By Emma Peters

On February 24, 2025, Korean girl group Hearts2Hearts debuted under entertainment conglomerate SM Entertainment (boasting legendary groups such as aespa, Girls’ Generation, and Red Velvet). On March 24, 2025, Starship Entertainment (home to K-pop sensation IVE) is set to debut their newest female group KiiKii. Highly anticipated and backed by two of the largest companies in the Korean entertainment world, these groups are set up for immense fame and success in an industry that continues to grow domestically and globally. 

However, with such high anticipation also comes intense scrutiny. Another factor that has put both Hearts2Hearts and KiiKii on the map is the age of their members, which has sparked concern among K-pop fans and locals alike. With Hearts2Hearts’ youngest member Ye-on being born in April of 2010, and KiiKii’s Kya in December of the same year, they are both set to be making their debut at the incredibly young age of 14, into a world renowned for its impossible beauty standards, ridiculous work schedules and concerning fan-artist boundaries. 

The number of literal children debuting in Korean idol groups is becoming an issue of increasing concern. For instance, all members of international sensation NewJeans, who from their first release “Attention” in July 2022 have made waves in the music industry globally (seriously, if you have not heard of NewJeans, you must literally live under a rock), made their debut at the ages of 18 or under, with their youngest Hyein also being only 14. 

Debuting at the age of 14 is frankly insane, and that is without even considering the months or even years of training that these idols go through before they can even release music as part of a group. The average idol undertakes 1-3 years of intense training before they are placed in a group, a time period known to be incredibly grueling. With training periods taken into account, it has become normalised for children as young as ten years old to be joining company trainee programs, and essentially dedicating their entire lives to the pursuit of becoming an idol. 

Personally, even at my old age of 21, I am still struggling to figure out where I want to be in the next five years, let alone the rest of my entire life. The decision to become an idol trainee at ten not only subjects children to an intense schedule, including rigorous exercise and dieting, but also essentially locks them into a life that (if they successfully make it to debut) can be incredibly difficult to break out from. 

The trend of debuting such young people is particularly concerning for female idols, who are continuously forced to conform to incredibly high standards and are constantly sexualised despite (or sometimes because of) their young age. This is absolutely not to say that male idols do not face immense pressure or are not sexualised, however these issues seem to be more prominent with girl groups, especially as more female idols are debuting younger. 

What is worse is that companies appear to use these young idols to promote their groups, leaning into the fetishisation of young girls in particular to present the paradoxical image of innocence and purity alongside sex appeal that, for some perplexing reason, draws in so many fans. NewJeans’ song “Cookie” off their first EP is a prime example of this, in which the girls (literal girls, all under the Korean adult age of 19) sing “take it, don’t break it, I wanna see you taste it” (please, do not try to convince me that this line is not an innuendo). Le Sserafim’s track “Smart” is another more recent release that highlights entertainment companies’ sexualisation of their young idols to drive popularity, with the key choreography being a considerably suggestive, mature dance move - which the members of the group absolutely devoured, except for the fact that their youngest was still a minor at the time of the song’s release and was made to, putting it frankly, shake her ass suggestively on stage in front of a primarily older male fanbase.

Particularly in an industry that capitalises on intense fan-artist relationships and constantly blurs the boundaries between appropriate fan behaviours and unhealthy obsession for monetary gain, the hyper-sexualisation of minors in K-pop is incredibly concerning. However, it is absolutely not a new phenomenon, although much of the current discourse may make you think that it is. 

Renowned solo artist BoA made her debut on August 25, 2000, after training for two years, under SM Entertainment. At the time of her first album release, she was only 13 years old. Jungkook of global sensation BTS was only 15 when the group debuted in 2013. When legendary boy group SHINee made their debut in 2008, their youngest member, Taemin, was only 14 years old. 

Taemin has since publicly expressed his regret at debuting so young, stating that he wished he had been an adult when SHINee began (as long as the original member lineup remained). In an interview with fellow members, Taemin commented, “There are things we need to experience at certain ages... [We should’ve been] running around and experiencing certain things at that age, like going on school trips, becoming the class president… You know, I could’ve been at the top of my class.”

Pop culture critic Ha Jaekeun echoes Taemin’s sentiment, suggesting that “debuting at such a young age usually means they miss out on such experiences. In the worst case, if they fail to succeed as celebrities, they are left with limited career options since they’ve most likely missed a significant portion of their education due to idol activities.”

“The isolation and lack of peer interaction are bound to affect a child’s psychological development and coping mechanisms later as an adult,” notes Lim Myungho, a psychology professor at Dankook University who specialises in child and adolescent psychiatry. “Even if they do rise to stardom, there’s a high possibility that they will find it difficult to handle their emotions or be resilient when faced with stress. They may also be greatly affected by hate comments, then become unable to cope and spiral into self-destructive behavior, which we’ve seen many celebrities do.”

Ultimately, the mere fact that this issue is seemingly being discussed more regularly and openly can be seen as an important step towards understanding the dangers that debuting young idols can present. Nevertheless, the prominence of such young artists in today’s K-pop industry continues to be a cause for serious concern, and it is more important than ever that idols like Hearts2Hearts’ Ye-on and KiiKii’s Kya are properly protected in an industry that can present so many dangers to its youngest members. 

Emma Peters is a fourth-year student studying journalism and communications. She is passionate about all things music and pop culture, especially K-pop. You can most likely find her singing her heart out at a concert, or crying her eyes out while looking through old concert videos.