Upcoming Girl Group Gains Criticism From Netizens After The Release Of “Brutal” Pre-Debut Profiles

When it comes to K-Pop groups, all of the members have something that makes them stand out and have different skills they bring to their team. Each quality makes them unique and contributes to why someone is their fan.

Recently, it was announced that GBK Entertainment would debut a new girl group named MEP-C. In particular, the group gained attention after it was revealed that the members would be multinational.

GBK Entertainment will debut a new girl group named MEP-C

The group consists of members from multiple nationalities including South Korea & India

The members are Esha, Aria, Nova, Chiu & Roahttps://t.co/LzkFpscClg pic.twitter.com/3panMwYN7s

— nugu promoter (@nugupromoter) November 29, 2022

Yet, as excited as fans were, the sentiment changed after the company started releasing the profiles for the members.

While most of the profile is in Korean, international netizens noticed one part that was easily understandable but also extremely problematic. At the bottom of the profile, there was a graph for each member that rated them in six categories:

• Visual
• Performance
• Dance
• Rap
• Vocal
• Character

Yet, while it can be a good way to get fans excited, fans noticed the brutal ranking of the members. While they all had categories they excelled at, there were some very low rankings for skills vital to be an idol.

Member Aria has gained praise for her visuals, performance, and character but ranks very low for vocals, rap, and dance: three vital skills. Similarly, Nova ranked high for dance and rap but mediocre for the other categories.

On the other spectrum, members Roa and Esha seemed to excel in the basic idol talents, they were ranked lower for their visuals. Roa also ranked low for her personality, something that is seen as important as talent.

As the profiles have been released, netizens have been sharing their thoughts on social media. The majority of fans shared how uncomfortable they felt with the harsh and brutal ratings.

While some pointed out that they wouldn’t mind if the members had done them, the concept of the “pre-debut cards” seems necessarily harsh. In particular, with netizens always comparing idols, the fact the company is promoting comparisons seems unfair.

Yet, MEP-C isn’t the first group to make use of the graphs before debuting. Before the boy group PENTAGON debuted, they took part in a reality show called PENTAGON Maker, with many assuming that only five of the trainees would debut.

During the episodes, the members were rated with similar categories but sticking with the concept, only had five: vocal/rap, talent, mind, dance, and teamwork.

Over the episodes, netizens had mixed reactions to the rankings, which seemed harsh.

Although rankings can help netizens learn more about the members, the harshness of the profiles is raising more negative attention around the group. Although there has yet to be a debut date set, many hope the members’ confidence is still intact.