~ The government at the rescue of underage idols and trainees ~

The Facts:

In an article published on the fourth of October 2020 by Soompi, the South Korean government is in the process of taking actions to protect underage celebrities and trainees. "The Office for Government Policy Coordination prepared a plan of action through discussion with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; Korea Communications Commission; Korea Entertainment Producer’s Association; Korea Management Federation; and Korea Entertainment Management Association". It is clear that young people, especially young trainees, are filled with dreams and hopes to become an idol one day. And some agencies, without giving any specific names, are taking advantage of the situation by asking for money and other kinds of valuables from the young trainees in exchange of "fraudulent promises of debut" (basically fake hopes of debut). 

"Most auditions, the main route through which celebrities debut (41.5 percent), are taking place through personal connections, creating information asymmetry and the possibility of fraud. In the future, audition notices will posted on the websites of related associations and foundations. An audition guideline will be created as well to further enhance the transparency of auditions." I think those are the right initiatives to take. With a specific guideline and a better control of auditions, there will be less room for misinterpretations and misunderstandings about the work conditions and other similar issues. 

"To relieve the stress and concerns underage celebrities and trainees have, the psychological and career counselling provided by KOCCA’s (Korea Creative Content Agency) Popular Culture and Arts Support Center will be expanded to allow 350 clients from the current 100 clients". Providing professional help for the trainees should be mandatory for every company, especially for underage trainee. A lot of trainees fear to share their struggles, especially when it's about psychological struggles since mental illness is a taboo in South Korea (hence the relatively high suicide rate). So yes, providing psychological and career counselling will definitely help, but only if done the right way.

The government stated, “We will semi-annually inspect each department’s situation with the improvement measures so that the protection of underage celebrities’ rights can be implemented smoothly.” Yes, control is definitely necessary. But in 6 months, a lot could happen. If you come and inspect a department, then leave, a split second later everything could go back to chaos, and a lot can happen. I think they should do more regular inspections, but that's only my personal opinion.

The article doesn't state what are the exact sanctions that will be applied if measures are not taken seriously, but it clearly warns all those companies out there who thought they could take advantage of young people's dreams. 

You can read the entire Soompi article here.

My Opinion:

To put it in a nutshell, I believe the core problem of underage idols and trainees is that they are young and very vulnerable. The average age of Kpop idols who debut are between 16 and 21 years old, and you do have to train for an average of 3 to 6 years depending on a lot of factors, so auditioning and training should start around 13 to 16 years old. Some idols started even earlier. The common thing to think is that they have their parents who will help them taking the decision, but not all the idols have their families backing them. It is not easy to see your child taking the path of an idol at a really young age. The point is that they are young and sometimes alone. So it is  easy to say that they should be thinking carefully before taking some important decisions. In order to stop this, I think to a certain age the children/teens should be accompanied by designated specialists, and the parents should have a say on all the decisions taken regarding their child (aside from him being under contract with an agency).

I also mentioned earlier that mental health is a taboo in South Korea, and the problem is that you can't change deeply-rooted cultural beliefs. In South Korea, being ill or weak mentally is a synonym of failure and inferiority. I know this might sound weird to you, but admitting that you're not strong mentally and that you have anxiety problems in South Korea is like admitting that you're inferior and won't last in this entertainment world. And admitting that is hard for a lot of idols and trainees who have work so hard to achieve their dreams. So yes, they can seek professional help, but we can't force them to do so. It will take a lot of time and effort for people to admit they need help, and what we can do as part of the Kpop and Kmusic community is supporting them and spread positivity around them especially during those hard times. 

Let me know down in the comments what are your thoughts about this, and I'll see you next time.

Love, Swan