The K-Pop industry always faces numerous controversies. One of the most common issues is related to the infamous Korean beauty standards.
Every avid fan and follower of South Korean celebrities knows that there is an existing strict norm that these personalities have to fit in. This, then, explains the impressive visuals that they always carry with themselves.
Koreaboo said that this is, also, the reason why many idols see themselves heavily and "excessively photoshopped" on various materials. The publication, later on, released a list of some examples, featuring original and edited photos of the stars, noting the "unfair" photoshop works.
Despite being the "visual" of her own group, Jisoo of BLACKPINK is included in the list. In her past cover shoot for Marie Claire, the public, reportedly, noticed that there was "something wrong" in her picture.
Several fans agreed that the photo underwent an editing process before the release. As explained, the Snowdrop star's neck looked much thinner in the image in comparison to the behind-the-scenes video.
Another K-Pop idol who received a photoshop treatment was Wooseok of X1. The outlet released a previous photoshoot of the artist, emphasizing that his leg appeared to be much slimmer.
In comparison to the original photo, the change is apparent in the curvature of one of his thighs. Many, reportedly, preferred the unedited image because it looks "more realistic and human."
Kbiz Hub, also, previously released a similar list of K-Pop idols' photos that had "too much" edits. One of the stars in it is Hani of EXID, alongside an unearthed picture of her from a shoot.
As noted, many individuals were "skeptical" about it because the edits already looked odd and disproportionate. Moreover, the skin tones of the edited parts were far different from her natural color.
Another celebrity on the list is NingNing of Aespa. The outlet claimed that she has been facing several controversies because of her "thick" figure. The talks and criticisms became even more apparent when fans of the K-Pop group, reportedly, used too much photoshop on one of NingNing's pictures.
The edited version provided a much thinner and smaller NingNing. There was even an online forum when critics posted a series of comparison pictures, wherein fans repeatedly did a lot of photoshopping works to the artist's figure.
In Quora, several netizens, also, discussed how much most agencies and companies heavily edit photos of their K-Pop idols. The respondents posted some pictures to show that this has been the norm in the industry.
The majority of the images were said to be "whitewashed." As explained, having a fair, pale skin tone is a major part of the Korean beauty standard.
