"We will carefully consider to avoid misunderstandings"
Structural exploitation issues behind K-pop under scrutiny
"We wanted to open the door of opportunity to talented 'Alpha Generation'."
The production team of 'UNDER15,' a female child and adolescent audition program for those under 15 years old, which has been embroiled in controversies over the sexual exploitation of minors and child abuse, held an emergency press conference on the 25th at a hotel in Seoul to respond. They tried to dispel concerns by revealing some edited footage, but it seems difficult to quell the criticism.
'UNDER15' has been criticized for publicly encouraging competition among young children, imposing excessive physical and mental burdens, and sexualizing them, which is regarded as sexual exploitation and child abuse. The controversy grew when promotional videos and photos were released during the program's publicity ahead of its first broadcast scheduled for the 31st of this month.
Regarding the profile photos of participants aged 8 to 15 (born 2009?2016) with barcodes printed on them, Hwang In-young, CEO of Creastudio, explained, "I thought it looked cool," adding, "We took the concept from student ID cards. We thought of this as a school that nurtures dreams and hopes."
She also emphasized that a female designer created the barcode image. Seo Hye-jin, CEO of Creastudio, responded somewhat off-topic by saying, "Assuming that media workers have low gender sensitivity is to look down on female media workers."
As the controversy intensified, MBN stated, "We will comprehensively review the program's details and whether it will be aired," but the production company showed determination to proceed with the broadcast by holding the press conference. CEO Seo emphasized, "All production costs were borne by Creastudio, not MBN. MBN is the broadcasting platform. That does not mean MBN and we have differing opinions."
However, the timing and decision to release the program remain unclear. Seo said, "We are editing the broadcast based on various advice. It is not that it must be on the 31st. We will look for various options." CEO Hwang added, "There seems to be a misunderstanding such as imitating adults or a sexy concept, which was not the intention," and "This is a time and opportunity to reflect on any shortcomings."
The production team appealed that the young participants and their guardians have been severely shocked amid fierce criticism. Director Yong said, "If the broadcast does not happen, it is hard to imagine the wounds the children and parents will suffer."
Civil organizations criticized 'UNDER15' for using children as a shield to insist on proceeding with the broadcast. The Child and Youth Media Rights Network, consisting of 11 organizations including the Child and Youth Rights Commission, the Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media, and the Korean Broadcasting Actors' Union, stated, "The criticism from citizens was directed at the production company and broadcaster, not the participants. They used the young participants as a shield against criticism," and "This incident only confirmed the cowardice of adults."
Park Jin-sook, Emergency Committee Chairperson of the Women's Party, also pointed out, "They are avoiding and distorting criticism of the sexual exploitation of children by framing the program's cancellation as trampling on the children's dreams."
Industry insiders say this reveals the deep-rooted chronic problems of sexual exploitation and sexual commercialization behind the glamorous K-pop industry. Chairperson Park said, "There should be no justification of the chronic structural problems of our country's entertainment industry by holding children's dreams hostage," and "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which should oversee and supervise, are neglecting their duties and protecting the broadcasting and entertainment industry."
She further criticized, "Serious exploitation and violence such as sexual crime victimization, forced adult broadcast appearances, delayed profit settlements, excessive dieting, and forced plastic surgery are occurring on a large scale, yet related data is not properly collected."
She emphasized, "MBN and Creastudio should not cowardly hide behind young children but take responsibility by canceling the program," and "If they truly want to protect children, they must work on cultural systems and awareness improvements so that children can perform on stage without sexual commercialization."
Whether MBN will air the program as scheduled remains uncertain. The Korean Women's Associations United and the Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media plan to hold a press conference on the morning of the 26th in front of the MBN building in Jung-gu, Seoul, urging the broadcast's suspension.
Meanwhile, at the press conference, CEO Seo claimed that 'UNDER15' passed the preliminary review of the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), but the KCSC completely denied this. According to Article 21 of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Korea Communications Commission and Article 32 of the Broadcasting Act, the KCSC conducts post-broadcast reviews to determine violations of review regulations based on programs already aired. After the press conference, the KCSC issued a statement saying, "We have never received the complete program before broadcast, and the claim that we reviewed it and provided opinions on violations of review regulations is false."
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