Hearts2Hearts Under Fire for Members Allegedly Dropping Out of Middle School: “Mandatory Education Ignored?”

SM Entertainment’s newly debuted girl group Hearts2Hearts has come under intense scrutiny following a viral post on the Korean forum theqoo, alleging that six out of eight members did not complete middle school raising serious concerns about the agency’s approach to education and idol management.

According to the members’ profiles on Namuwiki, only Carmen has graduated from high school, while Stella is noted as a middle school graduate, and Juun is reported to have passed the Korean middle school equivalency test. The rest of the group allegedly dropped out before finishing Korea’s legally mandated compulsory education level, middle school.

The original post that sparked the controversy read, “All members, except the foreign ones, dropped out of middle school. Middle school is compulsory education in Korea letting them debut before even graduating raises serious questions.” The poster clarified their intent was not to target the members personally but to criticize SM Entertainment’s decisions regarding their young trainees.

The post also pointed out that while many young idols attend arts-focused schools with flexible schedules to support their entertainment careers, Hearts2Hearts’ educational paths appear to have been entirely disrupted.

For the group’s foreign members, netizens expressed understanding of the Indonesian member’s logistical challenges in adapting to Korea’s school system. However, the Canadian member reportedly returned to Korea during middle school and still chose to drop out after attending an international school, adding further fuel to the debate.

The controversy has sparked widespread discussion, with netizens voicing concerns about the ethics of debuting minors without completing basic education. K-nets argue that pushing adolescents into the industry too early may jeopardize their long-term personal and professional growth.

Comments on theqoo:

1. Middle school is mandatory education… Did they drop out while they were trainees?
2. It’s not like it was entirely their decision, that’s why people are talking. Who knows if the company gaslit them. But is this really a hate post? People are being overly sensitive like glass hearts.
3. They should’ve at least finished mandatory education.
4. Elementary school grads only????
5. Maybe it’s because they were too young… but seriously, I wish they had gone to school. There are a lot of people who still completed middle and high school while training.
6. SM is especially bad with this. Some female rookies started training in elementary school and dropped out of all levels — elementary, middle, and high school — but still didn’t debut with aespa and now just live as ordinary people.

As the backlash grows, many are urging SM Entertainment to issue an official explanation and clarify its educational policies for underage trainees. As of now, the agency has not responded to the growing criticism.