These Are The 15 Youngest Female K-Pop Idols In the Industry Right Now (2024)

K-Pop idols often start training at quite a young age, but most commonly don’t debut until their late teens or early twenties. That’s not always the case, though, with some idols debuting at barely over middle school age! These 15 young women are the current youngest female idols in the industry, all possessing incredible talent despite their age.

15. Yuna (ITZY): Born December 9, 2003 (16 years old)

Yuna’s position in ITZY is as the lead rapper, lead dancer, sub vocalist, visual, and maknae. She trained for 3 years before debuting, and is the tallest member of the group. Her hobbies include walking, going shopping, and going to restaurants, and her visuals have been compared to Kyulkyung.

14. Jaehee (WEEEKLY): Born March 18, 2004 (16 years old)

Jaehee currently acts as the lead rapper and vocalist of WEEEKLY. Her hobbies include making slime and other crafts, listening to music, and swimming. Her role models are Yoona (Girls’ Generation) and Apink, and she was a child actress for 7 years before joining WEEEKLY.

13. Lucy (woo!ah!): Born April 9, 2004 (16 years old)

Lucy is the main rapper and lead dancer of woo!ah!, and is a fan of Wonder Girls and Lee Hyori. She was a child actor when she was younger, and enjoys watching things on Netflix, styling her and her members’ hair, eating, and sleeping.

12. Jihan (WEEEKLY): Born July 12, 2004 (16 years old)

11. Minjung (Milkyway, former Busters): Born July 15, 2004 (16 years old)

Formerly a member of Busters, Minjung now acts as the maknae of Milkyway. She’s most comfortable and confident in singing ballads, and decided she wanted to be a singer after seeing Lee Hyori’s “Bad Girls”. She also has the nickname “Crong” because of her similar visuals to a character from Pororo of the same name.

10. Minseo (woo!ah!): Born August 12, 2004 (15 years old)

Minseo is the main vocalist and lead dancer of woo!ah!, and became an idol due to her admiration for Girls’ Generation and IU. Her hobbies include shopping with her family and eating, as well as watching dramas.

9. Wonyoung (IZ*ONE): Born August 31, 2004 (15 years old)

Wonyoung is the lead dancer, vocalist, rapper, center, and maknae of IZ*ONE, after ranking #1 on Produce48.She trained for a total of 1 year and 2 months, and specializes in girl’s hip hop. She speaks English fluently and is the daughter of a music teacher.

8. Songyee (woo!ah!): Born September 25, 2004 (15 years old)

7. May (Cherry Bullet): Born November 16, 2004 (15 years old)

May is the lead dancer, vocalist, visual, and maknae of Cherry Bullet, which is a lot of titles for such a young member! She’s also the tallest member, is from Japan, and loves eating but dislikes exercising. She admires MOMOLAND, and can play the piano well.

6. Chaeyeon (Busters): Born December 4, 2004 (15 years old)

Chaeyeon’s position in Busters is as the lead rapper, vocalist, center, and face of the group, and acted as a child actress before she joined the group. She’s been in several dramas, movies, and CFs, and was also in CutieL alongside her Busters co-memberYeseo and former memberMinjung in the past. She’s also currently co-hosting the children’s show Tok! Tok! Boni Hani!with NewKidd member JinKwon.

5. Heesun (MyDoll Girls, former Pink Fantasy): Born January 25, 2005 (15 years old)

Heesun is themaknae of MyDoll Girls, and formerly of the group Pink Fantasy. She’s a past member of CutieL along with other idols on this list, and is also talented in Taekwondo. Her talents include putting her foot behind her neck and imitating Bruce Lee expressions.

4. Dahyun (Rocket Punch): Born April 29, 2005 (15 years old)

Dahyun is the vocalist, dancer, and maknae of Rocket Punch, and auditioned for Woollim Entertainment with 2NE1‘s “Lonely”. She’s a fan of Heizeand CNBLUE, and speaks Korean, Chinese, and basic English. She wanted to be in a band when she was younger, and actually auditioned for and passed an audition with FNC Entertainment but declined joining them.

