The cancellation of the broadcast of 'UNDER15' due to the controversy over the sexual commercialization of children has led to backlash from viewers.
On the 23rd, a media outlet reported that the survival audition program 'UNDER15', produced by Creas Studio, conducted its final filming at the Bitmaru Broadcasting Support Center located in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang, on the 20th. A total of 7 members made it into the final debut group, and it is reported that they are expected to contact another broadcasting station besides MBN to air the program within this year.
'UNDER15' is a project to discover K-POP prodigies under the age of 15. It is a survival audition program aimed at nurturing a 5th generation girl group with skills and talent beyond their age. Initially, it was set to premiere on the 31st of last month through MBN, but it was halted due to allegations of child sexual commercialization.
The teaser released at the time featured participants in heavy makeup and revealing outfits taking sexy concept poses inappropriate for their ages, which sparked controversy. Additionally, a barcode was engraved at the bottom of participants' profiles, further escalating the issue. The fact that the youngest participant was only 8 years old was revealed, leading to outrage not only domestically but also from overseas netizens, who are more sensitive to the issue of juvenile crime.
As the controversy grew larger, the 'UNDER15' side released an official statement noting that "the participants of 'UNDER15' are all precious talents who applied for the program with their own will and with the consent of their guardians. The production team has strictly adhered to recording compliance guidelines to protect the participants who are minors during filming. The production team determined costumes and styling through active discussions with the participants' guardians and ensured a maximum of 35 hours of practice during recording weeks. Guardians and production staff were involved in pick-ups and constant care at the practice studio."
Nevertheless, as negative public sentiment did not subside, on the 25th of last month, representative Seo Hye-jin and joint representatives Hwang In-young, along with PD Yong Seok-in, who is in charge of directing 'UNDER15,' held an emergency production report meeting to confront the issue head-on. The production team revealed some of the actual broadcast footage of 'UNDER15' that day and stated, "Friends born in the 21st century in South Korea are growing up in a media environment different from previous generations. In an era where K-POP has become a global standard, there are friends who naturally want to be a K-POP idol, just like doctors or scientists, and want to showcase their talents to the world. We wanted to open the door of opportunity to that generation," emphasizing that there were no inappropriate intentions in the production process.
The production team explained regarding the controversial barcode, stating, "We thought of 'UNDER15' as a school. It is a place where those friends cultivate their dreams and hopes, and we thought of it as a concept of school ID where they come to meet good teachers to expand their training." They also commented on the teaser, saying, "The image we associate with young friends and the desire of those friends to beautifully express their talents was intended to be a reversal. The teaser was not long and consumed as an image, and we seem to have been misunderstood as a sexy concept mimicking adults. We felt that it should not be taken that way, so we quickly deleted it. I want to say that we did not think we would proceed like that at all," and apologized.
In particular, representative Hwang In-young tearfully mentioned, "The first reaction from both the participants and their guardians, as well as the production staff, was 'We are not that kind of program, so why is it being talked about that way?'" Hwang expressed hope that the program would help break the stereotype that auditions lead to exploitation of girl groups. Representative Seo Hye-jin also shared, "I believe that every issue has a solution found by saying the opposite. Is 'UNDER15' a program produced by more than 100 production staff to exploit young children for sexual commercialization? Do they create productions using their sons for sexual exploitation? I believe that is not the case," as she openly shed tears.
However, despite the tearful explanations from the production team, public reaction was cold, with 129 civic groups gathering in front of MBN's headquarters to demand the suspension of 'UNDER15.' Ultimately, on the 28th, just three days before the scheduled premiere date, the 'UNDER15' team announced, "After deep consideration and meetings, we have decided that the best course of action is to cancel the broadcast schedule originally set for March 31 and to protect the participants and reorganize." They stated that MBN will not be scheduling the program, and they will ensure that the essence of the program and the sincerity of the participants are not compromised. The first episode video that was uploaded on YouTube has also been deleted.
Amid this, with reports surfacing that 'UNDER15' continued filming even after its broadcast was canceled, and has already completed the final recording, criticism toward the production company is rising again. OSEN attempted to contact Creas Studio multiple times to confirm facts related to the recording continuation, but has not been able to reach them.
[Photo] Creas Studio
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