4 Female K-pop Idols Who Drew Criticism for Weight Gain

By Robyn Joan Sep 18, 2022

Being a K-pop idol isn't easy. Aside from their busy and irregular schedules, and the immense pressure that they face, idols are also subjected to criticism when it comes to beauty standards set by Korean society. There is always a discussion regarding their height, visuals, and more commonly, their weight.

In fact, given how physically and mentally taxing being in the public eye can be, there are cases where idols end up gaining weight for various reasons that leads to public scrutiny. With that, here are some of the female K-pop idols who drew criticism for their weight gain.

1. NMIXX Jiwoo

(Photo : MBC)
NMIXX Jiwoo

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NMIXX only made their debut in February of this year and has become one of the top fourth generation groups. But recently in June, member Jiwoo, who is only 17 years old in international reckoning, drew criticism for her weight gain since her debut. She drew flak for her thick thighs and overall "chubbier" proportions. Eventually, netizens urged the rookie idol to lose weight, as they believed she would only "bring down the team's image."

2. TWICE Jeongyeon

(Photo : Instagram: @jy_piece)
TWICE Jeongyeon

TWICE Jeongyeon has been the subject of criticism in the past year due to her noticeable weight gain following her return from hiatus in 2021, and once again earlier this year. However, her weight gain was due to the medications she had to take for her psychological anxiety. Despite the reason behind her weight gain, netizens continued to criticize the idol, which led fans to continuously defend Jeongyeon from the haters.

3. IVE Liz

(Photo : Twitter: @IVE_twt)
IVE Liz

Liz made her debut with IVE back in December 2020, and quickly garnered attention for her gorgeous visuals. But nine months after her debut, netizens noticed that Liz had gained a small amount of weight. They noticed that Liz's cheeks and chin became plumper, as compared to her slimmer and more defined face from when she debuted. While many praised Liz for her weight gain, even calling her "adorable" for it, others didn't think it was fitting for a K-pop idol and scrutinized her for it.

4. CL

(Photo : Cm)
CL

CL had some rocky years leading up and following 2NE1's disbandment, and when she was beginning to focus on her solo career since the group's hiatus. While she was promoting with 2NE1, CL had slimmer proportions. However, she had a sudden extreme weight gain in 2018, which led many to speculate that she had health issues. But it was due to her adapting to living in a different country. Unsurprisingly, netizens didn't take too kindly to her new figure, and we were quick to attack her.