ILLIT Praised By K-Media For Being 'Teen Beauty' Standard — But Gets Accused Of 'Media Play'

In an online community, ILLIT's appreciation thread has received mixed reactions from netizens.

ILLIT Praised For Being Standard For 'Teen Beauty,' K-Netz Accuse Group Of 'Media Playing'

Ever since ILLIT debuted on March 25, with debut mini album "SUPER REAL ME" and title track "Magnetic, the group has since established itself as one of fifth-gen's leaders and a group worthy of the label "monster rookies."

The quintet has captured the attention of the K-pop community with their music, visuals, and chemistry, as this is evident through the landslide success they have experienced across music charts, programs, and coverage from international media.

However, the group has also encountered obstacles along the way, as some netizens criticized their singing skills during live encores. The group also drew heavy comparisons to fellow HYBE group NewJeans as netizens pointed out similarities in their youthful concept, appeal, and many more.

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This was further fueled when one of K-pop industry's high-ups openly brought attention to the copying claims. Min Hee Jin, CEO of ADOR, held a press conference to discuss her side amid HYBE and ADOR's conflict, leading to an unexpected chain of events that caused infighting among fandoms.

Despite the company chaos, ILLIT and other HYBE groups continued to persevere.

On May 1, netizens gathered in an online community, titled, "Super Magnetic' How ILLIT Became The Beauty Standard For Teens."

In the forum, the author relayed a Korean news outlet's report regarding ILLIT's impact on teen beauty and the popularity of "Magnetic" across the globe. The report shared that one contributing factor to this virality was ILLIT's visuals and styling.

ILLIT Praised By K-Media For Being 'Teen Beauty' Standard — But Gets Accused Of 'Media Play' — (Photo : TheQoo)

"This is because of ILLIT's 'super real' appearance on stage, which sparked a sense of 'aspirational beauty' among peers of their age," it shared.

Furthermore, the outlet also discussed how member Moka's styling became a favorite among beauty enthusiasts.

"Moka's styling became a favorite among beauty creators," it continued. "Moka's ability to pull off 'hedore' styling (the use of lace fabric and bow as headband) on the stage of a music show was so impressive, her fancam reached over one million views."

It added, "Her styling gained attention for resembling popular teenage character Cinnamon Roll, and Moka's Cinnamon Roll Challenge garnered more than 5.5 million views."

Nevertheless, the report drew mixed reactions from netizens. While some agreed with how good "Magnetic" was, others gave out "media play" accusations. Here's how they reacted:

"Well, their song is indeed good though."

"Where? The media play is so seriously messy."

"Let's just wait and see what happens since they won't be able to escape the 'copycat' label."

"They're so disgusting with the media play."

"Rather than ILLIT becoming the new beauty standard, it's more like they have the look that teens currently like."

"Oh, they are starting again. I'm not buying this."

"I feel bad for the fans who really love them. They're treated like copycats and are getting hate for the media play, so their fans would have to endure it all."