The 'Queendom Puzzle' Production Team Divides Girl Groups into Tiers, Korean Netizens Express Displeasure

Mnet's survival show 'Queendom Puzzle' has sparked controversy among netizens as it divides currently active female idols into four tiers, from 1st to 4th, causing a heated debate.

In the pre-release video of 'Queendom Puzzle' that was unveiled on the 6th, a lineup of girl group members from the 3rd to 4th generation was introduced.

MC Taeyeon mentioned the existence of "tiers" in the music industry, stating, "These tiers represent the grades you have achieved as K-pop artists. We divided the participants based on 'Queendom Puzzle' own criteria." She then proceeded to announce the participants in each tier from 1st to 4th.

The tiers are determined by calculating and combining the number of music show wins (50%) and initial album sales (50%).

The 1st tier includes JooE, Chaeyeon, Yeoreum, Dohwa, and Kei. The 2nd tier consists of Jihan, zoa, Soeun, Soojin, Yeeun, Haein, and Yuki. The 3rd tier includes Seoyeon, Jiwoo, Yeonhee, Suyun, Juri, Chaerin, Bora, and Jiwon. Lastly, the 4th tier features Elly, Sangah, Miru, fye, Liina, Hwiseo, Nana, and Wooyeon.

The participants showed a surprised and bewildered reaction, with comments such as "This is cruel" and "What tier are we in?"

Netizens who watched the pre-release video expressed their discontent with the overt tier system, saying, "Taeyeon must be upset too," "I felt hurt seeing my favorite idols appearing and being ranked," "The fans of these idols will also be hurt," "If there's a male version of this, it would be like a war," "The production team should reflect on this," "Are they openly dividing groups on a broadcast?" Many expressed discomfort with the explicit tier ranking.

Meanwhile, 'Queendom Puzzle' is a program that features existing girl group members competing to form a new project girl group. Participating groups include AOA, Lovelyz, WJSN, MONOLAND, Weki Meki, H1-KEY, Triple S, and Weeekly. However, Lee Chaeyeon and LABOUM's Haeyoon have dropped out. The first episode is scheduled to air on Mnet on the 13th at 10 PM.