When talking about the Kpop industry, one of the most concerning issues has been the
topic of underage idols.
These days, female idols are debuting at a much younger age, stirring up worries about
their safety and rights, especially when these girls are often forced to wear inappropriate
outfits for the sake of Kpop fans’ taste.
Here are times netizens went outrageous at Kpop agencies for letting underage idols wear
inappropriate outfits.
New Jeans
Debuting in July, 2022, New Jeans is said to breathe a new breeze into the Kpop world
and is regarded as one of the monster rookies of 2022.
The group consistently went trending on YouTube and online forums for their unique concept.
However, when taking into account the age of the members which range from 14 to 18,
netizens constantly voiced their concern about the sexy outfits that New Jeans members have
to put on.
Many people have raised questions about the outfits worn by the members in the video and
also in photos posted.
Specifically, in the “Attention” MV, member Hani was seen wearing a red top and white
pants.
At first glance, this set seemed to be a typical outfit worn by teenagers on a daily basis,
yet with a closer look, netizens noticed that the pants showcase an image of a girl in a
bikini carrying a surfboard and doing a sexy pose.
Similarly, member Hyein was also said to wear an extremely revealing outfit as her top was
a sole bra that barely covered her upper body.
It was pointed out that this was far from the age-appropriate image the group is trying
to showcase.
In addition, it seems that croptops and low-waisted skinny jeans that expose underwear are favorite
items of New Jeans’ stylists as the members were frequently seen in these outfits on many
occasions.
While these items clearly accentuate the girls’ ideal body proportion, especially the small
waists, netizens were extremely concerned whether these looks were appropriate for their
age or not.
Jeon Somi
Though the seductive and mature concept definitely highlights the beauty of young Kpop idols,
the way Somi was made to wear some overly sexy outfits in the past that were said to
not be appropriate for a 16-year-old girl really made netizens outraged.
Ever since she was in I.O.I, Somi has consistently shown up in public in short outfits that show
off her body curves.
Looking at her early mature images on the stages with I.O.I, few people believed that
Somi was just 16 years old at the time.
Even when pursuing the cute student concept, Somi was still given an extremely short uniform
skirt that exposed her safety shorts and tight shirt that drew people’s eyes on her bust.
Fans and netizens believed that these types of outfit would defenitely pose grave perils
on Somi’s safety and reputation, leading to unwanted online sexual harrassment to an
underage girl like her and paving way for sexualizing adolescents.
In Korea, highschool girls wearing exceptionally short skirts to school has long been a worrying
issue among teachers and parents.
As a public figure showing up in this kind of outfit in front of thousands of people,
especially young fans, Somi might be misunderstood to be promoting this inappropriate image among
teenage girls.
Therefore, netizens stated their opinion that it was such a bad decision of Somi’s agency
to let her show off body curves at such a young age.
They also said that the stylists of Somi as well as other Kpop idols’ should pay more
attention to the performing outfits of their artists, especially the underage ones.
Prior to that controversial outfit, Somi once came into severe criticism when appearing
on the reality talent show “Sixteen” with a strange fit.
The short croptop and tight shorts exuded a sporty, fresh aura and showed off Somi’s
firm abs.
However, considering the fact that she was still a minor back then, netizens were outraged
at whoever decided to give Somi this look.
No matter how attractive the outfit was, the stylist should have taken into account the
fact that Somi needed to be protected from the public as gaining attention by wearing
controversial outfits like this would only do more harm to her than good.
Now that Somi has already turned 21 and is currently working as a solo artist, she is
more comfortable in pursuing a sexy concept.
At this moment, Somi is highly regarded for her bold and seductive sense of style as well
as alluring visuals that has become more mature with time.
Tzuyu
Hailed as one of the beauty goddesses of Kpop idols gen3, Tzuyu debuted with Twice when
she was only 16 years old.
Taking advantage of her stunning visuals and curvy figure, JYP stylists often let Tzuyu
follow the sexy concept from the very first days with all kinds of short and tight outfits
to show off her body.
This decision was harshly scrutinized by netizens and TWICE’s supporters as Tzuyu was still
a junior highschool graduate back then.
One of her most controversial fits was worn in an elevator advertisement in which she
was seen wearing a tight croptop and super short shorts to perform sexy choreography,
making many fans and netizens feel awkward.
Many people said they were all stunned and shocked by this advertisement and were outraged
on how JYP allowed their underage artist to participate in such an erotic advertisement.
Ignoring all netizens' complaints, within a short period of time after that, JYP’s
stylists constantly gave Tzuyu inappropriate outfits to perform powerful choreographies.
This set is an example:
Netizens said that the shorts were too short to the point they exposed her safety garment
and even part of her bottom.
Not to mention that those shorts were in neon color which easily captivated the attention
of the audiences on Tzuyu's lower body when she performed on stage.
Many claimed that there is no way that a teenage girl would dress up this way in real life,
let alone going on stage and performing in front of thousands of people.
They agreed that these fits were more appropriate for the pool than music programs or performances
and demanded JYP to change TWICE's stylists immediately as well as be more considerate
about their artists’ outfits before things get out of hand.
Though Kpop idols are debuting at a much younger age now, we should never normalize them having
to wear sexy outfits just to fit in the concept set by the agency.
This would exert detrimental effects on both their mental health and safety, especially
in such a harsh environment as the Kpop industry.
So, which of the above outfits do you think are really inappropriate and which are not?