New idol show sparks criticisms over its lookism concept and qualifications of participants

SEOUL: Another idol show which premiered last Thursday has sparked criticisms for lookism and over the qualifications of participants.

Mnet’s new TV show ‘ Idol School’ says participants must not belong to any entertainment agencies but some of the students at the school reportedly had already received professional training from entertainment agencies, while others officially debuted in girl groups.

There have been complaints that allowing participants with this kind of experience is against its self- proclaimed concept of training ordinary students.

“We’ve recruited ( participants) since April. ... At the time they (the participants) hadn’t signed with an agency, and we felt that excluding them from the programme because of their past experiences would be an adverse discrimination of some sort. So we decided to give them a chance,” said Shin Yu- seon, one of the producers for the show.

Another controversy is the show’s purpose. The school’s teaser shows lined-up young girls wearing high school uniforms, posing in a pink- plastered classroom setting and singing the theme song: “Trust me. It’s okay, because I’m pretty … Dream on, because I’m pretty, we are all pretty.” This scene fanned public concern that the show may further instigate the already widespread lookism in society.

Although the show says it is looking for talented singers among untrained ordinary girls and nurture their ‘girl group skills,’ the word ‘pretty’ is emphasised everywhere and it feels more like it is looking for the prettiest faces that the public wants rather than ones who can sing or dance.

The show’s co- producer Jeon Kyung- nam said that while preparing the show, they “expected concerns for lookism would arise. Pretty could be controversial, but we didn’t make the single standard for our recruitment pretty faces. We used it in a wider meaning, for instance, one’s passion could look pretty. We put potential ahead of pretty faces.”

A total of 41 students who have enrolled will undergo an 11-week curriculum of not only singing and dancing lessons, but also classes about the history of K-pop, mental training for the pressures of becoming an idol singer and lessons on what to do in case of unexpected situations on stage.

After an 11-week training program, nine selected trainees who receive the most votes from viewers will debut as a new girl group right after the show ends.

Korean acting legend Lee Son- jae is the principal of the school assisted by veteran K-pop star Kim Hee- chul. Singer and musical actress Bada teaches the students how to sing – along with vocal trainer Jang Jin-young – while choreographer Park Junhee and K-pop star Stephanie are in charge of dancing.

Songwriting team Black Eyed Pilseung produce the music.