Do you think companies should debut idols who are minors?

I think 17 and up is ok

It's interesting to think about. Taemin and Jungkook debuted very young and were fine but that doesn't mean that companies SHOULD debut them that young. No matter what people's opinions are however I'm sure most agree that 12 is far too young. I personally think that 16 should be the minimum

yes especially for females...

the younger they are the more time they have to earn some decent money

GG and female idols don't make it past first contract renewal generally and 99% of them don't remain as a GG past 30...

No, I don't think so. Even if they debut at let's say 17, they must have spent years training.

The amount of BS companies can feed children at that age

I personally don't like how companies expect young idols to go to school and actively promote at the same time. It's extremely hard to balance school and heavy work life, especially at such a young age.

I think average age at which a Korean high school student passes out, should be the minimum age to debut.

Quote from kingkook

I personally don't like how companies expect young idols to go to school and actively promote at the same time. It's extremely hard to balance school and heavy work life, especially at such a young age.

I think average age at which a Korean high school student passes out, should be the minimum age to debut.

Yeah...I heard that if you're a trainee and you try to look for a school to be in, some schools refuse to take trainees because there is a likelihood of these students skipping classes and not keeping up with work.

I also heard that a lot of trainees drop out of school before finishing because of the stress and rigorous schedule training adds to it. And officially debuting...I could imagine it being a lot worse 😥

MissBehave was this inspired by our conversation?

Quote from MissBehave

LOL yep and also Tic_tac_toe

Not really. Some my faves debuted as minors, but that also helped me see the amount of preassure and public scrutiny they had to face at such an impresionable age. I mean, those kids are not going to be able to have a normal upringing, they are probably going to be forced to constantly think about how they present or get backlash during a period where hormones are wreaking havoc and making you the most insecure. Not to mention the type of people with bad intentions they could be exposed to.

Quote from Rainbowpop2

Yeah...I heard that if you're a trainee and you try to look for a school to be in, some schools refuse to take trainees because there is a likelihood of these students skipping classes and not keeping up with work.

I also heard that a lot of trainees drop out of school before finishing because of the stress and rigorous schedule training adds to it. And officially debuting...I could imagine it being a lot worse 😥

I had a friend who was a child artist. She always had to skip school and could never enjoy her school days due to pressure to juggle them both at once. At the end, she decided to not pursue her acting & music career actively because she felt it was not worth the pressure.

I could only expect it would be worse for idols, bc of how controlling these companies are.

Quote from kingkook

I had a friend who was a child artist. She always had to skip school and could never enjoy her school days due to pressure to juggle them both at once. At the end, she decided to not pursue her acting & music career actively because she felt it was not worth the pressure.

I could only expect it would be worse for idols, bc of how controlling these companies are.

Oh, I see...sorry that happened. I bet that would've been hard to do all at once, espcially since I already know how school and other things can take up so much of one's time.

And yeah, that's true...it's sad how young idols and trainees have to choose between school and an artistic passion, especially with the pressure of everyone. That must be a nightmare and they're usually pretty young.

12 is way too young. 17 is an acceptable age imo

Quote from MissBehave

Seems like the problem is really fans (and society in general) who devalue older females.

that maybe true but you can't change public perception or the GP...

regardless the current situation is female idols (in groups) have a limited timeframe in which to make a name/earn money and thus I believe that the younger the better....

take someone like wonyoung from Izone - if she debuted in a 7 year contract by the time she finishes her first contract she'd still be younger than when irene debuted...that's literally double the amount of time to earn $$$.

Quote from MissBehave

You don't think that if companies restricted debuts to post majority, so older idols were all that was available, that fans would just started stanning older females?

maybe but we don't see that happening any time soon do we???

like i said if GG can constantly renew post first contract (collectively as a whole and not merely like 3 as per MMM for example) or if GG promote somewhat successfully post 30 (BG is an exception that proves the rule) then maybe companies might start debuting idols later...

but that's not happening...no company wants to take that risk and thus the status quo is preserved...

I would say probably 16 as the youngest