TXT member Soobin‘s heartbreaking confession about his gruesome trainee days has left fans fuming.

In his recent Weverse livestream, Soobin mentioned that he and his groupmate Taehyun were often hit while learning choreographies as trainees.

soobin & taehyun talking about them getting hit as trainees as a form of punishment for not dancing well

🐿️🐱💬wow i was really scared when we were practicing for this
🐰 taehyun said that it was really scary practicing for this song and it was really scary!!!
🐰 this was when… pic.twitter.com/tCcMoyFCnP

— 💬 (@translatingTXT) August 16, 2025

The TXT leader shared this painful memory with a somber air, a rarity in his live broadcasts. He recalled that when he and Taehyun were just middle schoolers, they were suddenly asked to learn difficult choreography by SEVENTEEN by themselves and perform it. Soobin added that it was when both of them had just begun dancing for a week or two.

Soobin recounted that he and Taehyun tried learning the dance by watching the video at half the speed, but were obviously not able to execute it well enough. That’s when Taehyun posted a comment on the live broadcast, revealing that they were hit during these dancing lessons.

soobin & taehyun talking about them getting hit as trainees as a form of punishment for not dancing well

🐿️🐱💬wow i was really scared when we were practicing for this
🐰 taehyun said that it was really scary practicing for this song and it was really scary!!!
🐰 this was when… pic.twitter.com/tCcMoyFCnP

— 💬 (@translatingTXT) August 16, 2025

Soobin then confessed that he and Taehyun basically learned through being hit. However, they weren’t even the ones to get the worst of it.

Soobin recounted that there were other trainees who were worse than him and Taehyun at learning choreography, and consequently, were hit more. He concluded the story by saying that the practices had changed and that corporal punishment was no longer allowed.

This heartbreaking revelation has sent shockwaves through their fanbase, inviting scathing criticism for BIGHIT MUSIC and the earlier K-Pop training structure in general.

hitting anyone is wrong – but hitting a bunch of kids who most likely were away from their family and home, who were directly under your care and your responsibility, is a level of evil that makes my blood boil. i truly hope those people have no power over anyone nowadays. https://t.co/2BcGRQ15qY

— max (@phosphoroki) August 16, 2025

They put their hands on a 13 and 15 year old who had been trainees for like two weeks OVER FUCKING CHOREO…horrible ass abusive companies https://t.co/TjrKzYEZZu

— Siobhan,✩ (@Hipployta) August 16, 2025

this is fucked up, before even kai joined bighit must’ve been like 2015, ten years ago taehyun was 13 and soobin was 14, kids getting hit by grown adults it makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it..

— ✩ (@birdofmidnights) August 16, 2025

between soobin admitting that they used to get hit AND the recent staff incompetency where they can’t even cut a fancall in which their idols are being sexually harassed, hybe/bighit staff is evil and useless and clearly have always been that way. fuck this company they will pay

— gutiepie ⭐️🍎 (@gyuetiful) August 16, 2025