Fact-Checking Minji's Debut Age: International Age, Korean System, and Trainee Year's

Dive deep into Fact-Checking Minji's Debut Age: International Age, Korean System, and Trainee Year's with our latest coverage.

Minji’s entry into K-pop began around the age of 13. While attending middle school in Chuncheon, she successfully auditioned for Source Music, which was later acquired by Big Hit Entertainment (now HYBE) in mid-2019.

Pursuing an idol career required serious structural adjustments. Minji transferred from her local Chuncheon school to Sinsa Middle School in Seoul's Gangnam district to manage daily training sessions. Her routine mirrored the punishing schedule of elite Korean agency programs: early morning vocal training, mid-afternoon academic schooling, evening choreography drills, and late-night language coaching.

In July 2021, HYBE offered the public an uncredited preview of Minji. At age 17, she appeared alongside future bandmate Hanni in the music video for BTS’s global single "Permission to Dance." Both played high school students removing face coverings in a stylized post-pandemic classroom.

Industry watchers quickly deduced that the cameo served as a soft launch for HYBE's forthcoming girl group project. When former SM Entertainment creative director Min Hee-jin launched ADOR as an independent label under HYBE, Minji was transferred internally, spending her final year of preparation shaping the minimalist Y2K concept that defined NewJeans.