This trend is true though, given how more and more idols have debuted at a very young age. Some are only 14 or 15 years old when debuting. I also thought this trend started even 9 or 10 years ago. Let’s take an example of Taemin (SHINee) debuting at fourteen years old or BoA when she was only 15. While it’s good that the young nowadays know what they want to become in the future, this indeed carries some potential risks. Let’s take Hyunsuk from TREASURE for example, when he was announced for the boy band line-up, he was criticized for being 19 years old - too old for the group. This shocked me quite a lot, given that he was only close to his 20s, but already called ‘’old’’?? Also, some trainees even get trained for over 10 years, 12 years, which means the sooner the better. If you start training at 20, and then debut 10 years later, there's a definite possibility that you may be called ‘’too old’’, and dumped immediately out of the agency. In Kpop, there’s an ''expiry date'' for talents, which means if you’re not young enough, you cannot attract the audience because this is an industry that relies lots on visual values.

Additionally, I also think entertainment agencies are also fueling this trend. Maybe this is because the younger the trainee is, the easier for agencies to change/ cultivate their appearance and personal identity. As adults, it would be harder. Another reason is that, if trainees are too ''old'', they may be ''constrained'' by other personal affairs such as marriage or money. So that wouldn't guarantee the money poured on those trainees from agencies may be worthwhile.

Edit: Sorry guys huhu I just thought of another idea. For Korean male idols, it is compulsory for them to serve in the military for two years once they turn 25. The point is, if debuting at 23 and not 19 years old, male idols can only promote themselves in a very short period of time. As a result, their fame and popularity may not be widespread, resulting in the company's loss.

I came across several related topics to this statement when I was searching for my debate motion and I think it truly is concerning. I guess we all agree that it’s their choice and we can’t do anything about it. From the documentary, I got the illusion that young trainees actually know what they’re doing and even if they didn’t, they would have their strong family support to guide them. However, that’s not always the case. In fact, many famous Kpop idols now started at a very young age and they don’t always seem to have their parents around. For example, BTS’s Jungkook, IU or BigBang’s Seungri are some idols that debut at the age of 15, and they actually had to suffer a lot before their debut. And because of their young ages, they even had to sacrifice their studying procedure. In fact, this is a very common thing for Kpop idols since they won’t have enough time for both training and academic study. 

However, what I really want to mention is that probably, the reasons behind the fact that they got to be trainees or idols at young ages was not just because of their decisions. It’s also partly because the companies allow them to do so, and want them to do so. The fact that they actually get preferred if they are younger is nothing new in the industry. And the companies understand that and of course they want to make use of that. Besides, it’s true that idol wannabes started their training at very young ages but it’s also true that they might get discouraged and want to quit if the training process was far too long. So the companies wouldn’t want their money makers to quit, especially when they’ve somewhat invested in them. As a result, they might want to get their promising trainees debuted to keep them with the companies. In short, I believe that the underlying reason behind young trainees is actually the companies themselves. It’s the companies’ allowances that normalize the mindset of young trainees and young idols, and make the phenomenon accepted by the majority. 

To be honest, I'm not really a big fan of the K-Pop industry, so I don't read the news or listen to K-Pop songs really often. Before I watched this documentary, I always thought that it was normal for trainees to start their training at around 12-13 years old and then make their first debut at 15-16 (at least that was the case for Jung Kook, he was cast at 13 and debuted 2 years later), but now that I know that they can start their training at 8-9 years old, I was astonished. This reminds me of a girl group called Cookie from HR Entertainment, in which the youngest member was born in 2010! I can't even imagine what they had to go through in order to debut as idols, and I wonder if they will be able (or willing) to sacrifice even more (like their privacy and health) just to remain a part of this industry. Yet Cookie members can still consider themselves lucky that they made it to the stage since the training process can take months for some and years for others.

 

The fact that Idol wannabees and trainees are getting younger than ever also makes me think about the case of Shinoa Yamashita in the documentary. Considering that she's already 21 years old when she moves to Korea, the chance to debut for Idol wannabees like her will only get slimmer since it is almost impossible to compete with Korean trainees who have endured intense training from as young as 9 years old. 

In this discussion, I will provide some reasons explaining for this trend and its impacts.

a. Causes
Firstly, the companies play a major role in creating this phenomenon. The training for one trainee takes up to 1-7 years, which means they need to start at a very young age, so that when they officially debut, their age is just around 17-21.

Secondly, it has been a stigma in the Korean society that "the younger, the better". The Koreans firmly believe that young people are blooming with health and ambitions, therefore, the younger they are trained the better. Also, kids tend to learn faster, which is an advantage when studying to play a musical instrument or dancing - requiring lots of techniques and skills. This somehow explains why idol wannabes are as young as 5 years old these days. 

Finally, for girl idols, they must retain their youth as much as possible due to Korean perception of beauty. It may vary regarding different occupations, but in general, one must be young and beautiful to attract a multitude of fans, or else they may be the loser in the competitive entertainment industry. For boy idols, they must enlist into the military for 2 years. Some may choose to finish their duty before their debut (e.g: actor Jung Hae In), still, most of them decide to pursue a training beforehand. As a result, companies try to recruit trainees as young as possible and debut them as quickly as possible, making sure they have considerable commercial success before their enlistment.

b. Impacts
I think this has both positive and negative sides.
Benefits:

Drawbacks:

There is no doubt that Koreans take great pride in the global success of famous K-Pop groups such as BTS or Blackpink. These groups are now considered the representatives of K-culture; thus, people's expectations of them will only increase, putting these idols under enormous pressure. 

As a K-pop idol, successful or not, there will always be sacrifices to make. If a group's music fails to satisfy the fans (or "flop"), then that group is at risk of being disbanded, and all of their effort and training will go to waste. On the other hand, it seems to me that when Idols are more successful, the price that they have to pay is even higher, namely health, privacy, and sometimes even freedom. Apart from this video, I also watched a few episodes of Burn The Stage (another documentary series about BTS). I have to say it is impossible to imagine what Idols have to endure to bring their best performance to the stage, from strict diets to intense training and constant injuries, yet they still receive judgment and harassment so easily if they ever make a mistake - no wonder why many K-Pop suffer from mental issues like anxiety or depression. Idols like Choi Sulli and Goo Hara took their lives for they can no longer endure the constant online harassment from anti-fans, and it is disheartening that only after they were gone did people start talking about how much they are loved and adored.

Also, from Kong Yoo-Jin's story about she only ate 6 almonds a day to keep in perfect shape, I begin to question the morality of the K-Pop industry where people are treated as more of a product than a human being. Is it even worth it if your health is put at risk, your personal life is scrutinized, and your privacy is violated? But in the end, shining on the stage as a K-Pop idol is still the dream of many youngsters in Korea as well as many other countries, but whether they will be able to take the pressure is another story.

Pros: 

Cons: 

From my perspective, Hallyu as a means for entertainment is now a thing of the past. Nowadays, it gets more political and more lucrative. As I researched, using entertainment, movies and visual tourism as a means to fuel political power has already been set as the Korea’s Government ever since the 1990s. A striking example for this is President Lee Dae-jung’s speech in 1998 in which he declared the nation’s focus on investing in tourism and the Korean culture to lift the country from its severe financial crisis. It was then that Kpop got political. I also read in a piece of article that South Korea once blasted Kpop songs to North Korea, showing their cultural and political dominance. As a result, Kpop was once banned in North Korea, as anyone who listened to it could be imprisoned. Honestly I admire how the Former President managed to break the traditional form of politics, lifting Korea out of their financial colonial period to become one of the biggest economies in the world. 

However, the drawbacks are indispensable: