Does it bother you when "Golden Spoons" (rich kids) debut as idols?

    Does it annoy or bother you if an idol from a rich family debuts? 33

    1. No (28) 85%
    2. Yes (5) 15%

    I've seen a lot of heated, generally ugly, discourse about this topic as of late, especially with the debut of Annie Moon, granddaughter of the Chairman of Samsung and Shinshigae, in All Day Project.


    Does it actually bother you when Golden Spoons or "Nepobabies" debut in a K-Pop group?


    Personally I couldn't care less. If they're great idols, performers and treat their fans well, that's all that matters to me.


    But some people legitimately get triggered when they learn an idol comes from a rich background.


    What does AKP think?

    I don't really know artists' backgrounds, including my bias groups, so it doesn't matter to me.


    As long as they are driven about being in the industry and have the talent, that's all I care about.

    No, kpop has always been a playing field for rich kid, it's just Annie is different level than everyone else.


    In the first place, no poor/middle income parents can afford to have their children dropping out school to bet on a career with 1% success rate.


    Generally there are two types of idol backgrounds:

    - Having wealthy families and just want to be famous,

    - Having stage parents. Became idols to gain experience.


    They all can afford to be flopped.


    If you want success stories of poor kids, kpop is not for you.

    Edited once, last by vinslow4 ().

  • AllKill VIP

    it doesn't bother me at all

    if they have talent and stage presence


    for example I really liked Youngseo during R U Next, and was sad when it was announced she was out of ILLIT


    Youngseo is also from rich family :), she was attending same level if not more expensive private schools as Annie, the thing is that she isn't from Shinsegae so no one talks about her, and everyone focuses on miss Moon

    Quote from vinslow4

    N‍o, kpop has always been a playing field for rich kid, it's just A‍nnie is different level than everyone else.


    In the first place, n‍o poor/middle income parents can afford to have their children dropping out school to bet on a career with 1% success rate.

    I d‍on't think this was quite as true in earlier generations though. For example, I seem to recall S‍unmi becoming an idol in order to support her family after her father became incapacitated.

    Of course not. They deserve even more respect for choosing a difficult path of working hard trying to debut as an idol instead of just living an easy life off their parent's riches. It shows that they are clearly committed to pursuing their passion.

    Quote from z1

    Of course not. They deserve even more respect for choosing a difficult path of working hard trying to debut as an idol instead of just living an easy life off their parent's riches. It shows that they are clearly committed to pursuing their passion.

    This exact opinion, that rich idols deserve more praise for choosing the life of an entertainer, is what I see a lot of people expressing resentment over.


    To play devil's advocate, the path to prosperity is always much easier when you come from a family that already owns real estate there.

    Quote from Seoged

    It depends. If they are put in the group solely due to nepotism, yes.

    Okay, but how can you even determine something as nebulous as a nepotism recruitment versus the idol being driven and talented?

    As cold as it sounds, it's probably for the best to have idols that are well off than others that aren't. The success rate in this industry is very low and they can most likely handle failure better. The reality is they have more options if it doesn't work out.


    Also, I don't think it matters much as long as the idol is able to hold their own. So far, I don't think Annie is performing poorly to make people attack her. I think if we didn't know her background, then nobody would make these claims imo. There's room for improvement but that's how it is for most idols. With 5th gen idols we need to give them time to develop. Like look at the major difference for Illit from when they debuted to the present.

    It's only an issue if it's apparent that they didn't "earn" the spot. It's a shame for her because even if she does deserve to be there, this will always be used against her to discredit talent.


    like if she's some untalented flop that is dragging down the group, I could understand people being upset. But in general I don't care. There are plenty of great actors that are nepobabies.

    No, it wouldn’t really bother me I’d only feel uncomfortable if I got the strong impression that the person was in the group only because of nepotism or favoritism.

    Yes, if they're not even average as a vocalist or a rapper.


    The funny thing is, I'm not even sure what Annie can do, but she's the best part of that group, at least based "Famous", she was the only memorable part. Bailey is an amazing dancer, but that's all, Whootang Clan kid is a decent rapper, he can shine next to the Tesco JayZ, and Youngseo, I'm not sure, because neither of those 2 songs were vocal heavy, but she's not crap either.


