THE REALITY AND FACT OF KPOP HAIR AND MAKE UP STYLIST (DARK TRUTH)

Fans love seeing their idols dressed in larger than life stage costumes, but most of the time they have no idea who is responsible for creating the iconic looks. A study conducted by the Seoul branch of the Korean Women Workers’ Association regarding the working conditions of assistant stylists revealed harsh truths about the industry. For eg. Kim Balko has designed pieces of 4Minute and Epik High, like this custom hat from Epik High’s “Don’t Hate Me” MV and has worked with big companies like YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment numerous time

More than 80% of 203 surveyed reported that they are paid less than $1,000 USD a month; 93.1% worked more than 8 hours a day, and 40.7% worked more than 12; 93.6% of the surveyed were women; 78.3% were between the ages of 20 and 25. The summary: some women in their early 20’s are working more than 8 hours a day, sometimes 7 days a week, and not making $1000 USD a month

After over eight years of curating the looks of K-pop fashion icon Girls' Generation, stylist Seo Soo-kyung is often called the ninth member of the group for her family-like bond and history with the members.

Since her initial engagement with the sensational girl group for its third full-length album "The Boys" in 2011, Seo has evolved side by side with Girls' Generation to become a super-stylist who now has an impressive portfolio highlighted by partnerships with global stars Psy and Seventeen.

The assistant stylist’s job is made difficult by the physical demands of the job. An assistant stylist must pick up pieces from brands/sponsors or fashion houses and also return them on a daily basis. Considering how a single actor or an idol may require 5~6 pieces per scene/event on a daily basis, that’s many pounds of clothes.

On top of the physical labor, more hurdles await. She has to consider what the particular actor/idol might like, dislike, and what the brand/sponsor might want her to pick up.

Some who work with idols are paid $300 to $500 a month and are on a non-official 24/7 call, having to pick up clothes for not just official events but also for the idols’ personal outings, etc.

Seo has been so busy these days that she barely has time for food, she said during the interview, while shoveling salad into her mouth.

Despite her success and fame, Seo highlighted that structural problems in the industry are major hindrances for those seeking to build a stylist career in Korea.

According to Seo, local TV stations are at the centre of major problems, as K-pop agencies and their artists do not make much money from being featured on TV shows.

"It's a vicious cycle. K-pop artists and people working with them such as stylists and managers are usually lowly paid, as K-pop agencies, including Girls' Generation's agency S.M. Entertainment, don't get paid much from working with TV stations," Seo said.

Seo revealed that stylists earn almost nothing after the money goes to artists first. Most of the time, they are treated poorly by both K-pop agencies and TV stations.

"We work day and night for our artists, but we don't get what we deserve from both sides. So most of our revenues come from outside of the industry, such as shooting ads. And people from advertisement complain that we stylists ask for too much money. What else can we do? We don't get paid from our main field," she explained.

When Seo first started working, she wasn't paid for her job either. It took her three months to earn 300,000 won ($265) a month, she said.

The current working conditions are maintained by an two factors; A) the influx of aspiring stylists who hope one day to become full time stylists and heads of fashion brands; and B) the non-contractual, person-to-person relationships that often get these aspiring stylists to land a job in the first place.