They shared their stories in a documentary.
In SBSthe next documentary Bodymentary: Confessions about weightsome of the pioneering figures of the K-Pop industry will share their struggles to adapt to the impossible standards placed on female idols. Two of these idols who appear in the documentary are SISTAR‘S So you AND KARA‘S Seungyeon.
Both idols were trendsetters of their generation, often garnering high praise for their beautiful images. But the reality behind this pageantry was often too dark. Soyou and Seungyeon both got candid about their personal anecdotes about struggling with body image issues and weight loss in their early years in the SBS documentary, and it’s nothing short of heartbreaking.
Soyou, who spent her childhood in the mandarin fields of Jeju dreaming of becoming a singer, faced an unexpected obstacle in her path. His singing ability was overshadowed by the industry’s rigid physical standards, which followed an arbitrary “formula” in which the difference between an idol’s height (in cm) and weight (in kg) had to be 120.
The SISTAR singer revealed that her agency had set her goal weight at 48kg. “At 168cm tall, the only way to reach that weight was to not eat,” he recalled. She spent her early years obsessed with these numbers, so much so that at one point she worried whether an IV in hospital would make her gain weight.
I found my body disgusting when I looked at it after gaining weight.
— Then you
KARA’s Seungyeon was once highly admired for her slim figure and “doll-like” appearance, especially after the song “Mr.” In fact, Seungyeon was considered one of the gold standards of beauty among a K-Pop girl group. But reaching that standard took a toll on Seungyeon’s health.
The singer recalled how she had to stop eating altogether to achieve a flat stomach and wear low-waisted trousers with crop tops for her performances. During one of her intense dieting phases, she even fainted after losing too much weight.
When I gained weight, I was 46kg. After losing another 4kg, I fainted.
—Seungyeon
Seungyeon revealed that his body developed chronic illnesses as he obsessively chased industry standards. But now his perspective has changed and he has decided to step forward and prevent others from making the same mistake.
SBS Bodymentary: Confessions about weight, also features top K-Pop female artists, such as Kim Wan Sun, HyosungAND MOMOO‘S Hwasa. They they will talk about their personal journeys with the standards of K-Pop’s toxic body. The documentary is scheduled to air on December 8, KST.
