The K-Pop industry’s strict standards often require idols to alter themselves in extreme ways, whether through diets or beauty procedures. However, one of the less talked about alterations is faking one’s age to debut.
Though it is not the most discussed aspect of K-Pop, it is by no means rare. Many idols and actors have publicly admitted to faking their ages to debut, and Narsha from Brown Eyed Girls is one of them.
Narsha | @narsha81/Instagram
Brown Eyed Girls, one of the iconic second-generation groups in K-Pop, debuted in 2006. At that time, the ages of the four members ranged between 25 to 19. While JeA and Miryo were known to be 25, the group’s maknae Gain was 19. Narsha was known to be 23 years old then. But later, she admitted that she had lied about her actual age.
Brown Eyed Girls in their early days
The singer recently appeared on the MBC radio show Kim Shin Young’s Hope Song At Noon as a guest and addressed the controversy again. When the host mentioned her faking her age, Narsha responded straightforwardly, saying it was her agency’s idea.
Narsha on MBC Radio | @@radiombc /YouTube
The company she was under back then, Nega Network, felt that she was “too old” to debut and instructed her to say she was an 83-liner. In reality, she is an 81-liner, just like JeA and Miryo.
| @radiombc /YouTube
The first time Narsha actually confessed her real age was two years after her debut. While filming for SBS’s show Strong Heart, she confessed on camera that her real age at that time was 29 and not 27, as the public had known. She mentioned that lying about her age bothered her, and she felt much more at ease with the truth revealed.
However, many people still are mistaken about the singer’s age, which led to a funny episode for Narsha during a recent shoot. On the radio show, she recalled filming for Channel E and Channel S’s show Noldeon Unnie, where she was joined by Lee Ji Hyun. Lee was a former member of the second-gen girl group Jewelry and later became an actress.
Lee Ji Hyun (left) with Narsha | @channel.s_official /YouTube
Narsha said that she and Lee were very close during the entire shoot. Initially, she assumed Lee might be older, given that she had debuted much before, so she addressed her as “unnie.” But when the two finally asked each other their ages, they realized Narsha was older. After knowing the truth, Lee Ji Hyun knelt down before Narsha, leaving the singer shocked!
Narsha calling Lee “unnie” during the episode | @channel.s_official /YouTube Lee Ji Hyun fell to her knees after realizing Narsha was older | @channel.s_official /YouTube
Meanwhile, Narsha released her new song “GAME” on December 9.
