Yoon Bok-hee Had a 'No Pregnancy' Clause at Age 7. S.E.S. Wore Trash Bags to Sneak Out.

A KBS Joy variety segment that aired July 31 pulled back the curtain on some of the strangest and most restrictive contract clauses in Korean pop history, drawing on firsthand accounts from artists who lived under them.

The show, 20th Century Hit Song, revisits the golden age of Korean pop with guests from the era. Last week's episode focused on the fine print behind the music, and what that fine print reveals is not pretty.

Yoon Bok-hee carried one of the episode's most affecting stories. She joined the Korean Kittens at age seven and performed on international stages while still a child. Her overseas performance contract, the show disclosed, included an explicit clause prohibiting pregnancy and childbirth, written in to prevent any disruption to the touring schedule. When Yoon married at twenty, she discovered she was pregnant and, bound by that clause, made a decision she has since described with deep regret. The episode noted that she has since dedicated herself to children's performance events as a form of atonement, participating whenever the opportunity arises.

The clause is a stark illustration of how little personal autonomy even the biggest stars of that era were expected to retain.

Kim Jong-min of the group Coyote got a lighter but still revealing story. When he joined as a visual member following the departure of Cha Seung-min, his agency issued what the show called a "speech ban" and a "no-smiling order," evidently trying to protect a cool, silent image. The strategy did not hold. Kim Jong-min's naturally scattered, candid personality surfaced on variety programs anyway, and rather than sinking him, it made him a fan favorite. He went on to win the KBS Entertainment Award, which is about as public a vindication as Korean television offers.

Big Mama, the vocal quartet known for prioritizing raw singing ability over image, operated under a verbal agreement that banned both cosmetic surgery and dieting. The reasoning was practical: the agency worried that crash diets would alter the members' voices or drain their stamina, two things far more valuable to the group's identity than any change in appearance. It is one of the few clauses from that era that reads as protective rather than punitive.

The twin duo Lyang Hyun Lyang Ha worked under a contract with producer Park Jin-young that split revenues 50/50, and added an unusual academic condition: schoolwork could not be neglected regardless of schedule demands. If a performance commitment forced an early departure from school, private tutoring had to fill the gap. Both members graduated on time.

S.E.S. provided the episode's most memorable image. The group operated under a strict no-leaving-the-dorm policy, and members reportedly responded by cutting eyeholes into black plastic bags and pulling them over their heads to slip out undetected. A manager caught them anyway. Security staff assigned to the group were also contractually forbidden from holding private conversations with the members or any physical contact. The episode added one more detail: leader Bada was the only member with a mobile phone, and male idols hoping to get in contact with member Eugene reportedly had to go through her first.