Stray Kids’ Bangchan Reveals Experience of Violence During Trainee Days

Stray Kids’ Bangchan is facing backlash after a heartbreaking confession about his trainee days at JYP Entertainment.

The controversy began when Bangchan opened up on a fan communication platform about his 15th anniversary with JYP. He revealed he was “surprised by the culture difference” when he first joined the company. Shockingly, Bangchan admitted,

“I remember I got hit a lot.”

He also shared that he was scolded frequently “for nothing.”

The most painful part? Bangchan never told his parents about this abuse while he was a trainee. It was only recently that he opened up to them, leaving his parents in tears.

Fans quickly reacted with outrage, condemning JYP Entertainment for what they see as abusive treatment of a child.

“abuse is not culture difference…he was literally a baby like jyp and everyone who did this deserve to dai idc, no wonder his parents were in tears…” — @namchanhyung

“hitting a 13 year old boy who was multiple hours away from home in a different country just trying to prove himself as a hard working artist worthy of debuting…. everyone involved will suffer..” — @YfwbbS

“a child being hit repeatedly, scolded for no reason and feeling too afraid to tell his parents is NOT “just part of training” he was in a Completly different country and had to endure that alone..this is exactly why this kind of environment needs to be called out not excused” — @seungdling

“the kpop industry is so fucked up give me a bazooka right now he was just a kid” — @rachaflex

As the situation unfolded, many fans expressed concern that Bangchan may have normalized the abuse. Despite his pain, he appeared to defend the company, possibly due to manipulation or grooming.

“if i say that it was obvious that he was groomed that’s why he felt the need to defend his company because he was manipulated to think he owes everything to that company but some of y’all wouldn’t like that” — @minchanbliss

“some of u really need to educate yourselves on how grooming works before speaking idk” — @snoopyunnie

“this is why sometimes i took what he said about the company with caution because he’s been there since he was a child…as you’re growing up you realize so many things. you start to question things and see them as they really are. and so much of this realization happens in your…” — @hyvnjinaslove

Bangchan’s confession has sparked a wider debate about child abuse in the K-pop industry and how agencies often get away with it under the guise of “training.”

“we don’t criticise Kpop companies enough, hiring literal children, manipulating them into thinking hitting em, starving em is normal, to the point where they grow up to be blaming themselves for everything. they shape their whole lives make them dependent. then when the times…” — @witch1vy

“child abuse is so normalised in kpop, companies manipulating literal children into thinking abuse is fine, a prime example of being groomed, of child exploitation and mental & physical abuse… yall should talk more about real issues within the industry instead of your stupid fws” — @HYJ97s

Bangchan’s painful revelation has fans demanding accountability and shining a harsh light on the darker side of K-pop trainee life.