EPISODE PREMIERES SUNDAY, JANUARY 5 AT 8PM ET/PT
NEW YORK, NY – (January 2, 2025) – The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, winner of 5 Emmy Awards including 2024’s Best Recorded News Program, returns with an in-depth look at the unusual star-making K-Pop industry in South Korea. “K-Pop: A Star is Made” with CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent Kyung Lah premieres Sunday, January 5 at 8pm ET/PT on CNN.
K-Pop idol bands have fan bases all over the globe, hugely popular musicians and songs originating from South Korea. But these bands are molded and created in a way unlike anything else in the music industry. Aspiring young stars take on rigorous vocal, dance and fitness training from early morning to late at night, some even leaving school and living in dorms away from their families. In “K-Pop: A Star is Made” Lah embeds in the strenuous training process of seven aspiring K-Pop stars in a small studio in the heart of Seoul, South Korea when they are just one week away from auditioning for the studio’s premiere idol group.
“As a Korean American growing up in Chicago, I never imagined my native language would be streamed across platforms in the US as a multi-billion-dollar industry,” said Lah. “It still shocks me to this day. What I wanted CNN’s audience is to see and experience how this happened, through the intimacy of the struggle of the K-pop trainees you’ll meet in our hour. They’re more than perfect young men and women of the TikTok era — they’re utterly human, some as young as 14, and as vulnerable as the young fans who listen to them.”
The episode features interviews with Amber Liu, Megan Moon and Min who talk about the global impact of this explosive industry, which also comes with international scrutiny for its stars. Lah also speaks with the trainees about the pressure to maintain a certain appearance, and how extreme dieting and plastic surgery are common amongst K-Pop hopefuls.
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper is executive produced by Susan Chun.
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps on Sunday, January 5. “K-Pop: A Star is Made” will also be available on demand beginning Monday, January 6 to pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps, and Cable Operator Platforms. Past episodes of The Whole Story are available to stream on demand now on Max.
The Whole Story is also available as a CNN Audio showcast. Visit CNN.com/audio or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
