Minors in the Idol Industry

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    I want to hear the opinions of Kpop fans when it comes to minors debuting in the industry. I'm specifically talking about Kpop Idols.


    During journal club at the university I work and research at, we were discussing child actors and how this influences their development. We've seen films where child actors need to act in violent scenes (sexual violence, war reenactments, abusive situations, etc). It wasn't the main topic; however, we brought it up because no one in our team could find a journal or article that studies this. There have been a few literature analysis, but no research.


    There's a rise of minors debuting for example, Burvey (ages 12-14 years old). And a part of me is concerned, and the other fascinated. I dug around some more and found this paper: https://koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO201320361632886.page


    Kim, B., Park, J., Hwang, J.-W., Yoo, H.-J., Kwack, Y.-S., & Bahn, G. H. (2013). How Does the Movie Affect Child Actors (Actresses) on Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory? Soa--Chʻŏngsonyŏn Chŏngsin Ŭihak = Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 24(2), 65–70. https://doi.org/10.5765/jkacap.2013.24.2.65


    One of the few literature analysis we found was from Korea (and almost the only article that's recent).


    In the article, they discussed Piaget's and Erickson's theory:


    Children start their training at a very young age which can impact their development. Now children are debuting during their adolescence where they exaggerate their thoughts and often look at themselves under constant scrutiny. Ahyeon for example, the public has been criticizing her (whether that criticism is valid or not is irrelevant). If internally adolescents are criticizing themselves, and their external world is doing the same: what happens to the adolescent?


    And another question arises:

    -Why is there a big push back against minors in Kpop but not in the acting/entertainment industry?


    As for my own thoughts:


    I do believe minors can debut in the industry. HOWEVER. THIS IS THE BIG HOWEVER. Their company needs to be good and knowledgeable. The company should not be chasing money or immediate profit. The company should have great working conditions. The company should have protocol set in place in place to protect their minor idols if the public criticizes these minors to the point of it affecting their mental health.


    The reason why I believe minors can debut is emotional--not logical or based on research. If you have a kid who has a dream, and a dream they chase and are willing to give their all to, it's difficult not to support it despite knowing how the industry is. If a teen/kid wants something, they will find a way to get it (this is a well known fact). So rather than shun that dream, I'd rather nurture it and educate them. I'd rather build them a good foundation and help them navigate that dream when the opportunity arises.

    • New

    I have nothing against minors debuting


    it's their choice and it's up to their parents to be parents and look out for their best interests if that's kpop or otherwise


    if one is interested in kpop one should do their own research (or rely on one's parents) to find out about the industry and the company one is potentially training at and the pros and cons


    When presented with a contract one should hire a lawyer to go through it and understand what one is signing up for - if you can't afford a lawyer - you can't afford to give up seven years of your life (plus trainee years) under a potential slave contract. I'm not naive enough to claim that one can do something about the contract especially if the company says take it or leave it but if you "take it" you bear the risk of it.


    I personally have two kids and I would never ever let them be a kpop trainee let alone a debutee and would do everything in my power to dissuade them but I also wouldn't prevent others from wanting to debut as a minor if they so choose

    • New

    There are a lot of talented minors who are very good at what they do. So why not give them the opportunity to showcase their talent? Although, I do think there should be good regulations/culture in the kpop companies to prevent them from being exploited.

    • New
    Quote from selfmate

    if you can't afford a lawyer - you can't afford to give up seven years of your life (plus trainee years) under a potential slave contract.

    I agree with your points and perspective! I especially love the comment you made about lawyers.

    Quote

    I personally have two kids and I would never ever let them be a kpop trainee let alone a debutee and would do everything in my power to dissuade them but I also wouldn't prevent others from wanting to debut as a minor if they so choose

    Out of curiosity, if you can't dissuade your kid from becoming a trainee, what would you do?

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    Quote from Irari

    I agree with your points and perspective! I especially love the comment you made about lawyers.

