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.

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. 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

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.

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

K-Pop idols are basically synonymous with good looks. Female K-Pop stars generally have fair skin, big eyes, small noses, egg-shaped heads and weigh less than 50 kgs or 110 lbs. Caty’s vocal coach says that if Caty wants to be a megastar, she needs to lose weight. This is no secret in K-Pop. This narrow idea of beauty shocks Haeryun. She looks at a 90s financial crash that led in part to South Korea becoming the “plastic surgery capital of the world” where it is no longer taboo to have botox, a rhinoplasty or double eyelid surgery. And Haeryun talks to the head of the academy about these toxic beauty standards.

Consultant: Suk-Young Kim

Despite many try-outs, Caty isn’t passing auditions to become a trainee at a K-Pop entertainment agency. Haeryun doesn’t know exactly why. She’s never been allowed to go into an audition room to actually see how Caty performs. Finally, Haeryun receives permission to watch and record one of Caty’s auditions. She also scores an interview with someone who holds Caty’s fate in their hands: a casting director.

Consultant: Suk-Young Kim

If Caty were cast by an entertainment agency, she’d become a trainee. That is far from the glamorous lifestyle of a K-Pop superstar. Haeryun finds out the reality of traineeship by meeting two former trainees, including one who almost made it to K-Pop megastardom in the group BTS. Along the way, Haeryun reveals what motivates Caty to continue pursuing her dream despite the constant disappointment and rejection.

Consultant: Suk-Young Kim