Lets not forget how scary it is that a 19-year old idol is put on a pedestal that promotes absolute (and unrealistic) perfection. She must feel immense pressure and I hope Wonyoung is okay mentally and physically. She’s a human.
Yup, I hope she is too! Luckily she has addressed stuff on a live before also telling people that they should not diet etc, I hope she keeps herself healthy too🤍
I love Wonyoung, but the fact that her whole identity has become a trend is just another example of how K-pop idols are commodified as products, not people. The whole reason she went viral was because of the 'plump glowing hydration boost' ad which was for a product and now she is synonymous with Korean skincare and coquette clothes = consumerism.
Although I would argue she was definitely already viral before the innisfree ad, she has been going viral for years now, especially last year into this year!
i love wonyoung but wonyoungism is literally just coquette aesthetic and taking extra care in yourself and your appearance.. at least that was how it was originally but now it’s like those people are trying to actually become wonyoung
idk if it’s just me but the fact that there’s a term (wonyoungnism) for this is kind of weird because wonyoung is so weirdly idolised that people treat it like a religion atp. she’s a real person and pretty young so it’s kind of scary how people treat her like she’s from another planet
right? it's so weird to see a kpop idol become so.. iconic? so much that she literally spawns a trend for girls who want to BE her, like yall dont see ppl doing jungkookism or whatever LMAO
yn what's funny is most of the things Wonyoungism stans tell you to do Wonyoung doesn't even do herself or she doesn't think you need to do like for example. Wonyoung made it very clear on live that kids/teens should NOT diet or think heavily about what they "should" eat. and that she she does the extensive work on herself bc it's literally apart of her job so teens feeling the need to do it is not needed at all and that they should just be confident and enjoy yourself. I love wonyoungism but only from people who actually treat wonyoungism like advice from Wonyoung herself
Yup exactly! I forgot to mention that live in this which is annoying😭 that’s what I was trying to imply with the confidence trends tho, that’s definitely the better side of it!
Trends like these are so interesting to me, because on one hand it's a pretty aesthetic that one can use to "romanticise their life" and inspire themselves, but on the other hand, some people take it too far and use the aesthetic to beat themselves up for not being "aesthetic enough". For someone older it can be a pretty phone background collage, but for younger girls it can be detremental to the development of self, because they spend the majority of time performing a look and a personality that they think is the ideal one. Loved the video essay, hope you continue with them🩷
I think ppl are forgetting that this idol and many others have ppl doing things for them. Like she probably has a personal trainer, physical therapist, dietitian, dermatologist, personal assistant, a manager etc. There’s a team behind her making her ‘perfect’ as well as the effort she puts in herself. She is not a flawless human being, she’s a young woman who has to appear perfect because if she doesn’t she’ll be dragged through the mud. Idk the whole thing just feels like dehumanisation. She’s a human being not a god. There shouldn’t really be pressure to emulate her life in anyway. She’s doing all this( early wake-up time, working out extensively, intricate skincare routine etc) because it’s her job that’s it. She doesn’t live a regular life. YOU do and that’s ok. Also the whole think is repackaged diet culture tbf. There’s definitely value in exercise and eating a wide variety of foods but for a lot of ppl it quickly becomes obsessive. Idek what I’m saying anymore just don’t treat her like a god and don’t bend over backwards trying to emulate these idols lives. Also the whole hyper consumption of it all like you mentioned. YOU a regular person most likely will not be able to continuously adjust and buy the things advertised with this trend.
@@hollypurplesyou yup! She is! Anyways I loved your video, I’m not into kpop but I am interested in the dynamics of fandom in relation to Koop idols, this video came up on my recommended, you’re very articulate and it was a fun watch.
okay but i remember wonyoungism at first was the “you are you, im me” mindset thingy + treating yourself well (the BASICS for a glow up/better version of themselves) but now its weight, a certain wardrobe, skin, hair, certain diet, etc. also now there’s different wonyoungism- blue, white, black, pink AND MORE. LIKE WHAT AM I NOW
a lot of wonyoungism is fans "self inserting" themselves into her basically. blackpink have dealt with this problem for a long time, basically fans that see themselves in these idols & react to criticism of the idols as criticism of them, the fan. there's a good video about this on ktube somewhere & i think it applies to wonyoung too, a lot of people just kind of want to be wonyoung lol
I'm 33 and had no idea about her or the trend surrounding her. It seems like a repeat of my childhood trends but with more money 😂 i personally don't care what the kids are doing but I'm grateful for channels like yours to tell them it's okay, they can be themselves ❤❤❤❤❤
i love wongyoung and im obsessed with this whole confidence pink feminine aesthetic, but i feel like branding it as wonyoungism is really toxic on wonyoung herself because she is just a teenager too. the pressure she has to be perfect, look perfect, be skinny everything would be really stressful and i hope shes okay, not to say for others to not do the pink feminine confident pilates aesthetic but just dont label it as wonyoungism because its just stressing herself even MORE!!