    Out of curiosity, if you can't dissuade your kid from becoming a trainee, what would you do?

    then I would do everything in my power to show the stats and data of the "average" kpop idol


    and the if need me fly them to SK to meet with nugu groups and so forth - for every BTS/EXO/BP/Twice etc there are hundreds and thousands of not just less successful but actually not successful groups


    also try to get them into a mid-tier or better company (preferably big4) but mid tier at least

  • AllKill VIP
    • New

    A lot of people say this, but there's a good chance some of our favorite idols who debuted as minors wouldn't be where they are today.


    If you go back and change just one thing about the past, it would cause a chain reaction of events that look very different from what we've seen over the years.


    For example, Jungkook would have been in a different group, been a soloist, or not have debuted at all.


    Timing matters a lot when it comes to the trajectory of K-pop groups and soloists.


    Let me ask you this. Knowing this, would you still have the same opinion that minors shouldn't debut?

    • New

    If you are talking Minors, then in South Korea, it's 19 years and younger based on their year of birth, the Lunar Calendar is not used in Korean Law.


    Acting Training and Kpop Training are very different where Kpop Training is generally Singing, Dancing and an extra Language, some Kpop Companies do have Acting.


    Being a Kpop Idol also restricts Dating Life, Smoking, Alcohol and other such devices that are deemed as "Adult". You will find that some of these things are used a plot devices even in Kids Shows which is why it's probably much safer for a child to train as a Kpop Idol than even a Child Actor/Actress in America.


    Ultimately, Kpop is considered to be on the same level as Kids Music by South Koreans, largely due to Kpop Companies targeting teens and Koreans saying they grow out of it by College.


    So it make sense that a Company would want to debut a person near the same age group as the fans they are marketing toward.


    There are laws in SK that protect Minors in Entertainment with restricted work hours and imposing curfews but for a Minor that is an Athlete or just a normal Student, they have no protections despite conditions that are more extreme.

    • New

    people fail to consider that this is not about the entartainment industry aswell.
    in korea competition in so fierce that whatever you wanna do you better start young.
    people saying going to training room after school till night is wrong and they should enjoy their childhood.
    (its's still wrong)
    but where do you think the majority of the kid whos the same age as some of trainee spend their time after school ??
    they go to hagwon/private afterschool class till night.
    this is a data i pulled from google.


    In 2024, 78.5% of students in South Korea attended a hagwon, or private educational institution, which is similar to a cram school:

    • Elementary school: 86% of students attend a hagwon
    • Middle school: 75.4% of students attend a hagwon
    • High school: 66.4% of students attend a hagwon

    that's more than half.

    you know one of those dream(what you want to be when you grown up) you share to your parents when you were a kid ? alot of foreign parents just think that it just one of those dream. but alot of korean parents will have a serious discussion if they have to send their kids to some classes that related to what the kids want to be.

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    Quote from Irari

    And another question arises:

    -Why is there a big push back against minors in Kpop but not in the acting/entertainment industry?

    Because minors aren't strictly necessary for singing but are thought to be necessary as actors for specific scenes in a show. (personally i think we could cast elderly as children, or perhaps just have movies pretend childhood isnt a thing and not represent it on camera but its not a widespread stance.)

  • AllKill VIP
    • New
    Quote from Irari

    -Why is there a big push back against minors in Kpop but not in the acting/entertainment industry?

    I dont have time to get too deep in the weeds on this but this question...


    Sometimes a movie/TV show role requires a minor in the role. Unless you want some weird 90's "teen drama" starring obvious 30 year olds acting as 15 year olds, or Steve Buscemi going "How do you do fellow kids", sometimes a talented child actor is needed.


    In my opinion, the need for minors in kpop is not as obvious. Theres no strong reason for a minor as young as 14 to be in a kpop group, especially one where theres a mixture of minors and of age members. It might be different if the whole group is minors and the concept is clearly aimed at say kids/young teens, but would that really be "kpop" or kids pop? Otherwise it just doesn't seem appropriate or necessary and also tends to muddy concepts, where you have the older members having to be a bit more childish or immature, or the minors needing to match their older peers in concepts/lyrics/choreo that may not be entirely appropriate.

