“SM’s youngest idol?”…A generation gap test for K-pop fans based on who comes to their mind first

Netizens recently found an interesting fact about K-pop fans’ generation gap based on one question.

Along with HYBE, JYP and YG, SM is also considered one of the representative entertainment agencies in Korea.

A large company like SM Entertainment has many idol groups. From TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, EXO, Red Velvet, NCT to aespa, each group gives off different colors. 

Of course, each idol group has its own youngest member (maknae). However, when talking about the maknae of SM Entertainment, fans come up with a different person from each generation.

First of all, fans who were born in the 1980s and 1990s mainly refer to TVXQ’s Max Chang-min, Super Junior’s Kyu-hyun, Girls’ Generation’s Seo-hyun, and SHINee’s Taemin. This is because 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008 were when TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation and SHINee debuted, respectively. This timeline actually overlaps with their school days.

In the case of fans born between the 1990s and 2000s, they would mention EXO’s Sehun, Red Velvet’s Yeri and NCT’s Jisung. EXO, Red Velvet and NCT in turn debuted in 2012, 2014, and 2016. In these years, their fans were in their adolescence.

For the same reason, the word “maknae” often reminds fans who were born after 2000 of aespa’s Ning Ning, who debuted in 2020.

Internet users were very surprised to see K-pop fans mention different idols depending on the difference in their ages when talking about “the youngest idol of SM Entertainment”.