Does putting an age limit for training or debuting members in KPOP industry unfair or clever?

Korea is too obsessed with age in general. They act like it's a sin to reach 30.

Quote from Otaku124

Korea is too obsessed with age in general. They act like it's a sin to reach 30.

for females definiately but i think less issue with males reaching 30

Mentally and physically, debuting as an idol or even a trainee at a young age is has more disadvantages than advantages.

Yes the kids will be able to reach perfection at a young age, but his childhood will be really different from other kids.

And the "yes but they chose it" is kinda cruel, because kids are lured by fame at a young age but dont understand all consequences it implies.

In my opinion trainees under 14/15 shouldn't be allowed with a certain degree of maturity and idols. should debut at 19/20. I don't want to see kids and want to see women and men that can be strong enough in the entertainment industry.

If I take NCT DREAM : they debuted at a very young age and the youngest (Jisung) even had years of training/acting before, same like Jeno. Mark and Haechan already debuted at 15/16 as idols, (Haechan as always be very smart and mature), Chenle already was a professional singer. They all were pre promoted with the smrookies Mickey Mouse show, and today they the most popular NCT unit in SK, but it was a very risky move from SM.

They set limits and they said the boys will only promote one time in year and still going to school (what happened)

they grew together and they have a strong bond. But Jisung mentioned several times he has no friends outside NCT. They work since they 15.

Its like child actors or athletes. I think its too extreme to begin too young. 20 is def a good age to debut because 7 years contract : 27 and then go to military.

Quote from Semirhage

I definitely think there should be age limits, no one below the age of 16 should debut and I think no trainees below the age of 14. 14/15 is just too young to debut, the workload is massive.

^^^^^

They don't have time to develop.

I honestly think debuting at around 20 is better than 14. If you look at Chungha, is prime example of someone who debuted at 20 in a group and solo at 21. Irene is still doing quite well for her age too (minus recent controversy). I think debuting that bit later gives them time to finish school and hone their skills. I hate seeing young ones who are constantly criticized for their talents or lack there of because they debuted too early

I think it's okay because I feel like when adults get a certain age their stamina and energy decreases. I think 14-15 is a good age to be a trainee since you have more time and you could be in the industry longer ig...

Companies are always gonna take in the younger ones so long as there is is enough competition.

I don't see an issue with debuting at 16 if the idol isn't sexualised by the company, nor do I see an issue with an idol promoting after 30 like tvxq .

Debuting and training younger people is going to to give the companies a great deal of advantages, but not so many to the actual idols/trainees. Minors should definitely not be debuting and people younger than 16 should not be permitted to sign any contract with an company because they lack agency.

Boy groups are always gonna start at younger age since they have military, they should have at least their first contract up until they enlist to get a stable fanbase.

My problem with training is that should be limited for a fixed number of years and companies shouldn't get super young trainees knowing that they won't debut them anywhere close, better take their phone number let them get older and start training later, like i don' get why they get 8-10 years old trainees only to let them train for 10 years when they can wait for a few years and let them train for 5 years, worst is when they don't even debut (SM's Koeun is a good example, trained 10 years, give up on school and even ended out not debuting, that must suck, left SM at 20 years old, girl better be rich).

Quote from freakyfantasy

there's advantages and disadvantages. While some regulations should be put into place, it wouldn't be fair that idols don't get to debut until older, while you have child actors working since they're in diapers.

They should, however, be some rules such as fewer working hours, ensuring they get proper sleep and some real education etc. It's baffling in a way that if an underaged person wants a job, they have all these serious restrictions, but they don't apply if that job is in entertainment.

Right, I agree but no company will do this unless it’s mandated by the government. Those horrible contracts ended because the government got involved not because they felt guilty. So it seems even less possible.

I think 16 is good to debut imo

for BG it is obvious cause they need to enlist.

For GG, it is harsh but korean seems to be bias when comes to age. So the older you are, the less people you appeal to. So i guess companies have no choice but to take the younger trainee

Plus like someone said up there, the younger you are the more time you can have to earn money.

it's not unfair or clever, there is nothing wrong or bad wth debuting a 13 year old or a 32 year old artist as long as it's done the right way

for me nobody below the age of 18 should debut. you can train while focusing on school and then make your debut - the kpop industry is too harmful for children

I might be an idol right now if the cutoff age wasn't so young, especially for girls. But i do think the age is kinda smart because of the youthful image most companies go after. As much as the rule may suck, it's basically the whole premise of the industry so