An estimated 1 million wannabe stars of K-pop, from South Korea, Japan and beyond, are hoping to get a taste of fame by competing in auditions for talent agencies, which take on a select few as trainees

Photography by Kim Hong-Ji and Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters. Reporting by Ju-min Park

Yuuka Hasumi put high school in Japan on hold and flew to South Korea in February to try to become a K-pop star, even if that meant long hours of vocal and dance training, no privacy, no boyfriend, and no phone. Hasumi, 17, joined Acopia school, a prep school in Seoul offering young people from Japan a shot at K-pop stardom, teaching them the dance moves, the songs and the language.

Yuuka Hasumi attends a Korean language class in Seoul, South Korea

Yuuka Hasumi and Ibuki Ito perform at an Acopia school party in Seoul. Below: Hasumi shops after class

Going through strict training and taking my skill to a higher level – I think that’s when it is good to make a debut

A microphone and speakers at a street performance in the Hongdae area of Seoul; Hasumi promotes her Instagram account during the performance

Yuho Wakamatsu takes photographs of Hasumi during a training session

Wakamatsu adjusts her makeup

A K-pop applicant performs at an audition in Tokyo

Nao Niitsu, from Tokyo, and other Japanese young people warm up for an audition at a park in Seoul

Nao Niitsu studies Korean in her room in Tokyo; she looks at a BTS photobook

Choosing a profile picture before her audition in Seoul

Niitsu walks through Shin-Ōkubo district, known as Tokyo’s Korea-town

My training has to reach a point where my coaches and management company say: ‘Miyu, you are a professional!’

Miyu Takeuchi sings during a training session in Seoul