Think You're Too Old To Audition For K-Pop Companies? YG Entertainment's Casting Leader Has Important News For You

Some people begin dreaming about becoming a K-Pop idol when they’re already considered “too old” for most entertainment companies. The current age that majority of them place on their recruitment posters ranges from 21 years old (born in 2001) and below.

BELIFT LAB is only accepting audition tapes from those born between 2001 and 2009

This is not to say, however, that all the older K-Pop aspirants from around the world should lose hope. In an interview with WINNER‘s HOONY (also known as Lee Seung Hoon), the casting leader of YG Entertainment, Suk Eun Jae, refuted common misconceptions about the audition process including those related to age.

She made it clear that although their social media pages say they want kids born from 2004 to 2012 to audition, this is merely a preference and not a hard rule.

HOONY: Any age restrictions?

Suk Eun Jae: Officially we don’t. We won’t have an age limit.

What matters to them most is the image of the candidates. They can still audition despite being in their twenties as long as they can blend in well with their future members.

We’re looking for trainees who can fit in with young existing trainees.

— Suk Eun Jae

In fact, the official YG Audition website does not have an age limit. They even placed the age range to be those born between 1922 and 2022—so you could hypothetically be 101 years old and still be accepted into YG Entertainment!

To prove her point, Suk Eun Jae brought up the latest group of the company who is set to debut soon: BABYMONSTER. Although oldest member Ruka has a large age gap with youngest member Chiquita, their visuals and aura still match. The group as a whole has a cohesive image despite the seven girls being of various ages.

Age may just be a number if the person fits really well with the group. Even for BABYMONSTER, the oldest was born in 2002 and youngest in 2009 [which is an age gap of] seven years. But they still fit well.

— Suk Eun Jae