The K-Pop world is abundant in great talent and visuals with new idols debuting every year. Idols are well known to be trained by entertainment companies and training periods can range anywhere from a few months to ten years. It is common that training periods can be quite lengthy and idols can start training from a very young age. Some even start training as children.
Usually idols debut at a young age with the typical age range for debuting idols being their late teens to early twenties. However, a lot of idols also debut during their teen years.
As of February 2023, these are the youngest male and female idols of big companies.
SM Entertainment
NCT’s JiSung
JiSung is the maknae across all of NCT’s sub-units. Born on February 5, 2002, JiSung has just turned 21 years old. During his years so far as an idol, he has been popular for his cute appearance and outstanding dance skills.
aespa’s NingNing
NingNing was born on October 23, 2002, making her currently 20 years old. She is from Harbin, China and is winning the hearts of fans all over the world.
YG Entertainment
TREASURE’s JungHwan
JungHwan was born on February 18, 2005 and has just turned 18 years old. The young idol consistently wins fans over with his lovable personality and excellent skills as a performer.
AKMU’s SuHyun
One half of the brother-sister duo act that won “K-Pop Star 2”, AKMU’s SuHyun is the youngest female idol at YG Entertainment. She was born on May 4, 1999 and is currently 23 years old.
JYP Entertainment
Xdinary Heroes’ JooYeon
Maknae of K-Pop’s latest band, JooYeon is the youngest male idol at JYP Entertainment. Born on September 12, 2002, the 20 year old is the group’s bassist and main vocalist.
Xdinary Heroes Twitter
NMIXX’s KyuJin
KyuJin is NMIXX’s maknae at only 16 years old. She was born on May 26, 2006 and is known for her amazing singing and dancing abilities.
NMIXX Twitter
HYBE Corporation
ENHYPEN’s Ni-ki
Born on December 9, 2005, Ni-ki is HYBE Corporation’s youngest male idol. As ENHYPEN’s maknae, he moved to Korea at a young age and competed in “I-Land” where he made the final line-up for the group.
ENHYPEN Instagram
NewJeans’ HyeIn
HyeIn, born on April 21, 2008, will be turning 15 years old this year. At such a young age, she has proven to win fans over with her star quality.
Vogue Korea
Woollim Entertainment
DRIPPIN’s Alex
Alex of DRIPPIN is the youngest male idol at Woollim Entertainment. The South Korean-German idol was born on October 6, 2004.
DRIPPIN Twitter
Rocket Punch’s DaHyun
Born on April 29, 2005, Rocket Punch member, DaHyun, is the youngest female idol at the company.
Rocket Punch Twitter
Cube Entertainment
PENTAGON’s WooSeok
One third of PENTAGON’s maknae line, WooSeok is the youngest male idol in Cube Entertainment. He was born on January 31, 1998 and is the main rapper and one of the songwriters of the group.
PENTAGON Twitter
LIGHTSUM’s YuJeong
Cube Entertainment’s youngest female idol is the maknae of their latest girl group, LIGHTSUM. YuJeong was born on June 14, 2004 and was previously a contestant on “Produce 48”.
LIGHTSUM Twitter
Starship Entertainment
CRAVITY’s SeongMin
SeongMin of CRAVITY is Starship Entertainment’s youngest male idol. He was born on August 1, 2003.
CRAVITY Twitter
IVE’s LeeSeo
LeeSeo was born on February 21, 2007 and has just turned 16 years old. Though her young age always surprises people at first, her talent surprises them just as much.
IVE Twitter
FNC Entertainment
P1Harmony’s JongSeob
JongSeob was born on November 19, 2005. In 2016, he won “K-pop Star 6” as part of a duo called Boyfriend. In 2020, he debuted with P1Harmony.
P1Harmony Twitter
Cherry Bullet’s May
A Japanese member of the group, May was born on November 16, 2004 and is currently 18 years old. Birth name Hirokawa Mao, May was a contestant on “Girls Planet 999” in 2021.
Cherry Bullet Twitter
Of all these idols, NewJeans' HyeIn is the youngest at just 14 years old.
