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| Li Yitong Reveals She Was Once Scouted to Become a K-pop Idol — Twice, Actually |
Chinese actress Li Yitong has dropped a surprising bit of her past, revealing that she was once approached by talent scouts from two of Korea’s biggest entertainment companies — long before she ever considered a career in the spotlight.
Speaking about her school days at Shenzhen Art School, the now 35-year-old actress said she was first discovered in what seemed like an ordinary moment on campus. According to her, a scout walked right up to her and made an offer that sounded dramatic even by K-pop trainee standards.
“The scout chose me and wanted me to sign for ten years,” she recalled. Instead of feeling thrilled, she felt nothing close to excitement. Her mother reacted even more bluntly, immediately suspecting something was off.
Li quoted her mum saying, “Aiyah, this is definitely a scam. They’ll lure you over there and then something bad will happen.”
Her family dismissed the recruitment as unbelievable, and to be fair, Li Yitong herself wasn’t exactly dreaming of stardom back then.
She said she had “no dream to enter showbiz”, so the idea of moving abroad as a teen trainee simply didn’t register for her.
The scout reportedly told her that The Grace, the girl group under SM Entertainment, needed a Chinese member and that she would be able to debut quickly.
Instead of tempting her, the offer had the opposite effect.
“That didn’t entice me at all but made me very perturbed,” she said, describing how surreal it felt for a schoolgirl to be given such a promise.
The Coincidence That Confirmed Everything
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| Li Yitong Shares Wild Story of Being Approached by SM and JYP Before She Even Wanted to Join Showbiz |
Years later, after entering the Beijing Dance Academy, fate decided to run a second lap.
While arriving at the school gates one day, she suddenly recognised a familiar face. It was the same scout — this time recruiting for JYP Entertainment.
“It was already four or five years later,” she said, admitting she almost couldn’t believe her eyes.
This time, she wasn’t approached, but the encounter confirmed one thing: the scout had been genuine all along.
In fact, according to other accounts she shared, SM Entertainment had reached out to her again around 2010, extending another trainee offer.
Even then, she remained firm, choosing to focus on her studies instead of chasing an overseas entertainment career.
No Regrets, No Second Thoughts
So, did turning down SM and JYP ever haunt her? Not in the slightest.
Li Yitong said simply, “Every person, every step, there’s a plan and purpose. All good choices.”
Looking at her career now — from breakout roles to becoming one of the most recognisable faces in Chinese dramas — it’s hard to argue otherwise.
She may have missed out on debuting in a K-pop girl group, but the path she chose shaped the actress fans know today.
Her early story also sheds light on something many viewers don’t realise: before she took on acting full-time, she was a dedicated dance student with little interest in fame. Becoming an actress wasn’t part of her youthful ambition — it became the route that suited her most naturally.
Source: Weibo/LINE Today