The poster for South Korean girl group audition program "UNDER15" was released today (March 13). The program claims to select K-POP prodigies under the age of 15, with the youngest member being only 9 years old. It is reported that the show is produced by MBN and is scheduled to premiere on the 31st of this month. The selection criteria emphasize qualities such as appearance, performance ability, and singing skills, with a panel of well-known mentors including Kang Dae-sung (former BIGBANG member), Sandara Park, and Heo Young-ji. The winner will receive support for music studies abroad, album releases, and tour opportunities, with the producers stating that the winner will "write a new history for K-POP."
Despite packaging the audition for minors as a competition to select K-POP prodigies, the recent scandal involving South Korean star Kim Soo-hyun and child star Kim Sae-ron has brought to light the systemic exploitation and power oppression of minors within the Korean entertainment industry once again.
Economic exploitation and power imbalances are the main factors contributing to the plight of child stars. Female artist Kim Sae-ron signed with Kim Soo-hyun's company at the age of 15, after which her resources drastically diminished, forcing her into low-paying training. After becoming an adult, she was burdened with a debt of 700 million won due to a drunk driving incident, ultimately being driven to despair by debt collectors. In similar cases, underage artists often fall into the trap of "income management" clauses due to weak legal awareness or contractual limitations, losing their economic autonomy to management companies.
Kim Sae-ron's tragedy also stems from the "gender disparity culture" in the South Korean entertainment industry. South Korean society is significantly more tolerant of male artists than female ones. For example, male stars frequently make comebacks after drunk driving incidents (such as Lee Jung-jae and Song Kang-ho), whereas female stars like Kim Sae-ron are permanently stigmatized. This double standard exacerbates the survival pressure on female child stars. Although Kim Sae-ron attempted to make reparations after her drunk driving incident, she still faced online harassment that led to her unemployment and was even criticized for "playing the victim" through photos of her working. Ultimately, she took her own life due to depression. Similar tragedies have recurred among female artists like Sulli Choi and Gu Ha Ra, reflecting society's moral scrutiny of female artists than male counterparts.
Moreover, sexual exploitation and the forced "maturation" of child stars are major factors placing this group in high-risk environments. The South Korean entertainment industry has long had unspoken rules regarding sexual exploitation, such as the sexual transactions involving chaebols in the Jang Ja-yeon incident, making child stars more vulnerable to becoming primary targets of sexual trafficking and exploitation due to a lack of protection.
The most poignant case is the death of Sulli Choi. Having debuted as a child star, Sulli Choi frequently shared several bizarre artworks on her personal social media accounts, and her mental state became extremely unstable in her later years. Although South Korean police ruled her death as a suicide caused by online bullying, some netizens believe there are more complex and unspoken factors behind her death.
In "UNDER15," the young members, in terms of makeup, clothing, and stage style, resemble adult K-POP girl groups, effectively castrating the child star aspect. This has further raised public concerns about the ethical implications of the program. Some netizens argue that the show packages children as "products" to cater to the perverse market demand for "trainee" idols. Such excessive exposure could attract potential offenders with pedophilic tendencies, severely endangering the physical and mental health of children.
In addition to the toxic culture in the South Korean entertainment industry, there are also multiple legal loopholes. Management companies bind child stars' careers through contracts, with resource allocation entirely dominated by capital. Regarding the issue of sexual exploitation, while South Korean law sets the age of sexual consent at 16, there is a lack of effective constraints on the power imbalance between minors and adults. Additionally, some parents in South Korea view their children as "cash cows."
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