i ask myself this everyday. back then sm wasnt especially known for being sh1tty, just a couple scandals here and there and tvxq members leaving which sparked hate but didnt ruin the entire rep, but after exo, fx, superjunior, and snsd falling apart (not entirely, but losing members)+ all the other scandals from other groups i dont see why anyone WANTS to go there
i dont rmbr if it was an sm idol but i do rmbr an idol saying they were stalked by the agency for like a year until they finally gave in and decided to become an idol. yikes, im starting to think this is why sm still even has trainees cuz literally which sane person sees a slave contract and says "yeah i love me some of that"