K-pop audition show Under 15 criticised for featuring female contestants as young as eight
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Of the 59 contestants, the oldest girls were born in 2009 and the youngest in 2016.
PHOTOS: CREA_UNDER15_OFFICIAL/INSTAGRAM
Follow topic:
A new K-pop competition in South Korea has come under fire.
Broadcaster MBN’s upcoming idol production show Under 15, featuring only girls born in 2009 or after, has been criticised by fans around the world for sexualising minors. Of the 59 contestants, the oldest girls were born in 2009 and the youngest in 2016.
The competition will whittle down its large slate of contestants so just a small number will debut as an idol group. Under 15 is scheduled to premiere on March 31.
Controversy surrounding the show, billed as a “K-pop prodigy discovery initiative”, first arose when a teaser was released on YouTube on March 12. It featured contestants – including one aged eight – getting their make-up done and posing in midriff-baring tops and short skirts.
The contestants hail from countries including South Korea, Japan and Thailand.
According to South Korean news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily, netizens took to the programme’s YouTube channel, social media accounts and official website to condemn the show and call for its cancellation. Some accused it of condoning child abuse and called its producers paedophiles.
Some also wondered if it was wise to expose young girls to potential sexualisation and the mental health issues that may arise from being in the public eye, given how highly scrutinised and stressed K-pop idols can be.
TikTok creators who were baffled and outraged at the concept also made videos criticising the show, with netizens leaving comments such as “Cancel idol project Under 15” and “literally (paedophile) survival show”.
Despite the concerns, the show’s production team Crea Studio has kept silent. The comments section of the show’s teaser videos on YouTube and that of its Instagram account have since been disabled.
Crea Studio is led by chief executive Seo Hye-jin, known for producing competition reality shows such as Miss Trot (2019) and Mister Trot (2020). Mister Trot catapulted its winner, South Korean singer Lim Young-woong, to stardom in the country.
Ms Seo reportedly told South Korean media when launching the show that the aim of the programme was to create an “underage Blackpink”, referencing the hit K-pop girl group.
Teenage K-pop idols are par for the course in South Korea, with many groups debuting with underage members. Stars like BoA debuted a few months before turning 14, while idols such as boy band Shinee’s Taemin, and girl groups NewJeans’ Hyein and Ive’s Jang Won-young all debuted at 14.
The backlash against Under 15 comes amid South Korea’s reckoning with an alleged underage dating scandal. A-list K-drama actor Kim Soo-hyun, 37, was recently accused of dating late actress Kim Sae-ron when she was only 15. Kim Sae-ron, who debuted as a child star, died of suicide at the age of 24 in February 2025.
Kim Soo-hyun has denied being romantically involved with Kim Sae-ron when she was underage, and claims the pair dated from 2019 to 2020, when she was an adult.
