The production team of "Under Fifteen" clarified the controversy surrounding sexual commodification.

On the afternoon of the 25th, an emergency production report for MBN's new entertainment program "Under Fifteen" took place at the Grand Ballroom of Stanford Hotel in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. The report was attended by Seo Hye-jin, the head of CREA Studio, and PD Yong Seok-in, who shared some actual broadcast footage of "Under Fifteen" and had a discussion through a Q&A session about questions related to the program. PD Lee Guk-yong, who was scheduled to attend, was absent due to health reasons.

"Under Fifteen" is a K-POP prodigy discovery project for those aged 15 and under. It is a survival audition program aimed at cultivating a 5th generation girl group with talent and charisma.

On this day, Seo Hye-jin from CREA Studio addressed the controversy over sexual commodification that arose after the release of profile photos, saying, "There was a huge misunderstanding. I’m worried that some might say we hastily created evidence, so I would like to show the KakaoTalk messages exchanged with the designer at that time."

He noted, "The person creating the design for our social media is a woman in her 30s. She does design separately and brought the concept from student IDs. We thought of "Under Fifteen" as a school. These kids are in a place where they are growing dreams and hopes, and I believed they were in a location to expand their training while meeting good teachers. The student ID concept was based on images that can be readily found online. Nowadays, student IDs have barcodes and birth dates, but since birth dates are personal information, we only included ages. We checked everything regarding the student ID section when the photos were published. Most people seem not to think that student IDs look like this nowadays. I was very surprised by the notion that a barcode would be interpreted in a sexual manner. However, I took down the profile out of concern that my friends might be hurt by that thumbnail."

He continued, "I was very surprised that you were talking about student IDs in relation to sex work and sexual matters. I mention the design person being a woman because 90% of all female workers in the media industry are women. The idea that female workers have a low level of sexual awareness seems to devalue women working in the media industry. So, what we want to convey is that everything from design to editing, comments, and teaching dance and costume is being handled by women, and I hope this is recognized."

Hwang In-young, co-CEO, said, "Nevertheless, the narrative has been framed in such a way that it ultimately becomes sexual commodification, which can hurt the participants. Therefore, despite not intending to create this situation, the controversy has escalated, and I want to avoid any damage to the participants, so we deleted the profile photos from the official account. I believe it is necessary to take the time to identify aspects we did not consider that might cause pain, and we intend to review and respond carefully to this."

Regarding the controversy sparked by the teaser video with a sexy concept, Hwang In-young explained, "The intention was to express a reversal of the image we think of when we envision young friends and their desire to showcase their talents beautifully." He added, "The teaser is shorter than the actual broadcast and gets consumed through images, so it seems to have been misunderstood as a sexy concept mimicking adults. We realized it should not be perceived that way, so we quickly deleted it. I want to clarify that the thought of 'this is the direction we will go' was never there."

He added, "However, the production team cannot fully align with the audience's feelings, and I believe it is best to respond quickly when controversies arise. Of course, it was unfortunate not to have foreseen and prepared for certain aspects. Therefore, we need to work to ensure this doesn't happen in the future, especially considering that the media consumption style of young individuals is different from before. The audience's expectations have increased, and this has provided us with an opportunity to reflect on any shortcomings we might have."

[Photo] CREA Studio

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