The Real Reason Idols Get Plastic Surgery According To A Former Trainee (Hint: It’s Not Agency Pressure)

“A lot of K-Pop trainees get peer pressured.”
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Andrea Nolan
Andrea Nolan

Plastic surgery is a subject of heated debate among fans, with many worrying that agencies pressure their trainees and idols to go under the knife. However, according to a former K-Pop trainee, that’s actually not why so many stars get cosmetic procedures. Bianca Zhou, who has trained with SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment coaches, revealed the real reason in a recent video on TikTok — and it’s nothing to do with the companies themselves.

Talking to viewers, Zhou addressed the all-too-familiar question: Do companies force their idols to get cosmetic surgery? To the surprise of many, the former trainee revealed, “No one is being forced to get plastic surgery,” adding that K-Pop idols generally choose their own procedures and initiate them out of their own volition. They are, however, succumbing to another form of pressure: peer pressure, according to Zhou.

A lot of K-Pop trainees get peer pressured, actually, not by their company, but by the fellow members of their group — which sounds terrible, I know, but let me explain.

— Bianca Zhou

While this may sound cutthroat, it’s not that other trainees are actually pushing their fellow aspiring stars to get surgery. Instead, Bianca Zhou says that one of the biggest worries for any trainee is the ever-present threat of getting dropped from the debut group lineup. “The competition makes them cave, and they may feel like they’re not good-looking enough to debut, even if they are,” Bianca explained in her video.

If a trainee is planning to debut with four other girls, and those four other girls are extremely conventionally gorgeous, and she feels like she is not, then she might get nervous that she’s going to be dropped from the group before debut.

— Bianca Zhou

(G)I-DLE’s Soyeon referencing plastic surgery in their music video. | (G)I-DLE/YouTube

 

 

The company may then subsidize the trainee’s surgery, adding it to their pre-debut det. According to Zhou, however, these fears can persist even after debut. As an example, the former trainee said, “Even after they debut, she might be the least biased member of the group, and she’s like, ‘Oh my God, nobody likes me.'” When an idol feels like they have the least fans out of their bandmates, they may feel a constant undercurrent of tension and self-doubt. This inner battle then makes them feel the need to level up to match their group members’ beauty standards.

In every K-Pop group, there is usually always one member who looks a little bit different from the other members, and if that member is not completely and totally secure in themselves, then they might try to use cosmetic procedures to make themselves feel like they match the other people in their group.

— Bianca Zhou

And, facial surgery isn’t the only consequence of insecurity. For many idols, the former trainee explained, “This may also manifest in different body procedures and harmful dieting practices.”

You’ll often see that like one member may have fluctuations in weight, and that may also change the way that their face looks because our faces hold the body fat. And, if one member is not feeling entirely secure, they may feel like, ‘Oh, my face is too puffy,’ and they might have harmful dieting practices.

— Bianca Zhou

Unfortunately, it’s not easy for fans to help their favourite idols work through these feelings. As Bianca Zhou explained in a reply to one of her viewers, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD, which causes people to worry excessively about their appearance), is no joke. However, Zhou says there is one thing you can do: “Show all the members of a K-Pop group love.”

K-Pop group members are kind of like siblings, and it’s hard to be compared to each other.

— Bianca Zhou

Ultimately, Zhou says that when fans see a group member whose “face seems to change a lot [or] their weight seems to change a lot,” they should keep in mind that the star is probably going through a difficult time.

If you can, don’t point it out to the fandom. Don’t make posts about it. Leave them be… It’s important to consider other people’s mental health, even if it seems like they have everything… Plastic surgery is usually indicative of something more serious.

— Bianca Zhou

Source: Bianca Zhou
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