All The Controversy Surrounding “UNDER FIFTEEN” And Its Child Trainees
MBN‘s new audition program UNDER FIFTEEN isn’t airing its first episode until March 31, 2025 (KST), but the show is already embroiled in controversy. Here’s everything you need to know about it before the premier.
1. The Premise
UNDER FIFTEEN is a K-Pop survival show, but unlike its predecessors, this series specifically sought out talented trainees who are younger than fifteen years old.
UNDER FIFTEEN is the world’s first audition to discover K-pop prodigies under the age of 15. Among the girls from over 70 countries worldwide, 59 talented participants have been selected, showcasing a variety of races, nationalities, and genres. These young stars will captivate audiences with their “hexagonal charm”—a combination of visuals, performance, and vocal talent—creating a new history for K-pop and thrilling fans around the world.
— Naver
2. The Trainees
UNDER FIFTEEN‘s concept has been criticized since it was announced, but that backlash has continued to grow as more details emerge. Though many K-Pop idols have debuted as teens, the youngest of these idols are typically 13-15 years old. UNDER FIFTEEN trainees are much younger. For example, the trainees pictured below are all 8-9 years old, having been born in 2016.
3. The Styling
Promotional images and videos have only added fuel to the fire. On social media platforms, such as the Korean forum theqoo, netizens expressed their disgust and outrage, arguing that the styling is far too mature for the trainees.
- “What’s with the outfit;;”
- “Stop this nonsense, seriously.”
- “Are they out of their minds?”
- “What the hell is going on????”
- “What even is this outfit?”
4. The Age Range
The public was only recently made aware of the trainees’ exact age range.
On March 13, TV Report published an article that mentioned PD Lee Kook Yon, one of UNDER FIFTEEN‘s producers. In a 2024 interview, Lee revealed that some UNDER FIFTEEN trainees are only five years old.
Some participants are as young as 5 years old…Our audition itself is a verification process. There are many kids who shine in 10 to 30-second short videos, but we want to find the real talents among them.
— Lee Kook Yon
- “Wow, this is really not done.”
- “That show should be reported to the Korea Communications Commission…”
- “The production team is problematic, and the parents are also out of it.”
5. A History Of Adults Exploiting Minors
UNDER FIFTEEN‘s release comes amid actor Kim Soo Hyun‘s controversy; he allegedly began dating the late actress Kim Sae Ron when she was 15 years old. The scandal, along with UNDER FIFTEEN‘s controversy, has rekindled discussions about the entertainment industry’s history of exploiting minors.
These discussions led to netizens bringing up, Han Dong Chul, who began working as a producer at Mnet in 1998. He is the brain behind some of Korea’s most popular competition shows, including Show Me The Money, Unpretty Rapstar, SIXTEEN (discovering TWICE), and the first season of PRODUCE 101 (discovering I.O.I).
Back in 2016, HIGH CUT magazine interviewed Han. He said he started the PRODUCE 101 series with a girl group because he wanted to create “healthy porn for men.” The show featured minors.
Basically, if a program is well-structured and solid, people will watch it regardless of gender. It’s a matter of quality. As for why I started with the female version first… I’m not quite sure how to put this, but I thought, ‘I want to create healthy porn for men.’ (Laughs) Like, take a look at the contestants. They’re like younger sisters or nieces, and they’re cute, right? I wanted to make that kind of porn for the male viewers.
So, the male version, on the other hand, is about making porn for women. In the past, RAIN’s performances were like pornographic content for women. The male version of PRODUCE 101 is about fulfilling that kind of fantasy. And if it’s entertaining enough, then men will watch it too. I actually think the male version will be even more competitive and explosive, making it much more fun.
— Han Dong Chul
Recently, MBN released a statement in response to the mounting backlash. The company reiterated that “All UNDER FIFTEEN contestants voluntarily applied with the consent of their guardians,” and that the well-being of its extremely young cast members was prioritized during filming.
