The short answer is the company/managers/staff. They’re the ones dealing with the logistics of their schedule, and that frees up a lot of time compared to if a regular person tried to do as much and had to arrange everything themselves. There’s also the concept of “mental load” which adults feel when they’re very busy and having to schedule and remember all the things they need to get done— just the act of having to think and remember it all can be physically exhausting, and the idols also have less of this to deal with.

Of course the idols are super hardworking as well and often sacrifice sleep, downtime, etc during comebacks and other busy seasons… they also get exhausted and stressed and all of that. This isn’t to discredit their hard work by any means! Just keep in mind that a lot of their regular adult responsibilities are taken care of (in whole or in part) by company staff.

I think most people would be surprised by what they can accomplish when their life is literally laid out in front of them and they're basically ferried from place to place to execute whatever is next on the agenda.

Obviously it still requires them to put in the effort and energy to do the actual thing that's in front of them so all credit for that, but their situation is definitely not the same as if you and I had to set out to do the same amount of stuff in a day or a week, when in addition to doing the stuff we would also have to figure out how it was all gonna fit together logistically and make sure nothing gets fucked. They do save a lot of energy and headache not having to deal with that aspect of their lives to the same extent as a normal person.

They all work extremely hard but also it helps not having to worry about paying bills, doing laundry, going out for groceries, not having to make their own food, cleaning their home, planning out their schedules as their staff manages it all for them.

Celebrities are known for having higher chances of anxiety. They don't have it all as well as you think. Most of them have breakdowns and probably have a lot of dark thoughts.

That said, being rich helps cut off the mundane parts of life like doing laundry, fixing your calendar, cleaning your place, doing grocery, scheduling appointments, even skincare— someone always does it for you. All you have to do is show up.

They're extremely busy during comebacks (and even then have a lot of downtime during music shows) but they also have a lot of downtime between comebacks especially when they don't have individual schedules/gigs, hence being able to do so many things. Also some idols are quite used to busy schedules since their trainee/student days and are able to cram as much as possible in a day.

In terms of days when they are not promoting the girls reasently said that they don't have to wake up early. We still have 2 of them in school however, I think they only attend when they have to but theoretically they go in the mornings when they don't promote. I think because there are 9 of them that they all follow individual schedules. Some may have to go and record, some have a appointment at a beauty salon. They also take individual lessons in singing and lessons in Japanese when they are preparing. The girls haven't been out of a promotion or touring cycle at all this year so they are always in rehearsals. When they learn choreography it's always taught on one day and then I think they spend another 2/3 sessions synchronising. You can see from the YoY TV that none of them are as happy with the choreo as they want to be when they shoot. For DTNA they didn't even know the whole thing when they shot the video. So I reckon a daily schedule when not promoting goes:

7/8:00am - school or beauty appointment, song writing in the hair salon (Jihyo said she did this)

11:00am - recording studio individualy

2:00pm -6:00pm - learn choreography

6:00 - 9:00pm - practice choreography or singing lesson or language lesson

9:00pm - 12:00am - personal time, maybe go out to eat with friends or go for a bike ride or go to the gym. Maybe chill at the dorm.

eat sleep dance repeat

I think it’d be pretty difficult to pinpoint a daily schedule for Twice (and for other K-Pop artists in general) just by virtue of there being a variety of different events, tv appearances, filmings, photo shoots that they do. For example, their schedule probably involves a lot of early mornings and sleepless nights during Korean comeback promotions because a lot of these music shows do pre-recording at 3am or something and they have to do makeup 4 hours in advance. If magazines want them to do a photo shoot, they’ll fit that in the schedule. If they have performances, they’ll fit that in the schedule too. Their schedule revolves around whatever jobs they have at the moment. There were times during Cheer Up promotions, for example, where they didn’t sleep for 2 days and still had to go to a variety show. And unbeknownst to the fans, they are also probably preparing for the next album (i.e. jacket shooting, MV filming, recording, choreography practice). I think they get the occasional day off here and there when time allows, and they have a few days off every now and then to visit friends and family. But it’s certainly no 9-5!

There's probably various reasons why, but I bet the time (and energy) commitment is why a bunch of senior idols (Onew and Taeyeon, for example) have chosen to not promote on music shows. I know fans want to see it... and obviously, I wouldn't say no to seeing it either... but I totally get why they may choose not to go. It takes up the whole day, it doesn't give you as much visibility as it used to in the past, and it's exhausting.

