[SBS Star] 5 Girl Group Members Who Trained More Than 5 Years Before Debut

Being a K-pop artist means many things―sacrificing one's youth, going through a tough training, and giving up on other career path.

Unless they are one of the lucky few, most of the trainees have to go through years of training to get a step closer to their dream even though there is no guarantee or a certain promise that all their hard work will pay off.

For this reason, some trainees seek a way out during their training and make an attempt to go back to their old life since sacrificing one's youth for something so unstable is not an easy task.

But there are few celebrities who managed to beat all the odds and succeeded in blossoming as beautiful, talented artists.

Let's take a closer look at each of their inspiring stories.

1. SEOLA of WJSN
K-pop girl group WJSN's member SEOLA has gone through the longest time of training (10 years) among all members.

SEOLA constantly made an effort to get her name out there as an artist before debut by starring in many singers' music videos such as K-pop boy group BOYFRIEND, and Korean rapper Mad Clown.
In one episode of MBC's variety show 'King of Mask Singer', SEOLA revealed, "Even though I was a trainee for a long time, I don't have any regrets because I've learned a lot."

2. SOWON of GFRIEND
SOWON, a member of K-pop girl group GFRIEND who has an amazing singing skills went through five years of training.

When GFRIEND made appearance at MBC FM4U's radio show 'Kim Shin-young's Music Party', SOWON said, "I was a trainee for five years. It was horrible. But now that I made my debut, I think I could go back. But it was awful back then."
Luckily, SOWON garnered the public's attention after making her debut as a member of GFRIEND back in 2015.

3. JIHYO of TWICE
TWICE's member JIHYO also spent 10 years training to be a member of K-pop girl group.

In one episode of JTBC's variety show 'Package tour', JIHYO confessed that she almost give up on her dreams after a decade of training.
JIHYO said, "It was before TWICE. When I was just about to make my debut, the whole plan just fell apart. Back then, I didn't even want to be a celebrity anymore. So I didn't go to work for a while."

4. SEULGI of Red Velvet
SEULGI first started her training back in 2007 after joining her management agency SM Entertainment through an audition.

Before she made her debut as a member of Red Velvet in 2014, SEULGI said that she learned how to sing, dance, and even speak other languages during her seven years of training.
When she made a guest appearance at JTBC's variety show 'Let's Eat Dinner Together', SEULGI said, "The hardest part about being a trainee was dealing with my insecurities. I thought to myself, 'I've been doing this since I was in 7th grade. What can I do if I failed to make my debut?'"

5. JENNIE of BLACKPINK
K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's member JENNIE revealed that she has done six years of training at her management agency YG Entertainment.

During an interview with the press, JENNIE mentioned her experience as a trainee and explained how those years shaped her life and became a valuable asset.
JENNIE said, "I thought to myself that I got stronger after six years of training. At first, I couldn't even imagine an opportunity like this. I want to do this right so all those years don't go to waste."

(Kang Eunbee, Credit= MBC, JTBC, SBS funE, 'jennierubyjane' 'seola_s' Instagram, 'GFRDofficial' Twitter, 'JYPETWICE' Facebook)

(SBS Star)