Following LE SSERAFIM, HYBE’s new girl group NewJeans is involved in controversy over sexualizing minors….Minor idols with Lolita concep?

HYBE’s new girl group is at issue again. Controversy over sexualizing minors in relation to the girl group NewJeans produced by Min Hee-jin arose.

On July 27th, past Instagram posts, movies, and concept photos believed to be Min Hee-jin’s reference when producing the new girl group NewJeans (Kim Min-ji, Hanni, Danielle, Hae-rin, Lee Hye-in) were posted on online communities, sparking controversy.

Earlier, Min Hee-jin posted a photo of a blonde girl wearing no top on her Instagram. According to netizens, this girl is the main character of a foreign movie released a long time ago and the plot is shocking. The movie talks about a man who married a mentally retarded daughter of a wealthy woman for the sake of his investment business then raped her to divorce her.

Another film she posted tells the love story of an 18-year-old female lead and a 58-year-old male lead. 

Many netizens are expressing their displeasure, saying that Min Hee-jin, who is raising a group will all minor members, was inspired by these films. They poured out criticism, pointing out that NewJeans’s concept reminded them of pedophiles and Lolita.

In addition, the youngest member Hye-in, who is 15 years old this year, and Hanni (19 years old) were criticized for wearing too revealing outfits in New Jeans’s music video for “Attention”. 

HYBE Labels once caused controversies over sexualization with the debut of LE SSERAFIM in May, leading to colder public responses to the recent issue.

At that time, the members of LE SSERAFIM emphasized their sexiness through the fashion that matched tennies costumes with high heels. Member Kim Chae-won’s underboob outfit and the revealing clothes of Hong Eun-chae, who is a minor, received harsh criticism. In addition, member Kim Ga-ram was recently expelled from the group due to her school bullying scandal. 

Source: nate