K-Pop — Entry No. 0362
오디션
audition · noun
오디션
audition
[oh-DI-shon]
nounbeginner
Meaning
A competitive tryout where aspiring performers showcase singing, dancing, and stage presence before an agency panel or survival show judges. In Korean entertainment, 오디션 culture is inseparable from the trainee-to-debut pipeline that produces nearly every K-Pop group.
K-Pop & K-Drama Context
Mnet’s Produce 101 (2016) revolutionized the 오디션 format by letting the public vote to assemble the final group, producing I.O.I and then Wanna One. HYBE’s I-Land (2020) introduced a globally broadcast 오디션 with documentary-style storytelling that debuted ENHYPEN. Mnet’s Boys Planet (2023) used the same public-voting structure to launch ZEROBASEONE, cementing survival 오디션 shows as K-Pop’s primary star-making machinery.
Example Sentences
그는 SM 오디션을 통해 연습생이 됐어.
Geu-neun SM odisyeon-eul tonghae yeonseupssaeng-i dwaesseo.
He became a trainee through the SM audition. (연습생 = trainee; passing an 오디션 earns you this title, not an immediate debut.)
오디션 프로그램에서 1위를 하면 데뷔할 수 있어.
Odisyeon peurogeulaem-eseo il-wi-reul hamyeon debut-hal su isseo.
If you place first on an audition program, you can debut. (데뷔 = debut; the ultimate goal driving every contestant.)
오디션 심사위원들이 정말 까다로워.
Odisyeon simsawieon-deul-i jeongmal kkadaro-wo.
The audition judges are really strict. (까다롭다 = picky, exacting; a near-universal fan reaction to survival show elimination rounds.)
⚠️ Don’t use audition when…
오디션 in K-Pop means an agency or survival-show tryout, not a theater or film casting call — context matters. Crucially, passing an 오디션 only makes you a trainee; it does not guarantee a debut, which can take years or may never happen.
🎵 Heard In
- K-Drama: Dream High — the central plot follows students at Kirin Art High School competing through intense 오디션 rounds and live performances to become K-Pop stars, capturing the anxiety and hope of the real process.
- K-Pop: ENHYPEN — Given-Taken (The group’s debut track is inseparable from I-Land’s 오디션 journey; every member’s presence on the track is the direct result of surviving that competition.)
ℹ️ Editorial Note: The cultural context and example usage are for educational reference only. Artist names, song titles, and drama references are used descriptively to illustrate vocabulary in context. This content is AI-assisted and reviewed for accuracy. For official information, please refer to the respective artists’ or studios’ official channels.