Let's face it – K-pop has built its solid foundation in our society today, because wherever you go, you are exposed to K-pop culture. No matter if it's the idols, the songs, their brand endorsements and so on. It's everywhere.
You've experience it - first from Gangnam Style by Psy where the whole world just went cray-cray and collectively dance like riding a horse. Then, today - we have Apt. by Rose feat Bruno Mars! Don't get me wrong - I am one of the crazy ones that will start dancing to the song and turn the volume up.
But as the Internet gets obsessed of Apt. - there's a phenomenon that may have slipped through your radar. Children and toddlers who are still stumbling while walking are also obsessed – until the point where they are constantly repeating the lyrics for hours on end!
Even Rose had apologized in the comment section to all parents whose children are intoxicated by its catchy beat! It's quite funny, not gonna lie. But here's where it turns grim.
It's no mystery that most kids nowadays would opt to become TikTok stars, Idols or under the spotlight – it's what they are exposed to, with just a simple scroll from their phones. And the opportunity to become K-pop stars aren't as far-fetched as it seems before. Nowadays, K-pop agency has global auditions – finding young talents from all over the world to recruit and groom them to become the next superstars like Blackpink and BTS.
But as of what we're seeing now from new K-pop groups, more and more younger idols are being debuted. Take Seowon from Unis for example – she had debuted from the tender age of just 12 years old!
And she's not the only one – Hyein from New Jeans (debut at 14 years old), Wonyoung from IVE (debut at 14 years old), Ni-ki from ENHYPEN (debut at 14 years old) and many more are just the tip of the iceberg.
It really comes to the question - are these idols fully equipped to take on the pressure of fame, the grueling entertainment industry and for their life to be catapult under the microscope at such a young age? My honest opinion is that if they are given the right tools and guidance from responsible adults who protects them, I don't see much of a problem. However, the industry is still a money making machine – idols are expected to deliver what the audience wants. And the audience, or might I say, the society isn't all sparkles and innocent.
Take Katseye's new single, Gnarly for example. For a group that had previously released songs that are soft-core ("Touch", their previous single promotes a feeling of love and innocent tone), they did a 360 degree turn and released a ratched tone but catchy electronic single called Gnarly with nonsensical lyrics. Their dance heavily included intense twerking and the song even had a sound effect of a woman moaning.
This would be a no issue if all the members were of mature age but one of their members, Yoonchae is still underage (17 years old). The Internet has been on the fence on whether it's appropriate for an underage to be performing this song – but the argument is mostly on her clothing. However, I don't think the matter is as surface-level as the comments make it out to be.
As underage idols performing borderline sexual moves, it shows to the younger generation that it's okay to sexualize themselves because it's a type of dance. It encourages them to mimic these young idols that are a part of this money-making entertainment industry that has blurred the lines between a performance and sexualization.
And as I have painted at the beginning of this article, even toddlers are being influenced by the industry and if parents aren't careful enough, our younger generation may be sucked into this cycle of sexualization capitalism disguise as admiration of idols and stars.
K-pop agencies should also find the balance between debuting young adults and marketing them as desirable without inappropriate performances and concepts. These young idols need to be protected and I think it starts with us realizing that even the most subtle inappropriation should be made aware.
Summer Yang is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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