SM ROOKIE Shohei's Age & Past Draw Attention + Fans Defend Trainee
Following the announcement of the three new SM ROOKIES, Shohei's age and past are drawing attention.In response, fans are coming to the trainee's defense. Keep on reading to know more.
Fans Defend SM ROOKIE Shohei After His Age Was Revealed
On July 2, SM Entertainment recently announced their new lineup of SM ROOKIES, including trainees Shohei, Eunseok, and Seunghan. This is the first time that SM Entertainment revealed their new set of SM ROOKIES since WayV members Xiaojun, Yangyang, and Hendery were added to NCT's lineup.
However, following the reveal of their new SM ROOKIES, Shohei has allegedly been the target of hate comments for his age and his past job.
While numerous fans focused more on the meaning behind Shohei, Eunseok, and Seunghan's reveal through SM ROOKIES' social media accounts, such as theorizing that the trainees will be debuting in NCT or it's new unit NCT Tokyo, or perhaps SM Entertainment's new boy group, netizens couldn't help but focus on Shohei's background.
SM ROOKIES Shohei
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According to media outlets such as DailyAn, Shohei, who is Japanese, was reportedly born in 1996. This came off as a surprise to others as his age is deemed older than the current standard debut age in K-pop, as fourth-generation idols these days are debuting as young as 14 years old.
While his age does not affect his talents as a performer, it is still one of the main reasons for hate comments being sent his way. But this also led fans to express their support for the upcoming idol on social media, defending him from age-based discrimination.
Some comments from fans read:
"Why are [people] being so weird about Shohei being 25/26. Oh no, a full-grown adult with a fully developed brain is debuting instead of a 14-year-old who had to drop out of middle school. Do you see how you sound?"
"Calling Shohei old is weird; that's literally the age where people start working??? There's nothing weird about that."
"People need to stop acting like Shohei is [a] grandpa with a cane debuting with kids; everyone in NCT [is] adults, and he is around their age. Being in your 20's is not old. It's better than debuting as a child [and] missing your childhood."
Shohei Allegedly Worked at McDonald's and Auditioned 10 Times
Aside from his age, Shohei continued being the topic of discussion when fans discovered that he allegedly worked at the mega fast food chain McDonald's before becoming a rookie. While this has yet to be confirmed, fans on Twitter claim that Shohei is receiving hate simply for allegedly having worked part-time at the franchise.
SM ROOKIES Shohei
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Likewise, fans also expressed how they admire Shohei more for his past. Many pointed out that having worked a difficult job makes his upcoming debut even more impressive, proving how hard work pays off.
In addition, Shohei reportedly auditioned and failed ten times at SM Entertainment. While the amount of auditions for a single company is uncommon, fans said they commend Shohei for his hardwork and dedication to fulfilling his dream.
Meanwhile, check out Shohei's introduction teaser here:
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Written by Robyn Joan
