Applies to Year 11/12 Debate Only: Aspiring K-pop idols, known as 'trainees', sign contracts with management agencies when the trainee is sometimes as young as 12. It can take up to ten years of training before a trainee makes their stage debut. Under most contracts, trainees and K-pop idols are required to pay back their management agencies for the cost of singing and dancing lessons, their wardrobes and living costs, among other things. As a result, K-pop idols may not make large profits.