Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment has long been jokingly referred to by fans as a company that values "visuals above all," and even dubbed "the Field of Flowers Company" because of the consistently high appearance standards of its artists. However, a recent response from an SM executive on a variety program addressed this longstanding perception, as she revealed the actual standards for selecting trainees, leaving many netizens exclaiming, "Turns out it’s even more ruthless than we imagined."
On the Korean variety show "You Quiz On The Block," Director of SM's Artist Development Center Yoon Hee-jun revealed that they receive around 150,000 applications each year from hopefuls aspiring to become trainees. After multiple rounds of screening, the number of people who actually become official trainees averages out to only about 13 each year. This means the acceptance rate is about 0.00867%—almost literally one in ten thousand.
Regarding the widely circulated belief that "SM only picks good-looking people," Yoon Hee-jun also directly denied it. She stated that the company has no set standard or formula specifically for appearance internally, and has even heard of some people not daring to apply due to such rumors, which she finds very unfortunate.
What SM truly values actually has nothing to do with looks—there are two qualities even more important than appearance. Yoon Hee-jun stated that when selecting trainees, "potential for growth" is seen as most important, followed by "tenacity." In other words, the company is more concerned with whether newcomers can continually improve in the future and whether they have the will to endure long-term training and competition.
Source: United Daily News