At risk of being whataboutism guy, it's like that in entertainment buisness all over the globe, hardly limited to idol. I can't personallly ever see myself even working as a staff member in that field, but apparently there is enough willing people to keep it rolling.

EDIT ooops double negative.

In the broader context, Koreans in general work extremely hard and have long hours. Even if they choose a more normal job, they might still be worked to the bone.

humans can be passionate about stuff and dedicate themselves to it, it's not everyone, but it's not uncommon too.

think actors for example, saw an interview with David Corenswet (new superman) and he said he spent TEN HOURS in his costume, hanging by wires in his trunks shooting flying scenes. For pirates of the Caribbean they spent the whole day in water, feeling cold and wet. Lord of the Rings, hours putting on make up and prosthetics to them climb a mountain in the snow to shoot. Why would anyone want to be an actor?

or an athlete who has to train every day, including holidays and weekends, while minding their diets for whole years for competitions they know their best shot is coming 20th, why would people want to be athletes?

or compare to people who play instruments for 12+ hours a day cause they love it, authors who spend weeks sleeping 3, 4 hours a day to write what they want before inspiration leaves, ballerinas who stay in the studio all day and then have performances at night, normal people who get home after working the whole day and still go through the night reading or playing games... I could go on and on, but I think the why you talk about is a much deeper question on psychology and biology of humanity, why and how do humans endure so much for what they want? Why do some of us even like these strenuous conditions? Why some humans simply don't and give up as soon as it gets hard? etc and etc

thanks lol

I think one thing people need to understand is work culture in South Korea. This schedule isn’t limited to idols.

Most young graduates in Korea work as unpaid or poorly paid interns for between 1-3 years minimum. They often get up early and finish work extremely late.

It’s almost impossible to take time off work for holidays or personal leave and if they complain they are criticised and told that they are the issue.

It’s part of the problem with regard to the birth rate.

The bigger issue is that retirement can be imposed and it’s legal to move older staff members to lesser paying roles despite their experience or time with the company. So many have to save from a young age for retirement.

It’s also widely accepted that many young people will never be able to own property these days.

Being an idol is hard and difficult but it’s a gamble that could pay not only for your future but your families too.

Too many people comment on Korean culture and life without ever truly understanding the culture and the history of why it is how it is.

People forget that until the mid nineties South Korea was extremely poor and still to this day this has left a huge impact on its society.

Being an idol isn’t something I would choose for myself but I would never look down on someone for trying.

From watching different people's vlogs, I think the majority of people in the entertainment industry tend to be night owls, or that is the easier schedule to maintain during off time that matches their working hours.

Yes, they work long hours, but having midnight or 3 am start times doesn't mean that they aren't sleeping. Instead of work starting at 8/9 am it can start at 2/3 pm, i.e. swing shift.

It's actually a entertainment industry thing in general. If there is a scene being shot in the morning, usually the set prep starts at 2-3 AM, the actors arrive at 3-4 AM. Hair and makeup for 1-2 hours and they have to start by 6-7 AM. This is an example of a quite tight schedule.

and when concerts happen. Normally ends at around 10 PM. By the time they get to the hotel, remove makeup, unwind, have dinner, calm down from the adrenaline from the show and sleep it gets really late as well.

With music shows where there is hours and hours of waiting time, idols get up around 3 am as well.

It’s not particular to idols. If you’re filming on location, you have to work when the conditions are right and you can get a permit. I used to work in an area of New York where a lot of stuff was filmed, and there’d be crews out at all times of the day and night. The same is true for musicians. Most groups don’t have the money and know how to do professional quality recordings on their own, so they have to go in whenever their schedules align with the studio’s schedule. If the studio is in demand and you’re not a top group that can convince them to clear their schedule, that can be some odd hours.

To add to what others have said: music show filming happens at night because they pre-record the performance and then do it again later in the day live. When you have lots of groups pre-recording then you have no choice but to have a schedule like that. This is the same for award shows

Recording music for albums is usually at night because they’re filming other content in the day (ads, YouTube content, dance practice)

Also filming outside happens at night because of filming permits and the lack of studio houses. Seoul is densely populated and there is a lack of Hollywood type production houses where you can build a set that big or just shut down a street to film a scene like they do in NYC.

And finally, because Seoul has a lot of traffic, they usually have idols traveling at night time to avoid the traffic and crowds.

