Highlights
- Ahn Hyo-seop, who voices Jinu in Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters," called his time as a JYP Entertainment trainee a "stain" on his life in a YouTube interview on the "Fairy Jaehyung" channel.
- The Korean-Canadian actor said he was cut from the program because he struggled with dancing, and that letting down his father was the hardest part of the experience.
- After leaving JYP, Ahn built a career in K-dramas including "Still 17," "Dr. Romantic 2" and "Business Proposal" before voicing Jinu in the Oscar-winning animated film, which Netflix says is its most-watched movie ever with 518.2 million views through December 2025.
Ahn Hyo-seop, the Korean-Canadian actor who voices Jinu in Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters," has described his time as a JYP Entertainment trainee as a "stain" on his life, in a YouTube interview that has drawn fresh attention to how the K-pop training system shapes the careers of those who pass through it.
The remarks were made on the channel "Fairy Jaehyung" and reported by pop-culture outlet Resonate. Ahn, who was scouted while living in Canada, has spoken only sparingly about the JYP chapter in the years since.
In the interview, Ahn said he was eventually cut from the program. "Of course, I was cut because I wasn't good enough," he said, adding that he would have made the same decision in the company's position. He told the interviewer that singing felt like a skill he could improve, but that dancing did not come to him in the same way. The hardest moment, he said, was facing his father, who had supported the move to Korea. "I felt like I had let him down," Ahn said.
JYP Entertainment is one of the four largest K-pop agencies, alongside HYBE, SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment. The four companies, often grouped as the "Big Four," recently filed plans with South Korea's Fair Trade Commission to form a joint-venture festival, according to The Korea Herald. JYP's trainee program, like those of its rivals, is known for low acceptance rates and years-long contracts that begin in the teens.
Ahn Hyo Seop: From rejected K-pop trainee to Oscar-winning Netflix voice actor
Ahn pivoted to acting after leaving the agency. He won early notice in the 2017 MBC miniseries "Queen of the Ring" and the 2018 SBS drama "Still 17," in which he co-starred with Shin Hye-sun and Yang Se-jong. The role earned him the Best New Actor award at the 2018 SBS Drama Awards. Lead parts followed in "Abyss" (2019), "Dr. Romantic 2" (2020), "Lovers of the Red Sky" (2021) and the romantic comedy "Business Proposal" (2022), opposite Kim Se-jeong. He returned to medical drama with "Dr. Romantic 3" in 2023 and to Korean television this year in SBS's "Sold Out on You."
In a separate part of the same YouTube appearance, Ahn said he believes his English-language scenes in "Business Proposal" helped him land the voice role of Jinu, leader of the fictional Saja Boys, in "KPop Demon Hunters." The film, produced by Sony Pictures Animation and released by Netflix on June 20, 2025, became the streamer's most-watched film ever, recording 518.2 million views through December 2025, according to Deadline. At the 2026 Academy Awards in March, it won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for "Golden," the first K-pop song to take an Oscar. Netflix has confirmed a sequel, though no cast has been announced; the production team has indicated it intends to retain the original principals.
Ahn told the interviewer he can now talk about the JYP period without difficulty. "I know it was an incredibly valuable experience," he said.
