Apink member Park Cho-rong laid bare the tense, high-pressure reality of her trainee days, revealing harsh weekly weigh-ins and a survival-style evaluation system. On BTOB member Lee Chang-sub’s YouTube channel, she and Highlight’s Son Dong-woon backed up the story with their own experiences from Cube Entertainment.
In a recent video on Lee Chang-sub’s channel featuring Park Cho-rong and Son Dong-woon as guests, the trio looked back on their time as Cube Entertainment trainees.
They said life revolved around a cycle of weekly and month-end evaluations. Park recalled, "We had evaluations every weekend, and separate month-end evaluations," adding, "I was constantly on edge." Lee explained, "Weekly evaluations were to check your practice progress, while the month-end evaluation basically decided whether you’d keep going or not."
The strict weight-control standards also raised eyebrows. Park said, "We weighed in every Monday," and Son agreed, "Trainees were always being checked." Lee added, "I was about 80 kg (~176 lb) when I joined and dropped to 60 kg (~132 lb)," sharing that he lost around 20 kg (~44 lb).
Lee further explained, "For female trainees, the target was the low-40 kg range (~88–99 lb), and for males, the mid-60 kg range (~143 lb). If you were tall, men could be allowed in the low-70 kg (~154–165 lb)."
Park also remembered one especially painful moment. "When the weight wouldn’t drop, my dance teacher warned me, 'Higher-ups are saying it’s getting dangerous,'" she said. "After hearing that, I remember sobbing while running on the treadmill in the practice room," she revealed, a heartbreaking memory that struck a chord.