Young K-Pop Stars Get Worked To The Bone

• Seth Meyers to replace Jimmy Fallon as 'Late Night' host
• Libya: BP workers withdrawn over security concerns
• Giant sinkhole near San Francisco swallows homes as families evacuate

SEOUL, South Korea — This week, a famous K-pop star in South Korea got all teary-eyed on television, talking about the 11 years she spent preparing for her career.

But it wasn't a misty-eyed nostalgia that overcame Lee Hwan Hee, otherwise known as Fwaney, a former trainee from the South Korean girls group Girls' Generation. Rather, it was recalling the long hours and grueling rehearsals that filled her adolescent years. 

This little nugget of news touches on a shady and under-reported facet of South Korean society: the practice of (gang-connected) old entertainment executives recruiting cute 10-year-old girls and boys, and training them for years — sometimes more than a decade — to join K-Pop groups.

The road to becoming a K-pop star is indeed arduous. For many adolescents, it means giving up your teenage years — and often, your education — for the pursuit of celebrity and glamour.

Watch ABC's documentary about K-pop bootcamps:

This story was originally published by GlobalPost.