It’s now a universally acknowledged fact that the K-pop industry is one of the most popular and successful music industries of all time. However, for being awarded success and fame, one needs to make preparations for it from a young age. We know that most of the K-pop idol aspirants spend a lot of time training for their much-awaited debut. However, some of them start so early that by the time they reach 16, they are already a well-known name in the industry. They choose to sacrifice almost their entire childhood and become trainees at entertainment agencies to get ready for being an idol. K-pop idols debuting at a young age turns out to be pretty good for their careers as they get a relatively long time to showcase their skills.
Even so, they do not fail to stun the audience with their exceptional visuals, vocals, and dancing skills! Here are nine K-pop idols, excluding the child stars who went on to garner the most amount of love and fame from the audience despite debuting at a very young age!
9. 2NE1’s Minzy: 15 Years Old
After years of experience as a trainee under YG Entertainment, Minzy made a legendary debut as a member of the girl group 2NE1 in 2009 at the age of fifteen. She was the main dancer of the group along with Sandara Park, Park Bom, and CL. In no time, the band became one of the most popular and renowned girl groups on a global basis. Since her childhood, she has been a part of multiple dancing competitions and has won numerous awards for the same. In fact, she was a better dancer at thirteen years old than any K-pop idol can ever be! No wonder she received early recognition for having exceptional control over her moves, fluidity, passion, energy, and technique of dancing!
After leaving 2NE1 because of depression, she established herself as a solo artist who wished to experiment with her music style and not limit it to a particular genre.
8. BTS’ Jungkook: 15 Years Old
BTS’ ‘Golden Maknae’ was barely fifteen when he made his debut as a vocalist of BTS, and he has come a long way since then. He caught the attention of BigHit Entertainment when he took the audition of Superstar K in 2011 at the age of thirteen, and despite not being able to make a place among the TV contestants, he was good enough to get an offer from multiple big entertainment companies like JYP and Cube.
However, one of the biggest reasons for him to join BigHit was because of Kim Namjoon, aka RM’s influence on him as a rapper. Despite his young age, he managed to make a powerful impact in the K-pop world as well as an international star owing to his ability to learn things fast and his dedication towards his goals.
7. SHINee’s Taemin: 14 Years Old
Taemin is known for his outstanding talent of dancing and singing, and even the most successful K-Pop idols admire him and consider him as an inspiration. He has been a part of the K-pop industry since he was fourteen and made his debut as a member of the boy group ‘SHINee’ in the year 2008. The maknae of his group, Taemin, is given the title of the ‘Idols’ Idol’ and has been a part of the supergroup SuperM under SM Entertainment. Not only as a member of ‘SHINee,’ Taemin has garnered immense fame with his solo career as well, producing a total of four studio albums, six extended plays, and one compilation album since 2014.
6. IU: 14 Years Old
‘Nation’s Little Sister,’ IU is one of the biggest South Korean celebrities at present, and not only is she loved by her fans as an idol but also as a person. All of her success is the result of her hard work from the tender age of fourteen despite the lack of financial support in her childhood. She made her debut as a soloist with her mini-album ‘Lost and Found’ in 2008, and with time, she earned the image of the girl-next-door in the country.
Not only as a vocalist but also as a lyricist and composer, she has proven her worth from time to time by being a recipient of several music awards and chart-topping numbers on Billboard and Gaon Music. In fact, she is an incredible actor as well! With her visuals and amazing acting skills, she has been a part of some of the most popular Korean shows, including ‘Dream High,’ ‘My Mister,’ ‘Hotel Del Luna’ and ‘Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo’.
Also Read: Top 14 K-pop Idols Born into Rich Families
5. HyunA: 14 Years Old
The beautiful and multi-talented HyunA is one of the biggest blessings of the K-pop industry. She entered the K-pop world as the main rapper of the South Korean girl group Wonder Girls at the age of fourteen but eventually left it due to some health problems. She later made her comeback as the main rapper and dancer of the group ‘4MINUTE’ in the year 2009, and the rest is history! The group ended up being one of the most recognized K-pop girl groups in the country and even won the Best Rookie Award at the Golden Disc Awards for that year.
Her solo debut music video went on the become the first MV by a female K-pop solo artist to reach 100 million views on YouTube. Her discography consists of seven extended solo plays and a collaborative EP with Dawn, with whom she is now engaged after over five years of dating.
4. IZ*ONE’s Wonyoung: 14 Years Old
Wonyoung made her debut as the maknae of the K-pop girl group IZ*ONE in 2018, which went on to become one of the most successful fourth-generation K-pop groups within a short duration of time. She took part in the K-pop survival show ‘Produce 48’ when she was fourteen years old and ended up earning a spot in the final group lineup. In fact, she was one of the youngest contestants on the show, but her dancing skills, visuals as well as sweet personality received the love of the audience.
After the disbandment of IZ*ONE, Wonyoung made her come back with the six-member group, ‘IVE’ formed under Starship Entertainment.
3. f(x)’s Krystal: 14 Years Old
The younger one of the beloved ‘Jung Sisters,’ Krystal entered the Korean music industry as the maknae and the lead vocalist of the girl group, ‘f(x)’ in 2009 when she was only fourteen. However, she soon stunned everyone with her amazing stage performances as well as gorgeous visuals, winning uncountable fans, male and female alike. It was absolutely fair for her to play the role of the chic and beautiful ‘Goddess of Beauty’ in the Korean series, ‘Bride of the Water God’! Some of the other K-dramas for which she is widely known are ‘Search,’ ‘Prison Playbook,’ ‘The Heirs,’ and ‘Police University’.
2. ENHYPEN’s Niki: 14 Years Old
Considering the amount of fame the K-pop boy group ENHYPEN has been receiving ever since its debut, it won’t be surprising if it ends up becoming the next big thing in the world of Korean pop. While everyone in the group is pretty young and talented, the maknae of the band, Niki, is the youngest among them who, after training for eight months and being a contestant on the K-pop survival show, ‘I-LAND,’ debuted with the group in 2020 when he was fourteen years old.
However, the appeal he has over the international fans, especially the Japanese fans, is incredible, considering he is the only Japanese member of ENHYPEN. During his time on I-LAND, the public knew him as the dancing machine of the program and ended up catching their attention.
1. Boa: 13 Years Old
Boa used to be the face of K-pop back in the 2000s beyond South Korea and has been the most influential Korean entertainer of all time! She became an SM Entertainment trainee as an eleven-year-old girl and made her debut as an artist at the age of thirteen, making her one of the youngest individuals to do so at that time. Renowned as the ‘Queen of K-pop,’ Boa is talented in multi-talented who is skilled in singing, songwriting, dancing, acting and is also a record producer.
Her stardom extends towards the U.S. and Japanese music industries as well, with a total of nine Japanese albums and one English album along with ten Korean studio albums! Moreover, she has served as a judge on the K-Pop audition show, ‘K-Pop Star,’ a host for ‘Produce 101’ Season 2, and as a coach for ‘The Voice of Korea’ Season 3.
