Evaluating this minor on Liberation Day...KBS Controversy over the commercialization of children's sex products under Fifteen Japan bypass broadcasting
Aug 09, 2025
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KBS will air an audition program for Korean minors in Japan four days before Liberation Day.
KBS Japan will air 'A Star Is Born' at 4:50 p.m. on the 11th. 'A star is Born' is a renamed 'Underpiptin'.
'Underpiptin' is a program that advocates an audition for a generational change of K-pop prodigies under the age of 15, and it received attention because it is a new work of PD Seo Hye-jin, who successfully led the 'Miss Trot' series and 'Actual Singer'. However, the more the program was unveiled one by one, the more controversy arose.
First of all, there was the age problem of the participants. Controversy over child abuse erupted when it was revealed that the age of application was under 15, and the youngest participant was 9 years old. In the first teaser video, young children were criticized for wearing cropped T-shirts that clearly revealed their navel and making them wear dark makeup. After the profile picture was released, a barcode was attached to the bottom of the participant's picture to promote it, causing controversy over the commercialization of children's sex.
The production team responded that `Barcode is a student ID concept, and I was rather surprised by the suspicion of sex commercialization.' He also held a press conference in March and explained that the Korea Communications Standards Commission's preliminary deliberation was also passed.
However, this turned out to be not true, and 129 civil society organizations strongly protested, calling for the suspension of broadcasting. In the end, MBN canceled the program after much consideration.
However, KBS, a public broadcaster, accepted a program that was canceled by private broadcasting due to allegations of sexual commercialization of children. As the Anglo-American and other countries have strict moral standards for sexual objectification of minors, it is controversial that public broadcasting has organized the program.
Moreover, the target audience is Japan, not the domestic audience. Korean children wearing dark makeup and revealing costumes that adults can wear will be exposed to Japanese viewers as they are, evaluating their face, body, dance and singing skills. That's just four days before Liberation Day. This is why criticism is focused on the responsibility and moral standards of public broadcasting that receives license fees.
KBS Japan is a subsidiary established by KBS to broadcast and distribute Korean content in Japan. The company is headquartered in Tokyo and KBS is the largest shareholder.
silk781220@sportschosun.com
