How come people say "idols shouldn't debut at a super young age" but then never bat an eye when someone 8-12 becomes a trainee?

    Now I completely agree with idols not debuting until they're at least 16 years of age, but after watching a few videos about trainee life in kpop, I'm now wondering why some (Not all) people ignore this part when discussing age. Trainee life is hard if not even harder than idol life. You have to practice constantly and push your body's limits. Keep in mind some kids become trainees as young as 8 years old (Ex: Twice's Jihyo) Do you think an 8 year old should be working that hard on a daily basis? It's fine if they get some exercise by dancing a bit because exercise is more important than ever at that age. But they should be having fun playing with friends. It's not even just the dancing that is concerning. You get lots and lots of criticism. Criticism is a good thing but when it's to the degree that it is in trainee life, it can really devalue somebody with a rapidly developing brain at 8-12 years old. Not to mention weight checks (I know JYP does those idk about other companies) Weight shouldn't even matter at all to anybody let alone a child as long as you're healthy.


    I think if you're a teen and you really wanna become an idol, it's fine. Your brain is developed enough and you'll still have time to polish your skills before debut. The goal with my post is to say that it's a little much when you're only a child or a preteen. At that age, your body shouldn't be capable of the degree of work that trainees put in. That may vary between companies though. I'm interested to see what others think whether they agree or not.


    :pepe-tea:

    That entire thing reminds me of what Marius Yo (former member of the Japanese boygroup SexyZone) mentioned back as he left his group to focus more on university.


    He is the craziest example I know, altho he is from a Japanese group (not Korean).


    Marius back in 2020 said as he left his group that he became trainee at age 7 and debuted at age 11. He said he allways woke up at 6 am to go to school and when he finished school at 3pm he went back home and than straight to practice at around 5pm. He worked each day till 11pm and on the weekends he was training from 8am to 11pm. He also said that as he debuted he even had days where he never came to bed before 1am, sometimes even 3am because they were having concerts or where prepairing for a new CD.


    If some JPop-artists allready work this hard, than I don't like to imagine what some KPop-idols, especially from popular companies, have to go trought

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    i do think there's a lot of factors that vary from company to company, from what ive heard about SM and with pre-debut nct dream, it wasn't as intense for them as it was for the older members, ofc i don't think children should be forced into it, and at that point, if it is that detrimental to them- they absolutely should not be training nor should companies be allowing the trainees to train in such a way.

    they probably don't think about it tbh. a lot of people probably assume that idols don't become trainees until they're in middle school or later, or that it's rare for trainees to train that young.


    in jihyo's case, she wasn't an idol trainee until much later, i think for only 3 years total. before that she was training to become an actress. and people talk about how bad it is for child actors all the time

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    Quote from babybat

    they probably don't think about it tbh. a lot of people probably assume that idols don't become trainees until they're in middle school or later, or that it's rare for trainees to train that young.


    in jihyo's case, she wasn't an idol trainee until much later, i think for only 3 years total. before that she was training to become an actress. and people talk about how bad it is for child actors all the time

    I see. Nonetheless I think it should be more of a discussion for the trainees who begin idol training at age 8 or possibly even younger.


    I never knew that. I don't know too much about how training is you wanna become an actor but I would assume it isn't as heavy.

    Quote from cherryshiii

    I see. Nonetheless I think it should be more of a discussion for the trainees who begin idol training at age 8 or possibly even younger.


    I never knew that. I don't know too much about how training is you wanna become an actor but I would assume it isn't as heavy.

    yeah. i don't know how rigorous being a trainee is for younger kids, i'd like to think it isn't as intense but who knows. i think acting is probably way less intense than idol training, considering they're doing vocals and dancing and classes on how to act in public or apparently how to take selfies.


    hopefully most trainees are at least 13 or 14??? it's sad to think about kids wasting away their childhoods focusing on becoming idols ?(

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    Quote from babybat

    yeah. i don't know how rigorous being a trainee is for younger kids, i'd like to think it isn't as intense but who knows. i think acting is probably way less intense than idol training, considering they're doing vocals and dancing and classes on how to act in public or apparently how to take selfies.


    hopefully most trainees are at least 13 or 14??? it's sad to think about kids wasting away their childhoods focusing on becoming idols ?(

    Exactly, it makes me wonder what the parents think too. I would think they would consider the downside a bit but also don't want to disappoint their child who wants to be an idol.

    Quote from superyeah

    I think sometimes people are more concerned about the hate comments, constant criticism, and objectification these young people will face in the public eye. When these kids are trainees, they fortunately don't have to deal with that yet, at least not to the same extent that debuted idols do.


    Of course, what trainees go through is still a concern, but it's probably something we think less about compared to the hate and questionable remarks that we've seen. The hate just happens to hit closer to home for us because we've seen it with our own eyes.

    Great point.


    Like I said in the post though they can still receive a lot of criticism and maybe even hate in some cases by trainers or people in charge. Of course criticism isn't always a bad thing, but when you're 8-10 years old it could be damaging.

    Kids need a lot of sleep too. As you get older, you need less sleep but when you're 10 or even 13 or 14, you need that shuteye.


    Trainees from 8-15 should work no more than 8 hours per day Monday to Friday, and maybe 5 hours on Saturday. That's it. And this includes homework and study time, which means actual vocal, dance and other Kpop lessons might only make up 20 hours per week.


    The rest should be free time and rest time.

    Quote from cherryshiii

    Exactly, it makes me wonder what the parents think too. I would think they would consider the downside a bit but also don't want to disappoint their child who wants to be an idol.

    it seems like a lot of idols now come from rich backgrounds so at least they don't have that kind of pressure unlike a lot of 1st and 2nd gen idols 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

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    Quote from BlackpinkHouse

    Kids need a lot of sleep too. As you get older, you need less sleep but when you're 10 or even 13 or 14, you need that shuteye.


    Trainees from 8-15 should work no more than 8 hours per day Monday to Friday, and maybe 5 hours on Saturday. That's it. And this includes homework and study time, which means actual vocal, dance and other Kpop lessons might only make up 20 hours per week.


    The rest should be free time and rest time.

    This :froghype:

    Athletes start training just as young if not younger and have to deal with very rigorous training including the possiblity of injury in their growing bodies. It would be kind silly to say idols shouldn't start training young or even debut young when young people in other sectors are normalised

    Quote from harambelives

    Athletes start training just as young if not younger and have to deal with very rigorous training including the possiblity of injury in their growing bodies. It would be kind silly to say idols shouldn't start training young or even debut young when young people in other sectors are normalised

    And sports fans are even more mean and brutal that pop stans

    Quote from wendii

    And sports fans are even more mean and brutal that pop stans

    I dunno about that, different types of fans for different behaviours. Sports fans satisfaction is tied with the sport; play shit and you'll get shit and worst of it, play well and you'll be worshipped like a god.


    In kpop idols get shit on for sometimes not even doing anything related to music. Looks are a big one. Dating can affect careers. Even relatively minor scandals can end careers.

    I think there should be a max number of trainee years. That if the company is not debuting a trainee by the end of a certain time period like 4 years, they should let them go.


    It make sense for all ages and discourages companies from taking someone very young in

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    A big part of being idol is being a celebrity, being in public eyes all the time, fan interaction, careful of everything you say and do. That is why people stress more on idols being at least above 18. Being a celebrity can be stressful for teenagers who are not mature enough. Trainee life is a like a school life but more emphasis on dance and idol training. Yes dieting and weight checks are also part of trainee life which should be discouraged, otherwise it can be okay.

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