Pop has been embraced all over the world, it’s still difficult for foreigners to find their place in the industry. Caty speaks Korean well, but struggles with communication at times. Haeryun wonders if this is getting in the way of her being cast by a K-Pop entertainment agency. Then again, there are very successful foreigners in the industry like Lisa in Blackpink. In order to determine Caty’s place as an Asian-American in K-Pop, Haeryun traces the origins of the genre from Seoul’s

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42:36

The Age Old Question

Mission K-Pop ·

2025/10/20

Caty’s psyched to have her first audition for a K-Pop entertainment agency.But before she can even step foot into the audition room, she’s told she’s too old to try out. Caty’s 23 years old in an industry that prefers to cast people as teenagers. Haeryun investigates where K-Pop’s obsession with youth comes from by following the story of BoA who made her debut at 13 years old. Haeryun also looks at the pressures on young idols through the tragic story of Sulli. Then, Haeryun meets the

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35:13

What is a K-Pop Academy?

Mission K-Pop ·

2025/10/13

Welcome to the academy. Our host, journalist Haeryun Kang, follows Caty as she gets acquainted with K-Pop Art School, an incubator for aspiring K-Pop idols. Early on, Caty hears warnings about the demands of the industry that has left a trail of burned-out trainees in its path. Staff at the school are also keen to remind the students about the level of competition in K-Pop. Very few people actually reach the heights of K-Pop stardom. Caty attends a dance class that might tell her if she has

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39:49

How do you Become a K-Pop Star?

Mission K-Pop ·

2025/10/13

Caty Szeto has a mission. She wants to be a K-Pop idol.Caty’s always been into performing, especially dancing. But as an Asian American, Caty found it hard to see representation in the entertainment industry. That was, until she found K-Pop as a teenager through the band BigBang. Since then, she’s dreamed of being one of those sleek and talented idols (think BTS, Girls’ Generation, EXO) in a genre that's had worldwide success. But she’s so far from K-Pop superstardom. So Caty’s about to

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