As SNS is famous among the MZ Generation, entertainment agencies are also using it to look for talents
The first example of Instagram DM casting is Wonbin, a member of SM’s newly debuted boy group RIIZE. He is known to be visual member in the group. After getting cast through DM, Wonbin went from Ulsan to Seoul to start his trainee days. It is said that he had trained under SM since 2019 and received many compliments from training team staff for both singing and dancing skills.
Sion from NCT Tokyo unit, another group under SM, also received a casting offer through DM and successfully grabbed the opportunity. When Sion got cast through DM, he was living in Mokpo. At that time, Sion refused the offer because he felt burdened about living in Seoul and skipping classes because of the audition. However, the casting manager reportedly went to Mokpo to persuade him. Sion has wrapped up his four years as a trainee and is about to make his debut as the oldest member of the new NCT unit.
The most successful idol among those who got cast through SNS is aespa member Karina.
Back then, Karina was an Instagram hot star with many followers. At first, she got a casting call via DM but did not believe that the person who texted her was a casting manager. It was only after Karina received the casting manager’s business card that she decided to take a camera test. However, Karina was put in a difficult situation as the casting manager quit their job. Fortunately, another SM employee contacted her through DM again so Karina successfully became an SM trainee. In short, she was actually cast by SM through DM twice.
Considering the current trend of young people using social media to promote themselves, discovering talents has become much easier for entertainment agencies.
Source: Daum
