YOUNG POSSE released a song called “SOJU” while Doeun and Jieun were still minors. Then fans discovered lyrics about drinking, bodies, and taking off underwear, and the internet did what it always does when a company leaves teenagers standing beside adult material: everybody argued about translation while management remained comfortably off camera.

What actually happened

“SOJU” appeared on YOUNG POSSE’s August 14, 2025 EP Growing Pain pt.1: FREE. The group has member writing credits, which usually makes me happy. Here, it created another question. How much creative freedom should a teenage idol have when the company is still responsible for the final release?

Listeners flagged references to soju, pouring it over the body, “shaking my fatty,” and a Korean phrase translated as taking off underwear and screaming. Doeun was seventeen and Jieun was fifteen by international age when the controversy circulated.

The phrase everybody fought over

The most alarming English rendering was “take off your underwear and scream.” Korean commenters explained that 팬티 벗고 소리 질러 is a joking expression used to mean going wild, losing control, or cheering without restraint. There is also a wordplay version that deliberately swaps “scream” and “underwear” because the absurdity is the joke.

That context matters. Reporting the phrase as a literal instruction without explaining the idiom makes the song sound more explicit than many Korean listeners hear it.

Context does not erase the rest. The track is still called “SOJU.” It still plays with drinking language and body jokes. The debate was not invented by one bad subtitle.

Who wrote what?

Fans defending the group noted that all five members have lyric credits, while the three adults of legal drinking age were associated with composing and performing some of the most mature lines. That is useful context. It shows the release was not simply a producer handing every member identical adult material.

It also proves the company understood age was relevant enough to divide parts carefully. Once you make that calculation, you cannot act surprised when listeners notice the minors are still part of the package selling the song.

This was not the group’s first age argument

YOUNG POSSE debuted in 2023 with “Macaroni Cheese.” The members described the song as a literal food craving born during writing practice. English-speaking listeners heard phrases about pouring cheese over the body and connected “mac and cheese” to sexual slang. The average age was 16.6.

Korean coverage reported the controversy. Other listeners argued the interpretation was imported into a song whose Korean creative origin was a cheeseburger poster and a hungry trainee.

I can believe Sunhye wanted food. I can also believe adults in entertainment know that innuendo drives clicks. Those ideas are not mortal enemies.

The company owns the final decision

I do not want a fandom where teenage girls can only sing about homework and weather. Young people know jokes, desire, anger, curiosity, and bad language. Sanitizing them into dolls is not protection.

Protection means adults take responsibility for context. If the company releases a track about alcohol with minor members, it should expect questions and answer them directly. If a slang phrase will look horrifying in translation, provide official notes instead of letting stan accounts run an unpaid linguistics department.

Member participation is not a liability waiver. A fifteen-year-old can suggest a lyric. The adults being paid to develop her career decide whether it becomes a commercial product.

Keep digging

Open the YOUNG POSSE group page, then read the cross-border chaos of “LOSE YOUR SHXT”. The group is compelling because the music is specific. That also makes every questionable choice easier to see.

Receipts

Kstyle · Koreaboo · r/kpopthoughts discussion · TV Report via Nate · NoCut News