This is normal for most of entertainment. I had call times like that all the time when I worked in film and television, whether I was in front of the camera or behind it. For the music shows, pre-taping is in the morning. They have to be there hours ahead for hair, makeup, etc and some people are going to get the earliest pretape time slot because they can't all have the later ones. For music videos or other filming that may be outside, lighting matters. If you're filming daytime, you arrive before sunrise so you can be Camara ready as soon as the sun is up. If you're filming nighttime, you will be arriving in the afternoon so you can be camera ready when it's dark and filming likely all night. This has nothing to do with Korea. Entertainment Jobs are just rarely 9-5.

Nayeon's year so far has been insanely packed

1. World Tour
2. Japanese Album
3. Korean Album
4. Solo Album
5. Solo Promotions + Group Promotions
6. Magazine + Ad Photoshoots
7. Brand Ambassador Duties

Im pretty sure IVE Wonyoung had busiest months among all idols. So lately:

1. Many CF shots
2. Many magazine shots
3. Group had japanese and korean comebacks
4. She is MC on Music Bank so she cant skip it each Friday
5. Group did lots of uni festival stages
6. TMA award
7. 2 times flew to Europe because she is ambassador of miumiu and Fred.
8. Had random appearances on some tv shows
9. Tons offline and online fansigns

(G)I-dle Soyeon. She basically has to be all work, no play.

I mean she is basically the creative director of her group, the executive producer and has her "normal" idol job. Not to mention she is really booked with ads and stuff the last month.

Bang chan does not sleep. He basically just lives in studio and meeting rooms I imagine.

Wonyoung lately. It's insane how many things she's filming and doing amongst the constant music promotions

i don't really watch them so idk if that's exactly what you're looking for, but seems like a lot of super junior members have vlogs from schedules on their personal youtube channels.. like from concerts, oversees schedules etc.

NCT! They’ve done two relay cam series where a different member has the camera for an hour or two and shows you what they’re up to. It… means you have to watch Doyoung be like just super sleepy for ten minutes when he got assigned that like 4AM slot though lol.

They also have a lot of footage of behind the scenes of recording sessions, MV shoots, music show dressing rooms etc.

Here’s NCT Daily’s YouTube page.

Girl Group tripleS have daily vlogs (AS IN EVERY DAY) where you can watch what they did for the day (if they're only in their home) or when there's schedules

If you want to see a bunch of the daily routines kind of thing check out the show The Manager. It gives you a lot of look into just the normal routine of idols from the managers' perspectives. Here's a clip from one episode to give you an idea.

Most groups also tend to have a channel that shows behind the scenes of photoshoots, performances, etc besides their company channel.

In particular, Wonho is very much a vlogger and likes to take his fans on his day to day routines quite often whether through his YT channel(s) Ohhoho or his vlives.

Depends on the idol, their company, and how serious they try to keep up with school.

A lot of Idols use whatever free time they have to study/do school work. Fromis_9’s Jiheon was known for being a hard working student even with how busy she was with idol stuff. She did a study with me video that became popular, and you could see her during Music Show behind the scenes videos of her studying. Even during car rides.

tripleS has a lot of members still going to school. In their recent music video behind the scenes they would film their scenes early in the morning and then go to school with their makeup and outfits they had on for the shoot.

They often have tutors. Some may drop out of high school as it is not compulsory.

And not only high school but there are some very popular and busy idols that also went and got both undergrad and master's degrees at university. G-Dragon and Taeyang got both undergrad and graduate University degrees while juggling multiple tours and album releases (solo and group). So it is possible. I am sure there are more, I just don't have names.

They usually don't really. Most attend art high school where they have far lax schedule and rules which grant them graduation even if they miss like half of the school program.

i always assume they do online classes; the last time i googled most of BTS attended a type of cyber university for their bachelors/masters

I think it depends on the company and the kind of schedules the idol has.

For the ones I follow, if theres no schedule, they tend to attend school in the day and dance/singing practice at night.

If they have schedules, then they'll not attend school on those days that are booked. They probably have to catch up but I've seen them studying during the downtime during the music show days as there tends to be a long amount of downtime.

But yea it's tough to be an idol student as imo being a student is still their number one priority and hopefully companies will see it this way and let them attend school as much as possible.

Edit: Most of them probably attend an arts high school so the curriculum is probably not as intense as a normal high school.

Please I would have been dragging my butt to bed after a long day of training.

thank you 4 this!! im auditioning for jyp soon!