"More Worried About Kids Taken Out Without Permission"...Suffering Children of Broadcasters

Child Actor and Child Performer Suffer from Malicious Comments
"Exposure on Children's Broadcasts and SNS May Violate Decision-Making Rights"

As more parenting content featuring broadcasters and their children increases, criticism of 'sharenting' is growing. Child rights experts warn that sharenting, which involves sharing photos or daily life of children, not only infringes on children's self-determination rights but can also negatively affect their emotional well-being, urging caution.

Sharenting is a compound word of Share and Parenting. While it has the advantage of recording a child's growth process, communicating with other parents, and obtaining parenting advice, it also has drawbacks such as invading the child's privacy and self-determination rights and exposing them to crimes online.

Former Laboum member Yulhee, FT Island's Choi Minhwan. [Image source=SNS capture]

Recently, concerns have been raised about the children of FT Island member Choi Min-hwan and former Laboum member Kim Yul-hee. The two chose to divorce, and the police have launched an investigation after Kim exposed allegations of Choi's visits to entertainment establishments.

Because the two previously appeared on variety shows such as KBS2's 'Men Who Do Housework' and revealed their daily lives with their children, videos showing their children's faces can still be found on YouTube and social media, leading to critical comments on their past videos. Most comments scold Choi, saying that if the allegations of visiting prostitution establishments are true, it was highly inappropriate, but there are also many comments expressing concern about the children's future school life since their faces are already known.

Earlier, Kim claimed on her YouTube channel, "During the divorce negotiations, we agreed that since the divorce would greatly affect the children, we would not expose them on broadcasts after the divorce." Choi appeared on broadcasts such as KBS2's 'The Return of Superman' with his children even after the divorce but withdrew from broadcasting after the prostitution allegations surfaced.

There are many cases where famous young children exposed on broadcasts and social media have gone through difficult times. Park Min-ha, a child actress and daughter of former announcer and broadcaster Park Chan-min, once appeared on a counseling program and confessed about the malicious comments and rumors she had suffered from since childhood. Park appeared on several variety shows such as SBS's 'Bungeoppang' with her father when she was young but revealed the pain of having to endure strange rumors after starting school.

Participants of MBC's parenting variety show 'Dad, Where Are We Going?' which was popular 10 years ago, also had similar experiences. Yoon Min-soo's child Yoon Hoo was only eight years old when he appeared on the program but suffered from malicious comments due to the creation of an anti-fan cafe, and actor Lee Jong-hyuk's son Jun-su was also subjected to appearance-related derogatory comments.

Concerned about this, some broadcasters have expressed their principle of not revealing their children's faces. Comedian Jung Hyung-don said on a broadcast, "I do not expose my children because I believe that should be their choice," adding, "I thought it was wrong to use children to show that the family is happy." Singer Baek Ji-young also explained why she does not reveal her daughters' faces, saying, "Because I want my daughters to live as themselves, not as 'Baek Ji-young's daughters,' wherever they go."

Child rights experts point out that sharenting can infringe on children's self-determination and portrait rights. Since children have not yet established their identity and find it difficult to express refusal, exposing them on SNS or broadcasts solely based on parents' decisions is inappropriate. The child rights organization Save the Children provides guidelines for 'Sharenting that Protects Children,' advising to ▲carefully consider the child's future ▲fully explain to the child and give them the opportunity to express their opinions ▲periodically delete posts ▲be cautious about leaking the child's personal information.