"Does it make sense to restrict working hours based on age? If you take a closer look at how the industry operates, you'll quickly realize that it doesn’t make sense. Why are they making this an issue again...?"
An official from an idol agency said this with a deep sigh. The music industry is struggling to relate to the revision of the 'Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act,' which is currently being proposed in the National Assembly.
The issue is that the existing regulation on the upper limit of working hours for young entertainers, which is '35 hours per week for those under 15' and '40 hours per week for those 15 and older,' is further subdivided by age and daily standard. The suggested changes are as follows:
- Under 9 years old: Maximum of 30 hours per week, 6 hours per day,
- Ages 9 to under 15: Maximum of 35 hours per week, 7 hours a day, and
- Ages 15 and older: Maximum of 40 hours per week, 8 hours per day.
This amendment was previously proposed in the last National Assembly session, but was dismissed when the term expired. The same proposal has now been re-submitted.
Regarding this, the Korea Music Content Association, which represents major domestic record labels, pointed out, "The amendment that limits service hours based on age segmentation for popular culture and arts professionals is a bill that ignores the realities of the industry."
K-Pop, which is considered as the key product of K-Content, is driven by idol groups of young age. These idols are typically cast at a young age, undergo training as agency trainees, and debut after years of preparation. Since they aim to become idols early on and develop their capabilities, it's common for them to start their careers during their teenage years while they are still in middle or high school.
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The nature of their job, such as concerts, award shows, filming MVs, performing on music shows, and more, takes a lot of time from preparation to waiting. That's why many in the industry view the newly proposed regulations as restrictive. An agency official expressed frustration by saying, "It's not like we release new songs or promote 365 days a year. Activities are usually focused during comeback periods. If daily hour restrictions are implemented, we might only be able to perform on one music show per day."
They added, "It can take up to 10 hours just to shoot our own content. Music videos are filmed over 2 to 3 days due to the existing regulations. If the newly proposed regulations are implemented, we'll need to divide the time even more, which would double the costs for hairstylists, makeup artists, and stylists. In the end, it will affect the idols' earnings negatively. Who does this benefit?" In particular, cost issues are expected to have greater impacts on small and medium-sized agencies.
Since idol groups work as units, setting time restrictions by age could create a sense of discrimination among the members. Another official mentioned, "Minor members already have to either leave by 10 PM or continue with their parents' consent. An underage idol mentioned, 'This is my job and workplace, but I feel left out due to my age.'"
They continued, "All members competed fiercely to debut, so they are highly motivated to participate in every activity. Agencies are also trying to support their health and education in various ways. While we fully agree with the goals of protecting minors, the proposed regulations are just unrealistic. Those who are affected by these regulations don't see this as a consideration, but rather perceive it as an 'age cut-off.' It's necessary to reflect on the current situation and gather more opinions."
theqoo
-Huh? What nonsense is this? Minors should be protected at all costs. It’s weird to treat minors the same as adults.
-??? Let the kids go to school and get some sleep at night. Are they being serious here?
-I wish minors weren’t allowed to debut🥲 I hope they would be allowed to finish their studies before making their own choice. I hope they know that even if they fail to debut, there are many other paths🥲🥲🥲
-I still don’t get it. What other industry uses kids so much? And now, even the big companies are doing it.
-'Supporting the right to education'? What a bullshit. A lot of rookies these days are dropping out of schoolㅋㅋㅋ
-It’s right to set restrictions for minors.
-Only allow those over 19 to debut. Stop exploit young children.
-If they’re going to say stuff like that, then don’t debut minors in the first place.
-Do they not understand why minors are considered minors?
-Just let the kids go to school.
-Just by seeing how minors are wearing short skirts and dancing provocatively these days, there's... just no hope.
-Stop minors from debutingㅋㅋ
-They're making minors work. So of course, the minors should be protected. What are they even saying? If they can’t follow the rules, then don’t debut them.
-Let's just raise the minimum age for idols to debut while we're at it. Stop exploiting young children.
-They really want to justify child exploitation, don’t they?
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