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 Blackpink’s Jennie Kim or NewJeans’ Haerin who travel the world, perform to legions of fans and make millions. But this quest has its challenges. Caty finds out about ageism in the industry, where many new idols are in their teens. Then she comes face-to-face with incredibly specific K-beauty standards while navigating being a foreigner in K-Pop. Over just three months, our host journalist Haeryun Kang follows Caty to see if she can overcome these obstacles and reach K-Pop stardom.

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 what it takes. This is Episode 2: The Academy.

This is Mission K-Pop, the true story of one woman’s quest to become a K-Pop idol through training at a K-Pop academy.

Consultant: Suk-Young Kim

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 travel from her home in LA to Seoul to attend a K-Pop academy - a school for idol wannabes.

This is Mission K-Pop, the true story of one woman’s quest to become a K-Pop idol through training at a K-Pop academy.

Consultant: Suk-Young Kim

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 youngest and oldest students at the academy.

Consultant: Suk-Young Kim

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 underground nightclubs in the 90s to global stars like Psy and BTS. Then, both Caty and Haeryun meet the K-Pop girl group Blackswan, which is composed entirely of non-Koreans.

Consultant: Suk-Young Kim