A debate around the standards of beauty in Korea was sparked after a forum discussed aespa Karina‘s “weight gain.”
aespa’s Karina | @katarinabluu/Instagram
Since debuting, Karina has always shined on stage, capturing the hearts of those she is performing to.
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In particular, Karina has always gained attention for her unreal figure and “Hourglass” proportions.
Yet, a photo of Karina has seemingly showcased the strict standards of beauty in Korea.
A recent post on a Korean forum gained a lot of attention after it was titled about Karina seemingly gaining weight. The post was meant to be positive as it explained that Karina looked “healthy” along with a photo seemingly focusing on her thighs.
| Nate Pann
Yet, while most netizens would praise Karina for being healthy, it seems like Korean fans thought the post was “toxic.”
In the comments, everyone had mixed views. Although many praised her, saying she still looked pretty and others disagreed, one fan shared that the standards in Korea are very different from those abroad. In particular, they point out that the “weight gain” comes from looking at her thighs and that what is deemed normal to those abroad is “weight gain” in Korea.
“? Are you really saying she gained weight from looking at her thighs? In the past, thighs like this were praised for being healthy, fit, and sexy, but the world is going crazy to consider this as weight gain… If you go abroad, people like thighs like this and think they’re sexy…” “Just looking at her arm, it doesn’t look like weight gain to me.” “What do you mean weight gain?” “She’s even prettier. She’s prettier with these thighs.” “It’s okay because she’s pretty if she gains weight.”
It is no secret that Koreans have very different standards of beauty and what they perceive as “weight gain” is still very skinny to most Western fans. Yet, it seems that Koreans are now acknowledging the differences in the post, with over 70,000 views.