3. Zoa (WEEEKLY): Born May 31, 2005 (15 years old)

Zoa is the maknae and rapper of WEEEKLY, with her favorite hobbies being singing, dancing, watching YouTube, eating, and watching dramas and movies. Her role model is IU, and her “charming points” are claimed to be her fairly-like ears and deer eyes.

2. Yeseo (Busters): Born August 22, 2005 (14 years old)

Formerly a member of the group CutieL, Yeseo is the second-youngest female K-Pop idol in the industry. Her position in Busters is as the main vocalist, lead dancer, and visual. She’s been a child actress for over 10 years, starring in several different dramas and movies, and was also a past member of Pritti from 2013-2014.

1. Minji (Busters): Born September 26, 2006 (14 years old)

Minji is currently the youngest active female K-Pop idol! Her position in Busters is as the maknae, lead dancer, vocalist, and rapper, making her extremely multi-talented for her young age! She’s a former child actress and was once in the K-Pop group Y.E.S alongside her older sister Jieun.

FAQs

At the age of only 15 years and 3 months, Minji is currently the youngest female K-pop idol in the industry. Minji is currently the group's lead dancer, rapper, and vocalist.

Lim Seowon may only be 12 but her sweet looks, powerhouse vocals, and nifty dance moves made her stand out on Korean talent show Universe Ticket. But netizens are wondering if Seowon is a little too young to be in showbiz after seeing that she doesn't even have all her teeth yet. Scroll down for the video.

Conditions. Aspiring K-pop idols, known as "trainees," sign contracts with management agencies when the trainee is as young as 12 or 13 years old. It may take ten years for an agency to groom the trainee and for them to debut on stage, according to the former head of the Korea Entertainment Law Society.

The older members of a group can debut around 25, but most groups maknaes are around 15-17 nowadays (yes that would average to 16 but I don't like it so there). No big company would accept anyone over like 21 at most as a trainee.

Children as young as 9 or 10 years old in private dance academies are quite common and this is something okay in Korean families. These kids, around 12 or 14 years old, join companies and become trainees and eventually some of them debut in kpop groups at 14 or 16 years old.

However, they do accept trainees up to about the age of 23. However, the older that you get, the higher their standards become. Trainees who are 23 and over the age of 18. have very high standards at their companies. Most companies want.

There is no "default retirement age for a K-pop idol." In reality, idols can retire whenever they want or when the group is not successful (something that has happened a lot) and what the company invests in them is more than the income that the record label receives from promoting the group.

Lisa, 25. Lisa (whose full name is Lalisa Manobal) was the second member to join Blackpink and is the youngest of the group.

At the age of 52 years, 4 months, and 10 days, Uhm Jung Hwa is currently the oldest female K-pop idol active in the industry. Jung-hwa started in the Korean entertainment industry way back in 1989 as a chorus member for the Munwha Broadcasting Corporation.

As confirmed by Billboard itself, Rumi Carter is now officially the youngest female artist to ever chart on the Hot 100 list since its creation in 1958.

AfreecaTV faces criticism after results from their new survival show “UPTOYOU” shows an 11-year-old will debut in the final group. On December 21, the finale for “UPTOYOU” was released, and shocked fans after finding Kim Rayul, a 2011 liner, will be debuting in the final group.

1. Hori7on's Marcus, an all-rounder maknae with a background in performing arts, was born on August 31, 2009, and debuted on July 24, 2023, at 13 years, 10 months, and 24 days old, marking him as the youngest idol debutant.

1. Uhm Jung-hwa (August 17, 1969 – Present) At the age of 52 years, 4 months, and 10 days, Uhm Jung Hwa is currently the oldest female K-pop idol active in the industry.