A female idol group composed of six elementary schoolers and middle schoolers is debuting.
One member is in 6th grade (elementary school in Korea), while the other five are in their second year of middle school, making the group GP Basic's average age 15. According to the company GP Basic Entertainment, they will release their digital single containing two tracks next week.
They will start promoting with their title track 'Game'.
The reason GP Basic is garnering so much attention is because this group is made of the youngest members ever seen among idols. There are a lot of instances in which idol groups' members are in their teens, but none where a member is in elementary school.
Currently among active idols, f(x)'s Krystal and Sulli, Kara's Kang Jiyoung, and U-Kiss's Dongho are all 16 years of age. SHINee's Taemin is 17, and Wonder Girls' Sohee is 18. All of them debuted as middle schoolers. Male group Teen Top is also composed of six members between the ages of 15-18, middle-and-high schoolers.
As the ages of idol group members gets lower, voices of concern have been rising.
These voices have been questioning whether it is alright for these young, emotionally unstable, under aged members to be active in groups while being cut off from their peers and schooling.
Music analyst Im Jinmo stated, "The entertainment industry is a scary and burdensome society to come into after leaving one's family, so these young people might experience emotional problems", "There is a worry that even with success, they might not be able to overcome loneliness and conflict."
A solo singer who was a member of a famous male group as a high schooler stated, "I thought that I had started life in society a bit earlier than my peers, but it turned that all I had done was experience life in broadcasting", "When I left the group, I didn't know anything about the world and for a long time was in a state of confusion".
Because of these worries, CUBE Entertainment, the company of 4minute and BEAST, has professionals come in to teach education to the group's members every week.
CUBE Entertainment's Hong Seungsung representative stated, "Our company singers have been getting regular sex education and counseling", "Because the parents have put the company in charge of their teenage kids, we have a responsibility to pull these kids' futures in the right direction. Moreover, because they are stars who influence children, in order to become stars it is important that they have character".
The problem is that there are few companies who have systems like this.
Im Jinmo said, "Right now, most companies do not have a system to secure education for their artists", "Instead of developing their talents, it's more important to first create an environment in which their talents can be brought out best".
hankooki (SOURCE)
ilovepocky@B2ST RISING (TRANS)
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