Netizens are discussing SM Entertainment's history of youngest idols.

Netizens are abuzz on online forums as they delve into the history of SM Entertainment's youngest idols at the time of their debut. The discussion has captivated fans, highlighting the impressive achievements of these 'maknaes' who debuted at remarkably young ages, leaving lasting impressions in the K-pop industry.

Unlike lists focusing on group maknaes, this compilation features idols who were the youngest across all of SM Entertainment during their debut period. As such, even if multiple maknaes debuted at the same age, only those with the youngest birth dates were included, making them the true 'maknae' of their era within the company.

The netizen who created the list explained:

"SM’s history of youngest artists across the company (not group-specific maknaes, but the youngest artists in SM at any given time).

※ Traced back to the early days of SM Entertainment.
※ No other specific reason, just looked it up out of curiosity.
※ Tried to include photos from their active periods as much as possible.
※ Organized by stage name (time period when they were SM’s youngest artist, debut age).
※ This is not about group maknaes but purely out of curiosity about SM Entertainment’s youngest artists throughout the years!
※ Official ages were used, based on international age standards."

Here is the compiled list:

H.O.T.'s Lee Jae Won (96.09.07~97.11.27, debuted at 16 years old)

S.E.S.'s Shoo (97.11.28~99.11.20, debuted at 16 years old)

Fly to the Sky's Hwanhee (99.11.21~00.08.24, debuted at 17 years old)

BoA (00.08.25~03.12.25, debuted at 13 years old)

TVXQ's Changmin (03.12.26~06.09.07, debuted at 15 years old)

Zhang Li Yin (06.09.08~07.08.04, debuted at 17 years old)

Girls' Generation's Seohyun (07.08.05~08.05.24, debuted at 16 years old)

SHINee's Taemin (08.05.25~09.09.04, debuted at 14 years old)

f(x)'s Krystal (09.09.05~14.07.31, debuted at 14 years old)

Red Velvet's Joy (14.08.01~15.03.10, debuted at 17 years old)

Red Velvet's Yeri (15.03.11~16.04.08, debuted at 16 years old)

NCT 127 & NCT Dream's Mark (16.04.09~16.07.06, debuted at 16 years old)

NCT 127 & NCT Dream's Haechan (16.07.07~16.08.24, debuted at 16 years old)

NCT Dream's Jisung (16.08.25~20.11.16, debuted at 14 years old)

aespa's Ningning (20.11.17~23.09.03, debuted at 18 years old)

RIIZE's Anton (23.09.04~24.02.20, debuted at 19 years old)

NCT WISH's Sakuya (24.02.21~25.02.23, debuted at 16 years old)

Hearts2Hearts's Nayeon (25.02.24~, to debut at 14 years old)

Netizen reactions include:

"BoA really is such a unique case, wow."

"The youngest across all of SM, ohhhh."

"BoA debuted solo at that age? That’s incredible."

"This isn’t a list of group maknaes; it’s a lineage of those who were the youngest across all of SM at the time."

"Jisung was the youngest for four years, lol."

"I was wondering why some major groups were missing, but it’s because this is for the youngest in the company overall, lol."

"Wow, BoA was really just a baby."

"I didn’t realize Krystal was the youngest artist for such a long time."

"Sakuya really does look like a baby."

"Wow, Krystal held the youngest spot for so long. I always thought she was mature for her age, but that’s amazing."

"There are some members who look especially young, and some I thought weren’t that young but actually debuted much earlier than I realized."

"It’s impressive that SM debuted BoA as a soloist at that age."

"Changmin...ㅠ."

"RIIZE debuted at an older age compared to other teams. There’s definitely a gap."

"Sakuya looks so cute in that photo, ㅠ."

"Why is BoA so adorable?"

"BoA and Changmin were close in age, but debuting in middle school and high school at 13 and 15 years old makes them seem like such babies."

"I used to think Krystal was really mature, but she was such a baby back then."

"I thought Sehun would be on the list, but Krystal’s birthday is later, huh."

"Jisung really does look like an elementary school kid."

"Krystal really was the youngest for such a long time, wow."

"Is debuting in middle school really okay? They’re so young and don’t know much yet—it’s concerning."

"I didn’t realize Krystal debuted at such a young age."

"All the photos are from their debut days, haha."

"BoA and Sakuya’s photos are so cute."

"Changmin and Krystal felt so much more mature than their age, so thinking about their years in the industry is honestly shocking."

What are your thoughts?

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