Most people are moved by the innocence and diminutiveness of youngsters, and find it hard to feel hatred for them. Lately, kids have been actively engaged in various activities, as can be seen in various TV programs. There are several such TV programs that give children key roles: SBS’s “Bungeobbang,” MBC’s “Abba! Eodiga?,” Mnet’s “The Voice Kids,” etc. Teenagers would appear in programs for children, such as KBS2’s “TV Kindergarten Funny Funny,” and for the holidays, they would appear in programs that search for child prodigies, like those who can sing teuroteu well, dance well, and have very cute faces. These days, children are extending their activities. By themselves? No! The adults, the so-called “parents,” are behind them. Most parents are proud of their children and want to show off their amazing talents. It seems that many parents do this to gratify their unfulfilled desires. To illustrate, a man who, for unavoidable reasons, had to scrap his dream of achieving recognition in a particular field will most likely be delighted if his child would succeed in that field.

The future of children is often a primary concern. The more the TV programs win popular acclaim and high ratings, the more it sparks unwelcoming interest to them. It is said that the production crew of team “Abba! Eodiga?” has tried to keep the kids out of the media, but it seems ineffective. The name of school one of the kids is attending was ranked No.1 on the Internet hit list recently. Some of them are even going to film a commercial. Being in the spotlight at an awkward age can be a heavy load to bear because teenagers are usually very vulnerable. It is highly likely that the excessive interest acts consequently as a poison to them. Kim Seong-eun is a representative case; she became popular as a character called Midaree in SBS’s situation comedy “Soonpoong Sanbooingua(1998)”. She said, “I felt like committing suicide, having suffered much from carrying the title of Midaree during puberty.” Macaulay Culkin also had a tragic fate. He was a hero in the box office hit “Home Alone (1990),” but he went through terrifying ordeals, such as his parents’ divorce, failures in love, and drug addiction. It is sad that the reason for his parents’ divorce was the loads of money that they obtained owing to Macaulay’s fame. Although these extreme cases are few, it is hard to say that they will not be repeated.