Do you think companies should hire housemaid/dorm aunties for their idols?

[fromisEJel]

I know that pro gamers in certain League of Legend team such as HLE and T1 have their own imo/ahjumma to prep their meals as they spent most of their times scrimming and playing ranked matches from the time they wake up till late in the morning.

Should idols have this luxury too?

 

[RussianRoulette]

If the company can afford it, yes.

Idols are already so busy as it is, they barely get time to sleep! Having pretty much a house mom to cook you homemade meals and do some house work is probably a huge relief, and a comfort to younger idols who miss their parents.

I know SM has dorm aunties and I think they are great!

 

[Beefy]

Sure, as long as they’re fairly compensated! My biggest fear would be companies skimping out and exploiting them.

+ I think it’s wild to expect older idols to basically become mini parents and take care of their younger members like that. That responsibility should fall on the company imo.

 

[RussianRoulette]

Thinking about it:

Even if a company can’t afford it, most companies don’t allow parents in the dorms. I think a partial compromise would be for companies to start allowing parents in the dorms cause I’m sure lots of parents would love to drop off food and such or cook for their kids!

While adult idols do also benefit from dorm aunties, I think a side issue is that idols who are minors can benefit from some sort of parental figure being around.

 

[baerie]

That is a great idea tbh

 

[Thumbnail]

No, because under the South Korean law, idols are not considered employees, but rather as "exceptional entities", which means that they are not entitled to the same rights and privileges as that of a normal employee under the country's Labour Standards Act. (Source)

Companies are profit-seeking, and so hiring a housekeeper would go against that objective because service work can be expensive, and as we have seen in many cases, companies are willing to exploit idols and not properly renumerate them for their work, especially if they decide that in doing so it helps them to meet that objective.

 

[RussianRoulette]

No, because under the South Korean law, idols are not considered employees, but rather as "exceptional entities", which means that they are not entitled to the same rights and privileges as that of a normal employee under the country's Labour Standards Act. (Source)

Companies are profit-seeking, and so hiring a housekeeper would go against that objective because service work can be expensive, and as we have seen in many cases, companies are willing to exploit idols and not properly renumerate them for their work, especially if they decide that in doing so it helps them to meet that objective.

I feel like there can be loopholes around this view though?

For example, companies are required to feed and house the idols. I remember Prince from Ghost9 saying in his meal vlogs that his company is legally required to pay for their meals by law. (I also remember in an interview with stellar from years ago, despite how broke they were the company still was required give them a meal allowance though for Stellar the company made all the girls share 1 meal )

One of the main things dorm aunties do is cook the members all their meals. (I remember in WayV’s vlogs with their dorm aunties the auntie was always cooking for them and in charge of their breakfast/lunch/dinner and/or prepping food for them to eat later).

Since Kpop companies are required to cover the idol’s meals, you can view a dorm auntie as sort of a chef who is required to fulfill this meal requirement for them.

 

[Thumbnail]

I feel like there can be loopholes around this view though?

For example, companies are required to feed and house the idols. I remember Prince from Ghost9 saying in his meal vlogs that his company is legally required to pay for their meals by law. (I also remember in an interview with stellar from years ago, despite how broke they were the company still was required give them a meal allowance though for Stellar the company made all the girls share 1 meal )

One of the main things dorm aunties do is cook the members all their meals. (I remember in WayV’s vlogs with their dorm aunties the auntie was always cooking for them and in charge of their breakfast/lunch/dinner and/or prepping food for them to eat later).

Since Kpop companies are required to cover the idol’s meals, you can view a dorm auntie as sort of a chef who is required to fulfill this meal requirement for them.

Idols are humans, just like the rest of us, and they do need to eat and sleep; but for businesses, idols are also viewed as products. Even if, by law, companies would be required to pay idols to ensure that they are being not neglected in terms of their physical health, that does not necessarily mean that companies should consider paying for a caretaker — in this case, a dorm auntie — to make sure that their needs are being met.

Providing food is a service; it is costly and time-consuming. And companies who are especially strapped for cash won't consider it, if they are looking to improve their financial position, which I assume is what they would care more about.

Furthermore, some companies might still choose not to because, unless you're already part of — what I would consider to be — the 1% of the idols who do appear at events, which means they are likely to be paid, some won't have schedules, and that means they likely wouldn't be making any money for themselves (and the company). So, some might be staying at the dorm, or take up a second job — for example, working at a supermarket — to make ends meet. Some idols can also cook, or order, or pay for, their own meals from their dorm. So, even with a dorm auntie, they might not eat whatever they provide for them — or they might be on a "diet", or have an eating disorder, which prevents them from being able to eat. But that is, of course, a detail that is not relevant to this particular topic, and I only mention it for completeness of my argument.

 

[tokki]

yeah I think they should at least have someone that comes in like a few times a week to do housekeeping stuff (dishes, laundry, general upkeep) and maybe cook a few meals, even if they don't live there full-time or anything like that...eating takeout constantly can be just as expensive as paying a person to do this work could be tbh especially for larger groups + home cooked meals are probably healthier which would have a positive benefit for the idols' health overall

a lot of idols have been on record as saying they basically come back to the dorm for only like an hour or two a day during promotions because they're so busy so I can't imagine they have time for any of that stuff and they probably have to sacrifice a lot of their already limited rest time to get it done

 

[RussianRoulette]

yeah I think they should at least have someone that comes in like a few times a week to do housekeeping stuff (dishes, laundry, general upkeep) and maybe cook a few meals, even if they don't live there full-time or anything like that...eating takeout constantly can be just as expensive as paying a person to do this work could be tbh especially for larger groups + home cooked meals are probably healthier which would have a positive benefit for the idols' health overall

a lot of idols have been on record as saying they basically come back to the dorm for only like an hour or two a day during promotions because they're so busy so I can't imagine they have time for any of that stuff and they probably have to sacrifice a lot of their already limited rest time to get it done

If it helps, if I recall from the NCT videos about the dorm aunties I think they visit on a set schedule? (For ex: 9-2 or 10-3). They don’t live at the dorm and they don’t stay there all day, it’s only in a certain time window that they’re there. They also aren’t there every day.

*edit* I know there’s a specific vlog about the dorm auntie, I’ll try to find it.