‘Under 15’ Producers Address Allegations of Child Abuse and Sexual Commercialization

MBN’s survival show is under negative spotlight ahead of its premiere. The show divides trainees into 3 groups, all under the age of 15 years. What truly offended viewers was that multiple contestants were between the ages of 8-9, born in 2016.

Last month, the organizers unveiled individual photos of the participants due to the mature styling. The images featured barcodes, which sparked outrage, as it made the contestants appear like products for sale.

As the criticism grew, producers of ‘Under Fifteen’ held an emergency meeting at the Stanford Hotel Korea in Seoul on March 25 Attendees included Seo Hye Jin and Hwang In Young, CEOs of Crea Studio, and producer Yong Seok In. Producer Lee Gook Yong was unable to attend due to health issues.

CEO Seo Hye Jin shared that she wants to give opportunities to the alpha generation, who have grown up in a different time.

To address the controversy, the producers also released a 25-minute video during the press briefing. The video shows interviews with contestants, their performances, and feedback from judges. The judges include famous K-pop stars like Daesung, Hyojung, Natty, Song Dongpyo, and Sandara Park.

“Just like kids dream of becoming doctors and scientists, there are children who dream of becoming idols,” said Hwang, the CEO, right after the press conference. “They are being neglected because of their young age, facing barriers in the system. We want to open a platform to cultivate their dreams and talents.”

PD Yongseok also shared his hopes, saying, “Our biggest goal is for the children to experience growth and learning. I hope they gain something through the audition.”

PD Yong added, “I think about how we can support the contestants’ passion every day. I hope viewers can feel the same emotion while watching the contestants’ performances.”

As stated earlier, the addition of barcodes to individual profiles of participants raised concerns. However, CEO Seo Hye Jin claims this was a huge misunderstanding. She shared that the barcode idea was actually inspired by student ID cards.

The creators shared, “We want to emphasize that there has been a huge misunderstanding (…) We did think that there could be some concerns, but we spent a whole year making this show and we optimistically thought that people would be touched once they actually saw the show. All of us, not just the staff, but also the contestants and their guardians, thought, ‘Why is the show being criticized for being something it is not?’ I was shocked to see people associate the theme with sex, even prostitution (…) The barcodes were meant to look like student ID cards, which usually have barcodes on them. How could people link the barcode to sexuality? We took the photos down because we didn’t want to hurt the children, but we were genuinely shocked at how people could think”.

During the Q&A session, Hwang In Young held back tears when asked about the participants’ reactions, saying, “Why are people saying we’re that kind of program? We’re not.”

Seo Hye Jin also struggled to hold back emotions, saying, “Would over 100 production staff create a show exploiting children for sexual purposes? Please give us a chance.”

Meanwhile, the K-pop idol survival show “Under 15” was set to premiere by the end of this month. However, due to recent controversy, the broadcast schedule is now uncertain and a new premiere date has yet to be announced.