Asa (BABYMONSTER) explained about his illiteracy, causing BLACKPINK to have their old story dug up?

Asa 's recent statement on the show "Running Man" has become the center of heated debate in the Kpop community. Her subsequent explanation still did not satisfy the public.

Shocking statement and wave of controversy

In the K-pop industry, it is not uncommon for idols to debut in high school. However, they are often given the opportunity by their companies to continue their education, either directly at school, through online learning, or at home, to ensure they complete high school, or at least middle school.

Therefore, the fact that Asa - an idol from a top entertainment company like YG, made the statement "only graduated from kindergarten" and did not confirm the completion of subsequent levels of education, is considered a rare and shocking case. She was sarcastically called "the idol with the lowest education in Kpop", and keywords related to this issue quickly climbed to the top of trends on Weibo.

'Vague' explanation and evidence from old video

In response to the controversy, the main rapper BABYMONSTER spoke up to explain on the Weverse platform. "Many people were surprised when I said 'graduated from kindergarten' on the show. I have dreamed of becoming an artist since elementary school and started practicing.

I was constantly going back and forth between school and practice, so it felt like the time I had a proper education was only kindergarten. I meant to say it in a humorous way, but it was too brief to explain clearly. I felt like I was still immature and had a lot to learn, so I told myself to try harder," she wrote.

However, Asa's explanation was still considered by many to be "vague" and did not clarify the core issue. According to the share, the audience understood that she was still attending elementary school while practicing as a trainee. However, the female idol did not confirm whether she had graduated from elementary school or not, nor did she mention attending higher education or any form of additional education.

Therefore, many people still doubt that BABYMONSTER's main rapper's educational background is likely to be that she has just "graduated from kindergarten" and has not completed elementary school. These doubts are even more grounded when an old video of her posted by YG himself was "dug up".

In the video, Asa introduced herself: "I'm 12 years old and in 6th grade" (elementary school in Japan and Korea). Viewers speculated that the female idol was selected as a YG trainee in 2018 (when she was 12 years old), and possibly dropped out of elementary school in her home country to pursue her dream in Korea.

The education issue of Kpop idols and the BLACKPINK precedent

Asa's education issues are not unique to the K-pop idol world. In fact, it is a frequently controversial topic that raises questions about the balance between pursuing artistic dreams and ensuring idols' right to education.

Among them, many comments mentioned BLACKPINK - YG's famous girl group - which also caused controversy because all 4 members Jisoo, Jennie , Rosé and Lisa had just graduated from middle school before officially debuting.

Specifically, Jennie attended ACG Parnell College International School in New Zealand, then returned to Korea to become a trainee at the age of 14 and did not continue high school. Rosé finished secondary school at Canterbury Girls' Secondary College (Melbourne, Australia) before becoming a trainee in 2012 and did not continue high school.

Lisa went to Korea to pursue her dream at the age of 14 (2011), dropped out of school and did not continue high school. Jisoo is the only member of the group who attended high school, but she decided to drop out in her second year of high school after being accepted into YG.

The fact that all four BLACKPINK members did not continue high school after becoming trainees has caused many mixed opinions. Up to now, in the case of Asa, her announcement that she has just "graduated from kindergarten" and has not disclosed any other alternative learning programs, is causing YG to face a strong wave of criticism about the responsibility of a leading entertainment company in ensuring the educational future of its young artists.

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