“Hearing that HyunA would starve herself to maintain the figure that made her popular…”
Following the latest episode of Point of Omniscient Interfere (also known as The Manager or Omniscient Interfering View) featuring HyunA, Koreans addressed the unrealistic beauty standards still dominating the K-Pop business.
In the episode, HyunA admitted that she was “obsessed” with the idea of having to be skinny.
From starving for weeks in preparation for a commercial shoot to pushing herself to survive on a single piece of gimbap amid a packed schedule, HyunA made some deadly dangerous decisions—all of which dropped her blood pressure to 40mm Hg (60 being considered low) and made her faint all the time.
HyunA’s Manager: HyunA starved herself to keep the weight off. So she was malnourished. She passed out one too many times. The staff has worked with her for a long time, so… We all had our part in making sure she didn’t faint. Her makeup artist would know from the expressions that HyunA would make on stage since she’s familiar with HyunA’s face. Her stylist would refrain from dressing her in tight clothes… And I also tried my best to stay close to her and watch the changes.
HyunA: I was obsessed. I wanted to be perfect because… I felt like I had so many people working for me, trying to make me look good. And now I know that being skinny has nothing to do with being perfect. But back then, I was young. I was also young when I entered the industry, with my body often being highlighted. So I think the obsession developed over time.
Her staff, who had been working with her for over a decade, had all devised their own methods to monitor the idol for potential fainting in response to her extreme diet.
HyunA’s Makeup Artist: We were all so emotional in Thailand… After the music video shoot? Everyone was crying. It has been so long since we were able to complete a shoot without you fainting.
Before, I would be carrying around a tank of oxygen, looking at your eyes and how they look—when I should’ve been looking at your hair and makeup…
HyunA’s Stylist: Yeah, the way you completed the shoot in Thailand was huge for us.
However, the fact that “no one stopped the idol’s behavior” led to an online debate.
A viral tweet asked, “What even is the K-Pop girl group business?”
현아가 몸매로 떠서 유지하느라 일주일씩 굶고 매일 쓰러져서 스텝들도 현아 쓰러지는 거 담당하는 포지션이 있었다고 하는 걸 보며…걸그룹 산업 정말 무엇인가 하게 되..저혈압 당사자로서 현아 혈압이 40까지 떨어졌다는 말을 듣고 (?)이렇게 됨 진심 저체중 굶기 다이어트 반복하면 죽게 된다
— 봄린 (@_beomlin) May 17, 2024
Hearing that HyunA would starve herself for weeks to maintain the figure that made her popular, which made her faint all the time—leading her staff to have designated tasks to help prevent it, I can’t help but ask… What even is the K-Pop girl group business? I also suffer from low blood pressure. So when I heard that HyunA’s blood pressure used to dip to the 40s, I was at a loss of words. Starvation diet, especially for people who already don’t weigh much, WILL KILL.
— @_beomlin/X
In response to the tweet, Koreans criticized the industry for holding female idols to such unrealistic standards—though most also doubted that change would take place, as K-Pop fans “prefer” unrealistic figures.
- “This is exactly why I find it hilarious when fans praise female idols for having slim and muscular bodies on camera… Muscular, my a*s.”
- “Such a serious problem, but Koreans will fat shame some of the most normal bodies that celebrities have. So nothing will change.”
- “Blood pressure in the 40s, though? She almost died.”
- “I’m so glad she made it out of that habit alive. She would’ve died had she kept going… Hope it never happens to her.”
- “How is a blood pressure of 40 even possible?”
- “Aigoo…“
- “Didn’t she leave Wonder Girls because of an illness, too? She must be weak.”
- “That makes no sense… How was that even possible? How did she perform like that?”
- “40mm Hg…?!”
- “Yeah, but we’re all going to praise girl group members for having lost more weight and being skinnier than ever. People are never going to change, haha.”
- “Yet, some K-Pop fans will still defend female idols—calling them muscular or healthy—when people criticize the idol business for being unrealistic.”
- “We should all stop talking about other people’s bodies in general. Please.”
- “The idol business is insane.”
- “Hope she takes better care of herself…”
- “BP of 40…? [Nurses] would call code on blood pressure that low… I don’t even think it’d be possible to stand up straight at that level. What even is life as a K-Pop idol?”
- “Was she anorexic…?”
- “You know… Even when she starved herself like that, risking her life, people still talked about her thighs being ‘thick.’ I guess that was never a compliment to her.”
- “WTF…”
- “How did she even dance and sing live?”
HyunA did reveal she has since gained a total of 17 pounds (8 kilograms) through her recovering endeavor, adding she is “happier” now that she is “healthier.”
HyunA’s Past With Extreme Diet Resurfaces While Addressing Recent Weight Gain
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