Are Kpop idols really bound to "slave" contracts still?
Bluntly put, most of them are. On another answer, I explained that idols wont start to make any sort of income until their debt has been paid off. Most, like indentured servants, start with a lot of debt (trainee classes, food, room/board, travel costs, multiplied by the years + debut costs which include production, choreography, promotions, food, room/board, travel, and many other things too). Depending on how active the idol is in the process, how many years they trained, and how much money is put into their debut/comebacks, they can either make money fairly quickly or non at all for many years. This is the examples I gave on the other answer. iKONs B.I. began making income almost right away and technically before his actual debut in iKON. This is because he was active and was featured in some songs and because, at the time, his parents had taken care of most of his expenses. Once he debuted, he produced, compose, wrote, and made the choreo for the majority of the songs iKON has, increasing the amount of money he had. Now, in contrast, you have AOAs Jimin. When she first began participating in the writing process, she pretty much made nothing (a single US dollar). This is because her debt to her label was high and because her portion offered to the process wasnt enough to warrant anything greater. Groups/idols that do less wont get paid for a long time. So yes, they do tend to be indentured servants.