    Remove Jane Porter's husband, and it's a proper team, just give them songs that's not making your ear bleed or MV's that doesn't make you throw up.😂


    I will say this once again, remove the boys and it's a good team.

    Quote from David33

    Yes, if they're not even average as a vocalist or a rapper.


    The funny thing is, I'm not even sure what Annie can do, but she's the best part of that group, at least based "Famous", she was the only memorable part. Bailey is an amazing dancer, but that's all, Whootang Clan kid is a decent rapper, he can shine next to the Tesco JayZ, and Youngseo, I'm not sure, because neither of those 2 songs were vocal heavy, but she's not crap either.


    Remove Jane Porter's husband, and it's a proper team, just give them songs that's not making your ear bleed or MV's that doesn't make you throw up.😂

    :meme-excuse-me::meme-barbie-crack::meme-stop-it:

    A LOT of nugu group members came from poor family, even IU herself, or MAMAMOO members or Bigbang and BTS. I mean, poor compared to someone who's actually rich.


    Quote from Eldeweiss

    It does not bother me at all. I am more bothered by fans denying these idols’ privileges as the stans from Big4 denying the privilege to debut in a big company.

    Now, this is what bothers me too! Rich kids always debut under BIG4 labels anyway, so their privilege is even bigger.


    Quote from z1

    Of course not. They deserve even more respect for choosing a difficult path of working hard trying to debut as an idol instead of just living an easy life off their parent's riches. It shows that they are clearly committed to pursuing their passion.

    That's the point here, this job is not difficult for them at all. It's a win-win situation for them. If they flop as an Idol, they still have the money of their parents, also what they earned as Idols.


    Quote from DaisyTheGenuine

    Idols from poorer backgrounds are becoming a thing of the past tbh

    Only in the BIG4. Smaller agencies, especially the real small ones, not mid-size like CUBE still debut poor Idols. I mean, can you imagine a rich kid debuting at a nugu company? The company would go broke in a week.

    Quote from Yama-Chan

    There is definitely a skill issue, but it's not in ADP.

    So, you're telling me that everyone in ADP can sing, dance and rap at least on an average level? You can't be serious.


    Based on what? They only have 2 songs, and even the rap parts are not good. The girls are nonexistent as rappers, but still outrapping the Tarzzan kid.


    The main problem isn't the fact that Annie is a chaebol, Youngseo is another rich kid, and honestly, all of them are popular and rich kids, that's the only reason Teddy debut them. The real problem is Teddy himself. He can't produce a good song for them to showcase their actual talents.


    Put these kids under RBW producers like Kim Dohoon or Park Woosang and everyone can see if they're good enough or not. I don't even remember when was the last time Teddy or his crew produced a vocal heavy song.


    I mean, I will be fair, ask them to Cover MAMAMOO's Wind Flower or Bad Bye and let's see what they can do.

    That was not the case when Lee Jieun had debuted


    I think the Produce series really changed the trend

    That's nice.

    But yeah when you see untalented groups like ADP debuting and becoming popular just because they’re rich that feels ick. But hey to each their own I guess lol.


    I prefer the “I’m rich so I could afford high quality lessons and training” not the “I’m rich so my parents bought me a seat at the table”

    By the way, if the topic is ADP and we’re specifically talking about Annie’s situation, what’s implied here isn’t really fair. In her case, coming from a "big" family was actually an obstacle to becoming an idol, and she had to make sacrifices to overcome it. She had to confront and convince her family. She also talks about going through tough times because she was trying to study academically while practicing dance at the same time to become an idol. This gives me the impression that she went through a pretty typical kpop trainee process. I have some idols in mind for whom the situations some users mentioned do apply, but this isn’t the place to discuss them.

    Quote from echo-sage

    By the way, if the topic is ADP and we’re specifically talking about Annie’s situation, what’s implied here isn’t really fair. In her case, coming from a "big" family was actually an obstacle to becoming an idol, and she had to make sacrifices to overcome it. She had to confront and convince her family. She also talks about going through tough times because she was trying to study academically while practicing dance at the same time to become an idol. This gives me the impression that she went through a pretty typical kpop trainee process. I have some idols in mind for whom the situations some users mentioned do apply, but this isn’t the place to discuss them.

