The topic of K-Pop idols debuting at young ages has been a heavily debated one in the last couple of years. Though people debuting in the K-Pop industry at ages as young as 14 isn’t new — idols such as KARA‘s Jiyoung, Wonder Girls‘ Sohee, and SHINEE‘s Taemin are all older idols that debuted at that age — there seems to be more discussion about the topic in recent times.
And there have been a lot of young K-Pop idols debuting in the last couple of years. Some of NewJeans‘ and CLASS:y‘s members debuted underage, and the maknaes of IVE, ENHYPEN, and LE SSERAFIM (Leeseo, Ni-ki, and Eunchae respectively) all also started their K-Pop careers when they were barely into their teens.
But it’s one thing to have a young K-Pop idol in a group actively promoting in such an exploitative industry; it’s another to have underage idols dress and dance in ways that many feel are inappropriate for their age.
Recently, Eunchae’s outfits became a topic of conversation on an online forum post, with two specific examples in particular shared. One was a short black dress she wore for a performance, and performance outfits are often more heavily criticized because of how they shift and can be more revealing with certain dance moves.
The second outfit wasn’t one worn for a performance, but the skirt that Eunchae is seen in is incredibly short and tight, which many feel is not appropriate for someone of her age (with the LE SSERAFIM maknae being 17 at this time, and only 15 when the group debuted).
The post led to a lot of discussion in the comments, with many people agreeing that the outfits (especially the second one) shouldn’t be worn by an underage idol like Eunchae. Some even shared their discomfort with Eunchae being in LE SSERAFIM at all, since all of the other members are older and the group tends to have an overall more “mature” vibe.
How do you feel about Eunchae’s stylists’ choices for her outfits?
Source: Pann Nate and Pann Choa
