The producer who discovered Lim Young Woong is set to launch an audition program for a global girl group.

Following her success with TV Chosun’s ‘Mr. Trot’ and ‘Miss Trot,’ as well as MBN’s ‘The King of Singers’ and ‘Korean-Japanese Singers Competition,’ PD Seo Hye Jin is taking on a new challenge: producing a global girl group audition program. The program, called ‘Under 15,’ aims to air in the second half of this year.

In an interview, PD Seo said, “We have completed the domestic auditions and are preparing for the second round in Southeast Asia. Starting in Thailand, we plan to visit Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The program’s outline will be revealed by the end of August after completing all the locations.”

‘Under 15’ is a K-audition program targeting youths between the ages of 3 and 15 from over 70 countries worldwide. "Much younger than the average debut age of NewJeans at 16.4 years old," PD Seo explained. The goal is to form a "5th generation vocal prodigy girl group that will perform globally," regardless of race, nationality, or genre.

The challenge, PD Seo claims, lies in differentiation. While agencies like HYBE and JYP have created multinational girl groups through global auditions, CreA Studio’s primary goal is nurturing vocal talent. 

“Existing girl group auditions select singers according to an agency’s preferences, with broadcasting channels merely serving as platforms. CreA Studio aims to gather vocal prodigies based on the capabilities gained from numerous audition programs. This is our differentiating factor,” she said.

PD Seo continued, “Recent viewer voting trends show a clear tendency to vote for younger singers. I believe this reflects the current K-pop trend, so we prepared accordingly.”

Why are viewers focusing on teenage singers? PD Seo analyzed, “During the ‘Korean-Japanese Singers Competition,’ the pure singing of teenage contestants received high popularity. Viewers’ tastes have changed. The pure emotions of teenagers seem to captivate the audience.” She added, “As society becomes more complex and hearts grow harsher, people might be seeking purity.”

While CreA Studio will produce the girl group auditions, it has no plans to expand into management.

However, netizens are expressing their skepticism about this goal of casting female trainees under fifteen. Many criticize the age range of "three to fifteen" as "too young," arguing that young age is "not the real reason why people like NewJeans."

Reactions include:

"Starting from age 3??????"

"They are too young.."

"Just being young doesn't make someone popular.."

"Seriously, keep it moderate....."

"Kids aren't the right choice"

"NewJeans didn't succeed because they were young.."

"Stop using Lim Young-woong's name for your benefit, lol. Your picks are Kim Ho Joong and Hwang Young Woong, so why do you always bring up Lim Young-woong in situations like this? lol"

"It's not like NewJeans became famous just because they were young, so what's the relevance? lololol Is this just to get attention?"

"Who keeps giving this person work?"

"Debuting such young kids is bizarre... Just stop"

"It seems like they are mistaken, thinking that young kids getting cute attention in trot shows is the same thing"

"If they knew how the idol industry works, they would never debut such young kids... Seriously, just stop..."

"Are you going to take responsibility for these kids' lives forever?"

"The kids should at least be sent to school properly"

What are your thoughts?

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