Are Female K-Pop Idols Getting Skinnier? Fans Discuss Sensitive Topic About Weight, Health

Having a thin physique is not uncommon among female K-pop idols, especially for those who maintain a certain weight to be fit for performances. But some K-pop enthusiasts are concerned that fourth-generation artists are getting alarmingly skinny.

On Tuesday, a YouTuber with the handle “K썩은물” — which means K Rotten Water in English — uploaded a video on her channel, comparing second-generation and fourth-generation female K-pop idols from Girls Generation, 2NE1, Blackpink, Red Velvet, NewJeans, aespa, IVE, and more.

The social media user pointed out in the clip that the younger artists appear thinner, to the point where their rib cages become pretty defined.

The video, which has accumulated 505,000 views in two days, then sparked an online debate among the K-pop enthusiast community of whether or not their thin physique is still healthy or is now the standard beauty in society.

“It’s a real sympathy, and Korea’s appearance supremacy is getting worse. I like everything pretty and handsome. But when I see an increasing number of people who are obsessed with it and become broken, I can only think that they are sick,” one user commented.

Another wrote, “I’m really worried that the pressure on my appearance has become so severe these days. When I go to school, I see that girls don’t eat lunch. Diet is more effective than exercise when it comes to losing weight, and if you don’t get skinny like that, it’s the generation these days that people say you’re not pretty… It’s useless if adults don’t change first.”

“Female idols have been thin for a long time. If you look for second-generation idols, they’re on the same level as current female idols, but I think it’s become more natural,” a third user observed.

“I’ve seen it somewhere, and as the general public increasingly prefers being skinny like celebrities, celebrities have to be thinner than that, so they say they’re getting thinner,” a fourth user said in an online forum, adding that she believed “social perception” was the main cause for losing too much weight.

Another user blamed media exposure for such weight-conscious behavior since female K-pop idols have become more subject to criticism, and “more stringent standards are applied, and evaluations are made more easily and carelessly.”

Among artists who debuted under the fourth generation — roughly beginning in 2018 — and have been criticized for their alarmingly thin physiques are ITZY’s Yuna and Ryujin and IVE’s Jang Won-Young, as seen in videos uploaded by TikTok users @jwonyverse and @army_jk_blink_lisa111.

Screenshots from Yuna’s fan cams have gone viral on social media, sparking concern from fans since her rib cage is very prominent. Fans also noticed that her fellow member Ryujin lost a lot of weight in a small amount of time, while Won-Young has been observed to have skinnier arms and legs compared to when she first debuted under the reality show-formed group IZONE in 2018.

A thin physique may be an advantage to most female K-pop idols, making it easier to execute choreographies and pull off different fashion styles.

But being underweight has repercussions on health, including malnutrition, decreased muscle strength and hypothermia, among others. Based on the discussions among fans, they could only hope that their favorite K-pop idols do not have such dangerous conditions.