Youngest K-pop idols!

Are you wondering who some of the youngest K-pop idols are? What was the age at which the K-pop idols we cheer for and look up to on stage made their debut? Did their ages range from 18 to 14, or even younger at 14?

K-Pop entertainment companies consistently seek out exceptionally young talents who make their debut as teenagers. This may be because the earlier they begin, the longer they can remain active as an idol. For instance, if a singer starts their career at 16, even after a decade in the industry, they would only be 26 years old!

Typically, idols make their debut between the ages of 16 and 21. However, it is also not rare to see 15-year-old idols, and last year, in particular, 14-year-olds were frequently seen as well.

While it is common to see teenagers on stage in South Korea, fans tend to react negatively when new idols debut before they reach the age of 16. There is concern that the young singers are still unprepared for the entertainment industry. It is widely recognized that the entertainment industry can be a challenging business that doesn’t always prioritize everyone.

Fans have been engaged in extensive discussions following the debut of rookie groups such as IVE, Lightsum, and NewJeans in 2021/2022. These groups notably featured Maknaes, who were all just 14 years old. A lot of fans express concern over the increasingly young age of idols. However, is that statement actually accurate? Together, let’s travel back in time to find the answer to this question!

Are K-pop artists starting their careers at increasingly younger ages?

We can already see a prominent example in the year 2000 that contradicts this notion: BoA, a solo singer, is now 36 years old and is widely regarded as a legend. At just 13 years and nine months old, she made her first appearance in August 2000. BoA established a record that remained unbroken until 2022. The identity of the person will be revealed later in the article.

It took a considerable amount of time for another idol to make their debut at such a young age as BoA did, but several others in the subsequent years came close. Take TVXQ (2004) or Big Bang (2006) as examples; the youngest members were merely 15 years old when they made their debut. Seungri from the K-pop group Big Bang and Changmin from TVXQ.

And even younger, they kept going from 2007 to 2009! The Wonder Girls (2007) featured a lineup with three 14-year-old members simultaneously: Hyuna, Sohee, and Sunmi! Yeeun and Sunye, the remaining two, were both 17 years old.

In 2008, SHINee, a boy group, made their debut with Taemin, who was just 14 years old at the time. Similarly, the girl group Kara welcomed a new member named Jiyoung, who was also only 14 years old. Furthermore, solo artist IU, who had just turned 15 a few months prior, also began her career in September 2008.

In 2009, f(x) debuted with Krystal, who was only 14 years old at the time, and 4Minute also debuted with 14-year-old Kwon Sohyun.

Naturally, this brings up the inquiry of why fans believe that idols are debuting at increasingly younger ages nowadays.

Maybe it’s because there was a decline in the number of 14- and 15-year-old idols in the following years. These are some of the examples we discovered from 2013 to 2019.

Jungkook, a member of BTS, made his debut in 2013 when he was just 15 years old.

Jisung, a member of NCT Dream, made his debut in 2016 when he was just 14 years old.

Jeon Somi from I.O.I made her debut in 2016 when she was just 15 years old.

Jiheon, a member of fromis_9, made her debut in 2018 when she was only 14 years old.

Wonyoung from the group IZ*ONE made her debut in 2018 when she was just 14 years old.

Yuna from the group ITZY made her debut in 2019 when she was only 15 years old.

Dahyun from Rocket Punch made her debut in 2019 when she was just 14 years old.

By the way, Wonyoung caused quite a commotion as she celebrated her 14th birthday just two months before her debut! In the survival show “Produce 48,” where she competed for a spot in IZ*ONE, she was even only 13 y”

Nevertheless, as you may be aware, starting from 2020, there has been a notable increase in the number of idols debuting at the ages of 14 and 15, occurring almost routinely.

For instance, in 2020, three boy bands, namely Treasure, Enhypen, and P1Harmony, made their debut. The youngest member of Treasure was 15 years old, while both Ni-ki from Enhypen and Jongseob from P1Harmony were 14.

After that, at least five girl groups emerged in 2021 and 2022, including the debuts of Leeseo from IVE and Jian from Lightsum, both at the age of 14. Kujin, a 15-year-old, and Hyein, a 14-year-old, made their debut with NMIXX and NewJeans respectively in 2022.

Haeun, from the girl group Lapillus, is the youngest among them all.

When their debut single album “Hit Ya!” was unveiled.” in June 2022, Haeun was just 13 years and 7 months old! Haeun managed to surpass BoA’s record, which had stood for an impressive 13 years and 9 months!

Furthermore, there have been speculations about the age of one of the members of YG Entertainment’s upcoming girl group “Baby Monster,” suggesting that she is only 13 years old. Whether or not she will make her first appearance before turning 14 remains uncertain, but in any case, another extremely young idol will perform!

Once again, we come back to the question of why fans believe that Idols are becoming younger.

As we have now verified, it has been common for idols to make their debut at the age of 15, 14, or even 13 in the past. Nowadays, though, it’s becoming more common to see groups with young members, and even BoA’s record from that time will soon lose its uniqueness. Furthermore, the ideas and beliefs of these younger groups are distinct from those in the past. During the second generation, it was common for both boy and girl groups to begin their careers with a charming and pure image. Nowadays, new groups frequently begin earlier with more developed ideas. The release of New Jeans’ first single “Cookie” sparked intense debates. A large number of fans believed that the song’s lyrics had suggestive implications and were unsuitable for underage listeners.