Rookie Idol’s Extremely Young Age Sets Off Alarms Among K-Pop Fans

She debuted last year.

The issue of young children debuting as K-Pop idols has seen increased discussion among K-Pop fans in the recent years as the trend has become more like a norm with newer generation idols.

Idols like NewJeansHyein, ENHYPEN’s Ni-ki, or BABYMONSTER’s Chiquita made significant buzz during their debuts, as many fans expressed concern over them entering such a cut-throat industry at 14-15 years of age. Currently, UNIS’s Seowon is widely known to be the youngest active K-Pop idol. Born in 2011, Seowon debuted at the young age of 12 and is currently 13 years old. But another rookie idol has popped up in the scene who is even younger.

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Lim Seowon | SBS
choha2013
Jung Cho Ha, the youngest active rookie idol | @choha2013/Instagram

Jung Cho Ha, a 2013-born singer, made her debut in May 2023 as a soloist. She garnered popularity last year on the survival program Show Queen and earned the nickname “Little Jennie” for her striking similarity to BLACKPINK’s Jennie.

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Recently, Jung appeared in a TikTok dance challenge video with Pentagon’s Kino that amassed over 4 million views. She did a second dance challenge to “Baggy Jeans” with Kino a few days ago, with netizens praising her impressive dance skills.

@kinoink

#초하 마음 아프게 하면 가만안둬 👊 BMH challenge with @정초하 dc: @Kyah ✰ #KINO #키노 #리틀제니정초하 #정초하 #jungchoha #choha #CHOHAe_My_Heart #BMH #BMH_Challenge #fyp

♬ Broke My Heart (feat. Lay Bankz) – KINO

@kinoink

#초하 마음 아프게 하면 가만안둬 👊 BMH challenge with @정초하 dc: @Kyah ✰ #KINO #키노 #리틀제니정초하 #정초하 #jungchoha #choha #CHOHAe_My_Heart #BMH #BMH_Challenge #fyp

♬ Broke My Heart (feat. Lay Bankz) – KINO

But the praise has been followed by concern once again, as international netizens learned that Jung was only 11 years old. Many called it “too much” for a child her age to debut in the industry, while some also criticized her parents for pushing her into this despite the risks.

You can read more about Jung Cho Ha here.

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