    That’s completely separate to her experience in the actual industry where she’ll be treated like a goddess.


    Personal struggles =/= struggling as an idol.

    Quote from ISaidISaid

    But yeah when you see untalented groups like ADP debuting and becoming popular just because they’re rich that feels ick. But hey to each their own I guess lol.


    I prefer the “I’m rich so I could afford high quality lessons and training” not the “I’m rich so my parents bought me a seat at the table”

    Remind me some F1 drivers where an oligarch son was driving the car and he was not really competent driver for F1 and always secured that last place in the race. Just driving there because of his dads money.

    Quote from ISaidISaid

    That’s completely separate to her experience in the actual industry where she’ll be treated like a goddess.


    Personal struggles =/= struggling as an idol.

    that’s a fair point. But still, if someone goes through the same trainee process that everyone else does to become an idol and shows the level of skill needed to be in a group, it doesn’t really bother me. In short, she might have received or still be receiving some special treatment, but I also see a lot of genuine effort there so to me, it doesn’t seem like a case of pure nepotism or favoritism.

    Quote from echo-sage

    By the way, if the topic is ADP and we’re specifically talking about Annie’s situation, what’s implied here isn’t really fair. In her case, coming from a "big" family was actually an obstacle to becoming an idol, and she had to make sacrifices to overcome it. She had to confront and convince her family. She also talks about going through tough times because she was trying to study academically while practicing dance at the same time to become an idol. This gives me the impression that she went through a pretty typical kpop trainee process. I have some idols in mind for whom the situations some users mentioned do apply, but this isn’t the place to discuss them.

    This can be true if she's not lying. I don't believe anything a celeb says, but it can be true, knowing how chaebol families operate in SK. But as I said above, it's a win-win for them anyway. Also, I wouldn't bet big money on her getting accepted by an Ivy League school without using her privilege. I mean, that's how these schools work.


    The "obstacle" is much bigger for an average kid who doesn't have many choices, and if they fail, they're too old to go back to school or apply for a proper job, and because of their Idol life, not even sure a company will hire them.


    Meanwhile, a rich kid have all the privileges unless their families losing their money.

    Quote from David33

    This can be true if she's not lying. I don't believe anything a celeb says, but it can be true, knowing how chaebol families operate in SK. But as I said above, it's a win-win for them anyway. Also, I wouldn't bet big money on her getting accepted by an Ivy League school without using her privilege. I mean, that's how these schools work.


    The "obstacle" is much bigger for an average kid who doesn't have many choices, and if they fail, they're too old to go back to school or apply for a proper job, and because of their Idol life, not even sure a company will hire them.


    Meanwhile, a rich kid have all the privileges unless their families losing their money.

    I think the privileges and advantages that come with being wealthy are part of a broader issue of fairness that we see in every aspect of life. Maybe that’s why seeing it happen in Korean entertainment companies doesn’t bother me that much. What you’re describing is definitely real and does happen, and even though I also think Annie’s family probably had a positive influence on her career, personally I don’t see it as purely nepotism or favoritism without any personal effort on her part.

    Quote from WhyKnock

    That was not the case when Lee Jieun had debuted


    I think the Produce series really changed the trend

    Well, anything has exception. Despite the disadvantages, it's not like there would be no normal kids attempt to win the low success rate.


    And there is one important reason: Korea economy was smaller 20 years ago than today, naturally there will be more rich kids than ever.

    Probably in the past nugu companies didn't have strict standards when it comes to training. Like long training time since being middle schoolers, oftentimes required dropping out of schools. Normal kids didn't have the luxury to do this, otherwise their futures would be miserable.

    nope people can debut as idols whether you are poor or rich or tall or short or pretty or ug scratch the last one - just get PS instead...


    being rich affords you more opportunities in life and especially when it comes to failure - what I mean by that failing comes at a cost both time and money. Rich people can afford to fail again and again -the poor can't...


    as long as the rich kid has somewhat of a reasonable bare min singing and dancing - everything else is up to fans

  • This thread contains 2 more posts that have been hidden for guests, please register yourself or login to continue reading.

Participate now!

Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!

Register Yourself Login