The K-pop industry has a problem. This should be obvious to anyone looking but it’s been covered in glamour and production value. Smoke and mirrors, fan service and attractive idols shield the sinister nature of most K-pop companies.
As someone who has been following the world of K-pop for several years now, I can say personally that I have seen time and time again the abuse that is inflicted on members of K-pop groups at the hands of their managers.
Recently, I had a sobering experience. Scrolling through social media, I came across a K-pop group that had a sound I particularly enjoyed: CORTIS. Imagine my surprise when I found out four out of the five of the members were younger than 18, my age.
K-pop idols who debut over the age of 18, in fact, are rare. Most K-pop companies like HYBE or SM Entertainment are looking for 10-17 year olds when auditioning potential trainees. Even if they debut at 18, they are completing years of training and intense dance rehearsals before, with school on top of that.
MADEIN’s own Yeseo is one glaring example of idols debuting too young. Born in 2005, she debuted at just 5 years old with the group CutieL. Now 20, she has debuted in three, nearly four, separate K-pop groups since then.
BTS’s Jungkook, who might be a more recognizable example, became a member of BTS when he was in just eighth grade, after comprehensive training and audition processes starting from even further back in seventh grade. He debuted just a couple years later.
You might be thinking, child stars exist. Yes they do, but there are laws preventing the exploitation of minor workers in America. Very intense laws, actually. South Korea has them, yes, but what can be considered work exactly? Dance practices? Performing a concert? Production companies have their own level of power, and are usually not questioned by the government when they violate these laws.
Pertinently, idols don’t immediately see the profits of their work due to taking out loans from companies to fund their training, which take years to pay off. On top of that, with the amount of people in their managing teams that need to be paid for their work, they receive a small fraction of the money they bring in for their respective companies.
You can see, then, why it is so sinister to target young children with these deals. The younger you are, the less reasoning you have to look into the future. Only a small number of idols debut, and what happens to them when their dreams fail and they’re left in crippling debt to a company for training them?
Beyond the industry itself, Saesangs, otherwise known as stalkers, are extremely problematic. There are an abundance of cases where a fan will follow an idol around for days or weeks on end, sitting outside their dorms, going to every concert, taking pictures of their private life, and more. K-pop companies do try and stop this, yes, but at the same time they encourage it.
Extreme fanservice encourages parasocial relationships between fans and idols that blur the line between fan and friend. When a fan is made to feel like an idol really cares for them personally, even if they may not, it can quickly become obsessive.
In one case, there was a scandal involving the idol Woojin. Rumors were spread that another idol, Jungwoo, was involved as well. A saesang that was following Jungwoo took to social media to assure people that no, Jungwoo didn’t leave his house the night the scandal happened so he couldn’t be involved.
More examples of abuse in K-pop are the mistreatment of members of Loona and New Jeans. One of the members of Loona, Chuu, filed a lawsuit against her management company for alleged mistreatment. This included withholding of earnings, and even not being allowed to go outside during the day.
The company was taking large chunks of the money she earned as a soloist from brand deals as well. She won her lawsuit and terminated her contract, along with four other members of the group who all cited mistreatment from the company. The remaining seven members are still under contract.
New Jeans, or NJZ, is a group under HYBE Entertainment. In April 2024, they attempted to break away from the company and rebrand as NJZ, alleging workplace harassment, manipulation and unfair treatment. This court case is still ongoing, with many K-pop fans divided over the issue. Some call them selfish, but many rally behind them.
These are just a few of the many examples of manipulation, mistreatment and abuse that K-pop idols go through on a daily basis. There needs to be reform in the industry and in K-pop spaces to further work towards treating idols as the human beings they are.
