South Korean PD Under Massive Fire After Teasing “Girl Group Under 15”

Production Director (PD) Seo Hye Jin is no rookie in the Korean entertainment business. In fact, she is the mastermind behind Mr. Trot, the sensational audition program that discovered Lim Young Woong.

Her latest endeavor, however, has sparked intense backlash from K-Pop fans who say it is a “clueless” benchmarking of NewJeans‘ success.

Under 15 is a K-Audition program targeting children aged 3 to 15 from over 70 countries worldwide, aimed to be much younger than NewJeans members’ average debut age of 16.4. Regardless of race, nationality, or genre, the program’s goal is to discover a 5th-generation vocal girl group to promote worldwide.

— Sports Seoul

During a Sports Seoul interview on June 3, PD Seo revealed that her next audition program is making progress toward its goal release date of sometime in the latter half of 2024. The casting team is said to have completed holding auditions in Korea and is now moving on to other parts of Asia.

Regarding the audition, limited to those “Under 15” (like the working program title), PD Seo said, “[the age range] reflects the current K-Pop trend.”

Recently, there has been a clear trend in viewer votes favoring younger singers. We put together Under 15, thinking it reflects the current K-Pop trend.

When producing Korea-Japan King of Singers, I noticed that teenagers—whose vocal colors were clean—gained a lot of support. Viewers’ preferences have changed. It seems like the pure emotions unique to teenagers have captivated the audience. Perhaps viewers are now looking for untainted talents, as the world becomes more complex and difficult to navigate.

— PD Seo Hye Jin

The interview has, inevitably, sparked some strong feelings among K-Pop fans. Most are strongly against the idea of Under 15, criticizing PD Seo for reading the trend incorrectly.

• “How come EVERYONE is dragging NewJeans into their business…”
• “But the members’ age range isn’t what made NewJeans big. It’s the directing, songs, and the members’ charms. Age has nothing to do with it… So focusing on how young a girl group has to be is the creepiest. The program is pushing the line.”
• “Don’t push babies into debuting so young…”
• “Oh, so we all think we can make the next NewJeans, huh? LMAO. Reading her interview, I can tell she has no idea what she’s doing.”
• “I hope she doesn’t debut whichever talented girls she finds only to keep them inactive forever.”

• “Remember, it was never the members’ age that made NewJeans successful. She’s clueless.”
• “Under 15…? Creepy AF. Stop doing business using young children. And it’s not the fact that NewJeans members are young that makes them popular. Their concept and music were a breath of fresh air.”
• “This woman has no idea how K-Pop works, huh? It’s not the age that attracted fans to NewJeans.”
• “I wonder if she’s trying to debut the young trot singers as a girl group. I can already imagine the route that’s going to take…”
• “But making the members too young has proven not to work, business-wise… Like the younger fanbase likes unnie idols, too.”
• “Ugh. This is gross.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture has been working to protect underage K-Pop idols. Read more about the new bill:

New Bill To Protect Underage K-Pop Idols Approved By Ministry Of Culture