This article explores how the influencer and traditional entertainment industries are converging in the “child idol” phenomenon—a celebrity genre and system that had existed prior to the emergence of the influencer industry but has now been remixed with the influencer industry’s convention and refashioned as the stepping stone to lubricate children’s journeys toward professional idol careers in the wake of K-pop culture. We examine the “child idol” phenomenon as a case study wherein children perform as a younger version of K-pop idols under entertainment agencies’ in-house training systems, with calibrated construction of social media personae by influencer agencies and their parents. Despite ongoing attempts to protect children in the industry, undertaken by the Korean government and human rights organizations, the exploitative environment of child stars becomes even more serious as it becomes a template adopted by other countries emulating the success of K-pop.

中文翻译：

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韩国及其他地区的儿童偶像：在 K-pop 和影响者行业的交汇处培养年轻明星


本文探讨了网红和传统娱乐行业如何融合在 “儿童偶像 ”现象中——这是一种名人类型和系统，在网红行业出现之前就已经存在，但现在已与网红行业的惯例重新混合，并被重塑为润滑儿童在 K-pop 文化之后走向职业偶像事业的垫脚石。我们将“儿童偶像”现象作为一个案例研究进行研究，其中儿童在娱乐机构的内部培训系统下扮演年轻版的 K-pop 偶像，影响者机构及其父母对社交媒体角色的校准构建。尽管韩国政府和人权组织一直在努力保护该行业的儿童，但童星的剥削环境变得更加严重，因为它成为其他国家效仿 K-pop 成功的模板。