Netizens Raise Anger After Noticing Excessive Photoshopping Of The NMIXX Members At Recent Event
Although the world of K-Pop can initially seem like a place where dreams are made, the reality of life for an idol is much harsher. From the minute they become trainees, idols are under immense pressure to live up to expectations, especially when it comes to fitting into the “Korean standards of beauty.”
Recently fans have raised concerns about these standards of beauty when it comes to NMIXX.
When NMIXX debuted earlier in the year, the members quickly gained attention for their amazing talent and presence on stage.
Yet, another thing netizens noticed about the group was that the members are extremely young. The oldest member is Lily, born in 2002, and the youngest member is Kyujin, born in 2006.
Unfortunately, despite their young ages, it seems like the members were subjected to the harsh reality of the K-Pop industry when images resurfaced showing the members being photoshopped.
In April, NMIXX appeared at an event for fashion brand WOOYOUNGMI, and the idols all looked flawless with their natural beauty.
However, when images were posted on the brand’s official account, netizens noticed that the photos had been edited, particularly when it came to Jiwoo, who is one of the youngest members.
In the first video, the idols all looked beautiful in their different outfits and Jiwoo was no exception in an oversized brown coat, a black skirt, and chunky shoes.
Jiwoo has always been praised for her body, and many netizens have called out those shaming the young idol. It meant that when many noticed that a later photo on Instagram had edited Jiwoo’s legs to make them appear “skinnier.” Others pointed out that the other members’ proportions also seemed edited in different ways…
Especially when compared to a screenshot taken from a video in the exact same place that the photo was shot.
In the comments of the post, netizens shared their anger at the edited photos, sharing their anger at the idea that the company thought the young idol needed to be “edited” in the photo.
Although the event was in April, the image has resurfaced after being posted on the Korean forum Nate Pann. When the post was shared, international fans shared their anger at the editing. In particular, they pointed out that Jiwoo is only 17-years-old and this kind of editing would do nothing for her confidence and criticized the standards of beauty many have for K-Pop idols.
Yet, it isn’t the first time the industry has come under fire for photoshopping idols to match a certain beauty standard.
Earlier in the year, fans of fellow JYP Entertainment group Stray Kids raised concerns after a photoshoot with Filipino brand BENCH seemingly photoshopped many of the members’ features.
IF YOU KEEP PHOTOSHOPPING THIER NOSE LIKE THAT THEY WILL LOOK LIKE A DAMN VOLDEMORT 😭😭 STOP EDITING IT… THEIR NOSE ARE BEAUTIFUL
— 8 performer and millions of clown🤡🎪 (@raspbinnie23) April 23, 2022
I understand that retouching (skin discolouration, skin lines, stray hair etc) is standard practice for photoshoot results but the digital nose job is so unnecessary. It's always Bang Chan that looks the least like himself in official promo pics. :/
— 🔩 SHREK KIDS WOO 🐰🐷 (@gastricslut) April 22, 2022
The idea of beauty standards in K-Pop is not new. However, netizens worry that the desire for idols to look a certain way and the lengths companies will go to to achieve this seems out of control.
