"Did she gain weight?" TWICE Nayeon's appearance at the 'Waterbomb Festival' highlights Unrealistic K-Beauty Standards

You can never satisfy everyone, and that rings even more true after TWICE Nayeon’s recent appearance at the ‘Waterbomb 2024 Music Festival’ made headlines. But it wasn’t the fact that she was on the lineup that had heads turning; rather, it was how netizens pointed out it seemed as though the beautiful Nayeon gained some weight.

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In photos that circulated around, Nayeon can be seen donning a tank top and some denim shorts and performing like any other stage performance. You don’t really see much difference, but many netizens were flocking to the photos leaving comments about the fact that you can see her love handles spill over her shorts. Other photos capture the fellow singer with a slight bulge over her shorts as well. Some netizens wrote pretty harsh comments such as “Now that she’s done with promotions, she looks a bit too relaxed” or “She looks like she needs to do some exercise,” and “She seems like she gained some weight since she’s stopped promoting. It would have been better if she lost some weight before performing…”

However, there were others who pointed out it wasn’t the fact that she gained weight, but it was a matter of her outfit being too tight. One netizen remarked, “Her outfit doesn’t fit her. She wore something too small,” and “I’m at a loss for words seeing people criticize her weight and not her outfit. Being an idol is really hard.” Yes, yes it is.

Everyone knows the camera adds on weight, and furthermore, if you’ve seen any idol in person, especially female idols, you’ll notice just how skinny they are in reality. More or less, Nayeon is in tight shorts and a swimsuit top; if you’ve ever been in this kind of outfit, you can’t help but have skin spill out of your clothes. If you look even closer, you’ll notice it’s more accentuated due to the fact that her clothes are drenched. But Nayeon’s appearance and the comments that people have made regarding her weight present the ever-existing issue of just how high K-beauty standards are. These standards, often unrealistic and unattainable, place immense pressure on idols to maintain a certain image, leading to public scrutiny and criticism over even the slightest perceived changes in their appearance.

If you’re of average weight, you’re seen as being too chubby for the stage and then you’re put on a rigorous diet that doesn’t do your body any good. But if you’re too skinny and lose too much weight, netizens then say that you’re too stick-thin and that it’s not pleasant to look at. So what then becomes the ideal standard, and where did these ridiculous standards even come from?

In various survival programs, we’ve seen several idols be criticized for their weight. We’ve heard all the different types of diets that idols have been through just for a simple photoshoot or even a music video. TWICE’s Jihyo is definitely not a stranger to receiving criticism about her weight, and TWICE’s Jeongyeon, with her fluctuations in weight loss and weight gain, has received her fair share of criticism, too. The fact that the ones making these comments are just normal people who most likely have never experienced the ups and downs of weight gain and weight loss is just astounding.

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Of course, you can never satisfy everyone, but expecting these idols to meet every single beauty standard out there is just absurd. The demands are all over the place—some fans want them to be super thin, while others criticize them for it. It’s a no-win situation. This pressure to constantly conform to such impossible and contradictory standards completely ignores their individuality and the hard work they put into their craft. It’s just not fair to expect anyone, no matter how dedicated, to keep up with these endless and often harsh opinions about their looks. Why can’t we all just enjoy the performance and lineup? After all, it’s not every day that you get to see your idol perform.