Trigger Warning: Diet Culture, body image

It is just me or are we going backwards with kpop?

Or maybe I was too optimistic thinking that things were changing when really they stayed the same just changed the packaging.

I’m thinking the second statement is true.

The diet culture has come back with a vengeance. There are groups that used to be body positive that are now shedding weight like paper and talking about going on extremely restrictive diets.

I watched a fitness episode of Stray Kids a while back and they talked about how Hyunjin and Felix were underweight? I’m not sure what Changbin was saying but he was like guys it’s worrying you need to add muscle or something. Did anything change after that video… no.

But in that same group they always go on about Changbin’s weight. Man’s not fat! And even if he was, shaming him doesn’t do anything.

I hate that. People think that by shaming someone it brings about change. It doesn’t. if anything it just makes them feel worse about themselves and hate themselves. Then instead of losing weight they will gain weight, why? Because they feel bad about themselves!

Also, people have different bodies. Some people gain muscle fast, they sneeze and a bicep pops up, whereas others have to work really hard to even get one muscle. The same happens with fat.

I was skinny as a kid and I never really gained weight. Everyone and their mother would tell me to gain weight and I would be like how? I eat the same as everyone else, are you telling me to overeat?

On the flip side my cousin would berate his sister for gaining weight when she was a kid and I found it so ridiculous. She ate the same as us. If she gains weight maybe this is just her natural body and also she’s a child!

That did led to a lot of arguments. Anyway, that was a tangent that was triggered by my rage at people calling Changbin fat.

Disclaimer: if they, the members of Stray Kids, have stopped doing that then great. I wouldn’t know as I haven’t followed their content for a while.

Also, I am aware that Chan talked about how they know each other’s boundaries when it comes to jokes. However, when fans see them making those jokes about Changbin it sends a message. Imagine they have a plus sized fan and they see them calling Changbin fat and making a joke about it, how would that make them feel? Would they feel accepted by the joke? Welcomed? Loved? No. I used to love Stray Kids but this was my one pet peeve. I don’t think they should be cancelled over it but they should definitely stop or learn why people get upset over it instead of brushing it under the carpet.

It’s not just Stray Kids however, it’s the whole industry. In other groups I see member say self-deprecating things about their weight and their looks not fitting the beauty standards. It honestly saddens me.

With groups like 2pm, Mamamoo and Monsta X existing I thought we had left that fatphobia behind or that we were aware it is wrong, to be fatphobic, and we were fighting against it.

I also thought Gen 4 of kpop had a better chance of having healthy body standards than the previous generations. However, that is not the case. Skinny is back in.

If someone is naturally slim then that is fine. I only get worried when they are not and they go on very bad diets. Kpop idols will talk about how they did not drink water for a diet… like that’s normal. How they will exercise until they nearly pass out just because they ate carbs.

Context: Chaeryeong mentioned on Gym Jongkook’s show how she worked out and how she didn’t really enjoy it because she would push herself to the extreme and he was like ooh girl no. *paraphrasing*. 

Or only eating salads (I think the latest girl group I heard say this was Viviz when they were on Soyou’s show on YT) and having to hide just to eat one snack (Sistar). Honestly, for girl group members it is so much worse. It is bad for boy groups but the girlies… oh boy.

I remember when Wendy couldn’t eat in peace because a rep from SM was watching her like a hawk to the point she felt uncomfortable. Then Taeyeon was like leave her alone damn! *paraphrasing*. There was nothing wrong with Wendy either, she was healthy and looked perfectly fine.

The world needs to know that carbs are not the devil, you actually need them. If you want to be healthy then eat complex carbs, but don’t get them out of your diet completely.  Kpop concerts go on for three hours, that’s three hours of intense dancing and singing.  Plus, a lot of these groups are touring right now. What do you mean you’re on a diet? You need fuel. You need energy. An empty stomach won’t give you that! A salad won’t give you that.

Disclaimer: salads are also great food, a good source of veg and fibre but ONLY eating a salad is where people go wrong. You need all food groups to survive well as a human.

I’ve also started to notice that groups will take pictures in front of food when they go to a restaurant showing a full table but not eat any of it (that one episode of MMTG with NCT 127). Or they’ll go on programmes and eat a lot on that filming day and fans will be appeased. But members from that same group continue to lose weight fast. So I figured that that is probably the only meal they eat on that filming day and then as soon as they’re done they go back to their diet and they over exercise to burn off what they ate.

Then there are companies demanding artists to have the body that they want them to have, i.e.: what happened with Yeosang. Imagine telling someone to lose their muscles because it doesn’t suit his face… *rage*. It’s not as easy as it looks, especially for someone who enjoys working out as much as he does. He succeeded in the end though *sigh* he lost the muscle. On the plus side I’m glad he’s so passionate about vitamins and it seems he’s gaining a love for veg too… oh my I’m turning into my mother. Anyway, it’s interesting how someone’s muscle (going from bulky to lean) can change how they look. He looks like his pre debut/debut self again. It may also be the hair.

Anyway, I long for the day when they are allowed to just be themselves. However, the longer that time passes I wonder if that is even possible within the industry of kpop.

Can it be healthy if it was build on unhealthy ideals? Can it change if even the fans are upholding these standards and telling artists to lose weight or to get plastic surgery (the San incident)?

I was shocked to see people who claim they’re fans of Twice body shame Jeongyeon. That woman is gorgeous! To those antis: When I catch you Ricky!

I feel the same way about “fans” who gave Sunny a hard time because she dared to gain a pound. Can she live? Can she enjoy food? Can we not comment on people’s bodies! Like damn, she didn’t even get a chance to feel good about herself.

Honestly, Ateez was the final nail in the coffin. I’ve gotten into them lately and to see them go from going on lives eating healthily and advocating for their fans to do the same and rejecting food being taken away as a punishment for games, to now having members losing weight to the point it’s genuinely worrying. I hate to see it. I honestly do.

And the groups that are coming out now are so young… I just can’t get into them. I can no longer stan any new groups with the way things are going. I sit here like a mother hen worried they’re being treated fairly. And to be honest I have so much to worry about in my life I can’t be worried about an entire industry as well. It’s exhausting.

I have learned recently about the diet culture in Korea, in East Asia in general and in South East Asia. I didn’t know it was so strong. With that added context it has helped me to understand why kpop idols are the way that they are. They are supposed to be perfect and uphold the beauty standards of their country. So, in that vein it makes sense as the beauty standards are not just about facial structure but also being skinny.

There’s an ‘escape the corset movement’ that women are doing in Korea where they reject the beauty standards that have been put on them. They reject diets, having long hair and wearing make-up. Taking off the corset, like that scene in Pirates of the Caribbean where Elizabeth is freed from the corset, that was literally killing her, and that is the catalyst for  her story and her empowerment through the films. So it’s not just idols, ordinary women have to deal with it and fight it too.

So really, maybe things will only change when society changes. If fans in South Korea actually start speaking up and saying, this isn’t right. And if they then put their money where their mouth is and stop supporting the industry. I would say it would have more of an impact if Korean fans did it than international fans however international fans also have the power of money. Unfortunately (because I really wouldn’t like to harm an artists bag) that may be the only way change will happen.

Having said that, will I still talk about kpop? Yes. I’ll talk about my favourite groups only. I’m no longer going to be covering everything, although I haven’t done that since I got my job in 2021. However, I felt that pressure to still write about kpop as I’d been doing it for so long. Now, I’m content to only talk about my favourite groups or songs that really stand out to me.