Pressures of Being an Idol

In Korea, the lifestyle of k-pop idols is not all that glamorous. Like any celebrity, female Korean idols are expected to maintain a slim figure. To get the results of an amazing figure, female idols go through extreme diets. I once came across a news article about the Korean girl Group Nine Muses that revealed the girl groups strict diet. In order to lose weight and look thin, the member shared that they were doing a “cup diet” where they only eat the proportion of a very small paper cup. The members explain that you have to fill the cup only up to where the cup ends at the top and to fill it with brown rice, fruits, and vegetables. The members share that although the portion is small, they eat it three times throughout the day. One member of Nine Muse Ryu Sera revealed that while she was training under another record label company, she was on an even more strict diet that the paper cup diet. Ryu shared that she lost around 20kg (44lbs) on this tough diet.

When the article first came out, many fans were worried about their favorite idol’s health. Allthekpop shares comments made by the fans that show their concern:

1. “They’re not called ‘model’ idols for nothing”

2. “How can they sing and dance eating only that?”

3. “So hard to be a singer… ”

(AlltheKpop).

The members assured their worried fans that the diet was healthy because each cup only contained healthy ingredients. Once the diet was shared, fans in Korea and overseas took part in the diet. I scrolled through YouTube under the search “K-pop cup diet” and I saw several videos of individuals who actually attempted this diet. While it is true that the diet helped several women lose weight, it is not a healthy way to diet. The article The Paper Cup Diet Is a Dangerous Fad in Korea That Needs to Be Addressed, exposes the dangers of partaking in this cup diet. The article’s writer, Tessa Domzalski, shares that a person needs a certain amount of carbs a day and “the paper cup diet encourages the person to eat half of that” (Domzalski). When idols promote unhealthy diets to their fans and society sees their results in their music videos and photographs, they start to follow.

Looking for scholarly articles on this topic, I found the article “Associations Between Attitudes Toward Cosmetic Surgery, Celebrity Worship, and Body Image Among South Korean and US female College Students” by Jaehee Jung and Sup Hwang Choon. Choon and Jung claim that “the popularity of the Korean popular culture, also known as K-pop, featuring flawless and youthful appearance of Korean celebrities (e.g., Girls’ Generation) in media outlets, is likely to negatively affect South Korean women’s body image” (Choon and Jung 5). As there is already immense pressure for females to keep up with their appearance, the female idols who conform to these standards also apply pressure to women. I am in full support of individuals who want to pursue healthy bodies, however, I believe one should go about it healthily. It is said to see what idols in Korea have to go through. It is even more sad to know that these female idols are forced by their record labels to go on such extreme diets. While many fans defend their idols claiming they are perfect the way they are, other fans comment malicious comments saying that certain members need to gain or lose weight. Reading these messages must be hard on these female idols as some of them are as young as 16 years old or younger.

When you look at these idols, you see girls who are almost paper-thin. There is absolutely nothing “fat” or “big” or anywhere they need to lose weight. I understand wanting to look good for fans and in the public; however, I believe there is a healthy way to achieve it. Hopefully in the future, the strict expectations and standard of an idol will fade. I love to hear the diet and workout plans of my favorite idols, but only when they are realistic and healthy (which is rare).

Jung, Jaehee, and Choon Sup Hwang. “Associations between Attitudes toward Cosmetic Surgery, Celebrity Worship, and Body Image among South Korean and US Female College Students.” Fashion and Textiles, vol. 3, no. 1, 2016, doi:10.1186/s40691-016-0069-6.