20 Idols Who Debuted At An Astonishingly Young Age

What were you doing at that age?

1. Jungkook (BTS)

The golden maknae has always had major talent and luckily, Big Hit Entertainment recognized that! The youngest member of BTS was already displaying his amazing vocals, rapping, and dance skills when he debuted with the group at 15.

 

2. Jisung (NCT)

From “Chewing Gum” to “We Go Up” it’s already hard enough to believe that NCT Dream debuted only 2 years ago. But perhaps even more shocking is the fact that Jisung was born in 2002, making him only 14 years old at the time of debut!

 

3. BoA

While other kids were studying and hanging out with their friends, BoA was already starting her career. The queen of K-Pop took her seat on the throne in 2000 at the age of 13!

 

4. Taemin (SHINee)

It’s hard to believe that the incredibly loveable maknae of SHINee was only 14 when he debuted with the group. It just proves that there is no age requirement when it comes to talent!

 

5. IU

Perhaps even more amazing than the fact that she only trained for 10 months before her debut, is the fact that IU was only 16 at the time!

 

6. Suzy

Speaking of being only 16 at the time of debut, Suzy is another idol that made her debut at the tender age!

 

7. Choi Minhwan (FTISLAND)

Do you know who else was 16 at the time of their debut? That’s right FTISLAND‘s Choi Minhwan! It’s almost hard to believe now that we’ve all seen how much he’s grown over the years!

 

8. Changmin (TVXQ)

Changmin is all grown up now but when he debuted with TVXQ he was still practically a baby! The group debuted just a few weeks before Changmin’s 16th birthday, isn’t that crazy?

 

9. Baek Jiheon (fromis_9)

Since fromis_9‘s maknae was born in 2003 and the group officially made their debut earlier this year that means Baek Jiheon was only 14 at the time of her debut!

 

10. Jiyoung (former KARA member)

KARA made their debut in 2007 but it wasn’t until a year later that Jiyoung would join the group. As it turned out, it was quite the accomplishment since Jiyoung was only 14 years old at the time!

 

11. Seungri (BIGBANG)

Everyone knows that BIGBANG are the kings of K-Pop but not many people outside the fandom know that Seungri was only 15 when he started proving his amazing singing abilities! Unfortunately, Seungri was caught up in the Burning Sun scandal earlier this year, and has left both BIGBANG and YG Entertainment.

 

12. Minzy (former 2NE1 member)

At 15 years old, Minzy was making her debut with one of the biggest K-Pop groups! So while other kids her age were focusing on school, Minzy had already started her career and was totally rocking it!

 

13. Tzuyu and Chaeyoung (TWICE)

Tzuyu may be the official maknae of the group but Chaeyoung and Tzuyu are only a couple of months apart from each other! Because of this, the two were actually the same age when they became trainees and when they debuted! If you were wondering they were 16 at the time!

 

14. Sohyun (former 4MINUTE member)

When Sohyun debuted with 4MINUTE she was only 15 years old. While this is already young, Sohyun had actually debuted prior to joining the group! In 2005, she debuted as a member of Orange when she was 12! When the group eventually disbanded, Sohyun joined 4MINUTE and the rest is history!

 

15. Sohee (former Wonder Girls member)

When Sohee first became a trainee with JYP Entertainment she was only 12 years old! And after only two years she debuted with the group making her only 14 at the time.

 

16. Zelo (B.A.P)

There’s a reason fans have referred to Zelo as “Baby Zelo” for a long time. He started working toward his dream of becoming an idol when he was in the 5th grade by auditioning at several entertainment companies but was turned away because he was too young. Luckily, his talent eventually won out and he debuted with B.A.P at the age of 15!

 

17. Krystal [f(x)]

A couple weeks later and Krystal would have been 15 when she debuted with f(x) but as it stands she was 14 at the time! It’s always been pretty obvious why she debuted when she did because she’s proven time and time again that she has major talent as a singer and an actress!

 

18. Lee Suhyun and Lee Chanhyuk (Akdong Musician)

When they were 13 and 16, Suhyun and Chanhyuk blew everyone away with their talent on K-Pop Star season 2. Shortly after taking first place in the show they signed on with YG Entertainment and two years later they made their official debut!