K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee is a great book for any K-Pop fan or newbie. I am one of those newbies, I haven’t really listened to it before because of the language difference but the passion and artistic achievement described in this book made me want to!

Now we start with ou protagonist, Candace, your average Korean-American girl who has a hidden K-pop obsession. I was a bit confused as to why it was hidden. I guess it’s the instinctive not wanting to join the popular crowd who are obsessed with K-pop or maybe she didn’t want to be stereotypical. Anyway, she still is interested enough to audition for the worldwide search for the next big Kpop sensation. Her video goes viral and she gets chosen to join the rest of the competitors at the talent studio in Seoul. Her parents are intially hesitant because they are aware of the intense scruity and unattainable expectations which goes to tell you what this book will mainly be about.

And it goes all in. The double standards between female and male idols with females having much more intense scruity with their looks, their weight, their talent and of course, their love life. I hadn’t known that those celebrities were essentially forbidden from dating because then they’d be “unavailable to the fans” and they belong to them. Which is just. . wow. Okay, intense. There’s also the double standards of how they are expected to act as a star. You can’t be so competitive and demand to be the center all the time or you’re considered a brat but if you don’t strive to it, they accuse you of being lazy. You just can’t seem to win here.

It also places Candace as the underdog, not only as one of the few Korean-Americans but way behind in skill/talent compared to others who are born and bred under the studio system.Literally, some started at four years old so they come with superior dance skills, PR know how and the determination to win the spot to become K-pop’s newest girl group. Honestly, with how educated the other girls were, I was surprised that Candace hadn’t gotten kicked out sooner when she couldn’t perform the dance and committed several cultural faux pas but you know, YA suspension of disbelief.

But I very much enjoyed the supporting characters like Binna who was the dance leader who filled the team mom role (literally each girl in K-Pop groups have to fufill a certain role) and had dedicated ten years of her life to this so I was really rooting for her to win. There was Helena the mean girl who had her hidden depths as these books are wont to do but I can’t spoil.

There’s also a bit of a love triangle with Candace discreetly bonding with a male trainee, YoungBae, who encourages her through the rougher parts of the constant abuse, rejection and standards that the trainers enforce on them. He and Candace made good friends, and I always believe friendships make one of the best romances. Then there is the current K-pop idol and one of the judges, OneJ whom Candence (and the rest of the world) has a crush on which. . .well let’s say there’s drama.

So while there’s some parts that struck me as unrealistic, it’s fast paced and has that reality tv drama that makes it addictive to read and find out more even if I don’t know the genre that well. Plus it ends on a cliffhanger that threatens to change the world of K-pop forever and compell you to read the next book, K-Pop Revolution.