On the 17th of April, rookie girl group GWSN's company KIWIPOP released an official statement regarding the girl's appearance in the documentary 'Ewout & de keiharde wereld van de K-pop (Ewout & the tough Kpop world)' which was aired on Dutch national television on the 16th of April.
In the documentary, host Ewout went to a GWSN fan sign where he interviewed the girls. He asked member Seryeong whether she had any plastic surgery done and asked the girls about their diets and scandals. He also interrupted the members' their time with their fans by asking these kind of questions while they were talking to their fans.
The agency responded to the aired footage by revealing the production team originally told them they wanted to capture rising Kpop star GWSN's activities. To this, KIWIPOP agreed. They, however, did not permit the production team to enter the fansign.
They also weren't contacted about the use of footage, after the production team promised them they would discuss with the agency which scenes they could use, but KIWIPOP revealed the documentary was aired without them being contacted after the shoot.
You can check out the documentary teasers with translations below.
"But this industry also has a very different side: exploitation, plastic surgery and even suicide."
"The pressure on the often young stars is high. They work non-stop and constantsly have to pay attention to their weight, with all it's consequences. And a little reconstruction for a real Kpop look is more of a rule then an exception. Still, thousands of teenagers would want nothing more then becoming Kpop stars."
"I'm here in Seoul, in the heart of the Kpop industry, to discover the story behind Kpop and I follow the Dutch Anouk who dreams of breaking through in South Korea."
A second teaser was posted on the official homepage of the television channel, in which the host interviewed former Bob Girls members Migyo.
"Where the trainers also strict on what you eat?"
"They weren't with me, but the other members did have trouble with their weight. There was a lot of attention to what they ate. It was very stressful. Every morning we would have to get on a scale. If you were heavier then you were supposed to be, you weren't allowed to eat for the rest fo the day."
"How did you feel about going to the weightstation every day?"
"'Do I have to do this?''Why am I doing this?'"
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A friend of mine told me about this. She lives there and it aired on tv. She's furious and I agree. This was beyond rude and tacky. It's one thing to report on the downsides and struggles but it's another to treat a group the way this guy did. He invaded other places and even filmed rookies without their consent or knowledge. Anyone that watches this is no better than saesangs and paparazzi. This was an invasion of privacy.