    • New

    It's a sliding scale.


    Similar to what you said, I think that the company needs to be knowledgeable and responsible. Crucially, however, it is a sliding scale and an exponential one at that. The younger the age, the exponentially more responsibility there is.


    Under finer examination, I think there needs be a group of people not part of and not responsible to the label company and that acts in the sole interest of the minor's well being. Often, with child labor of any kind, kids are impressionable, and thus easy to control and exploit. Kids need that protective backing of an adult working in their care and solely in their care to spot issues, and advocate for their wellbeing.

  • AllKill VIP
    • New

    Techically we need to think about the fact that you are a minor when you're not an adult,

    which means in many countries there is different age when you legally become one...

    in one country it's 17 in other it's 18, in next one is 19

    and in US it's even 21


    I have no problem in those 13-14 year old's debuting because it's something different and definitely better than waking up at 6AM and coming back home at 6 or 8PM after attending school, then some club activities in school, and them cram school/academy located somewhere different... and all that just to later work as lowest tier worker in Samsung or Kakao with not much of possibilities to achieve any big leaps forward in next 10 years.

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    • New
    Quote from selfmate

    then I would do everything in my power to show the stats and data of the "average" kpop idol


    and the if need me fly them to SK to meet with nugu groups and so forth - for every BTS/EXO/BP/Twice etc there are hundreds and thousands of not just less successful but actually not successful groups


    also try to get them into a mid-tier or better company (preferably big4) but mid tier at least

    That's fair! I really like this approach!

    • New

    I didn't consider this perspective. Funnily enough, I grew up in one of those asian countries where education is treated similarly (it's rough). I can definitely see why some choose to try their luck being a kpop idol.


    Now that you mention it, it really can come down to different cultures and perspectives. Western world is a lot "free" and "lax" when it comes to child play. However, Asian countries are very different (which was a culture shock to me in the US).


    I do hope that children have more freedom and options since research has shown play is very important. But then again, child development research papers are often WEIRD (data focused on the western world).

  • AllKill VIP
    • New

    The entertainment industry has seen numerous child actors over the years, with some growing up to thrive and others facing challenges. I believe that as long as a child has the unwavering support of their parents and is surrounded by trustworthy, positive influences, they should have the opportunity to pursue their dreams. If a child expresses genuine interest and passion for singing, acting, dancing, or similar pursuits, and they demonstrate talent in those areas, it would seem unfair to prevent them from following their aspirations.


    Hypothetically speaking, as a parent, my priority would be staying consistently informed about my child's activities, ensuring they are in a safe and healthy environment, and maintaining open communication with them. If my child could freely share their experiences and feelings with me, I would feel reassured about their well-being. While the idol industry is undoubtedly demanding, I believe that if this career aligns with their dreams, it is essential to support them rather than hinder their ambitions, as that could foster resentment.


    Of course, there would be clear boundaries. If my child were placed in situations inappropriate for their age—such as provocative photoshoots or roles—they would be removed immediately. Their safety and dignity would always come first, and I would not hesitate to take action if I felt their well-being was at risk. While I would never stand in the way of their happiness, I would intervene decisively if necessary to protect them from harm.


    In countries like Korea, where the idol industry is particularly competitive, there is often scrutiny about age. Some criticize idols in their late 20s or 30s as being “too old,” which seems unnecessary. If my child were to enter the industry at, for instance, age 15, and they had the chance to develop their skills, grow as a person, and be part of a thriving group, I would fully support them. Starting young could mean more time to establish their name and create a successful career. Why limit their opportunities if they have the talent, drive, and proper guidance to excel?

    • New

    For me, it's less a concern about the effect that being an idol might have on a minor and more a concern about the credibility and ethics of the companies/people they're training and debuting with. I just don't trust the industry to not exploit them.

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