i feel like a lot of ppl forget that being fit, conventionally beautiful, having perfect skin, etc is a job for kpop idols. they have personal instructors, go to aestheticians regularly, most likely have their lives scheduled around maintaining "perfect" appearance bc it directly affects the success of their career. this is not a lifestyle for regular teenagers not only bc of the unrealistic standards kpop idols are held to but also bc of the time and money required for all this. while trying to add some of the wonyoungnism habits in your lifestyle can be achievable and beneficial, you also need to remember not to compare yourself to idols which can be difficult bc wonyoung is also popular among ed-leaning sub-communitites in kpop. ive seen ppl having positive experiences with wonyoungnism but i think that in order for it to work you need to have some sort of self-awareness and understanding of the kpop industry and consumerism in general. anyways great video❤
My body care routine at 13 consisted of washing my hair when my mum told me to and feeling like I was doing something CRAZY good for myself when I applied chapstick 😂 I mean as someone who is really into skincare now, I think for example things like sunscreen are good even for younger people but you really dont need all that expensive extra stuff.
also wrt sleep deprivation teenagers naturally feel sleepy later at night (closer to 11pm/midnight i believe) and would naturally without school wake up close to 8-9 in the morning so those kids are actively working against their natural sleep cycles for a silly little trend
i had it on my fyp when i was into kpop alot !! and i had to block the hashtag because it felt weird. some videos felt like YOU HAVE TO DO IT or you arent good enough. it also triggered me because of my ed issues!! . i also saw people belittling people in comments for not participating in wonyoungism i feel like its hidden ed culture in a sense !! Obviously this trend is not wonyoungs faut and i love her !! and overall im sure this trend isn’t always harmful but some people take it too far i feel like teenagers need to stop growing up too quickly its okay to care about skin care , want to diet , want to eat healhily , want to do makeup and hair care but when taken too far / when you force that upon others thats where the problem lies !! ( its sad to see young teenagers experiencing this) they need to understand that that they dont need to use anti aging cream at the age of 14/13/15 ect when i was 13/14 i wasnt focused on makeup ect and still am not today but thats just me
Wonyoung is such an icon, she's young and was thrown into the spotlight at such an early age from being on that survival show... Now in IVE she's received so much hate from international fans as a 'pick me' girl, so seeing Wonyoungism become popular has honestly been refreshing after all the hate against her, but now I agree it's just Coquette fashion with a weird tendency to desperately want to be the 'IT Girl' Wonyoung, which is just sad to see tbh...
You are absolutely right about 13-14 years old. I was once a 14 year old who had body issue (ed and body dismorphia) and i am sure it was cuz of kpop because i remember being skinny but not skinny skinny like kpop idol. It was when Iu's diet was reavealed and who dont want to look like iu?. 14 year old should not worry about body and face. Your body is changing and so are you. Dont pressurize yourself. It was when 16 when i realized i was starting to become stable. It took me whole 3 years to become normal and heal myself ❤. Dont so any diet if u young af. Just eat what your mama make. ❤
I am really young and I love wonyoungism. I don‘t go on diet because I love food so much but I eat most of the time healthy. I also workout because I like it. I don‘t do it for weight lost I just do it because it‘s fun. And I love taking care of myself. Not just the appearance but also that I feel better on the inside. I love studying, reading or dancing. Wonyoungism gave
So much confidence. Some classmates said things like I can‘t dance and my past self just stopped dancing because of this people but now I do what I want to do as long as I‘m not hurting somebody.
for me, I really like wonyoungism and I follow accounts that are more mental tips(confidence,etc) but i realise that im more insecure of myself and the products that they recommend is VERY expensive which makes people spend money on products that may/may not be as good as the price. for example , wonyoungism say”buy ___ school supplies to make your studies improve” but in reality SKILLS matter more that PRODUCTS and that goes for haircare, skincare etc
I'm im the same age as Wonyoung (04 liners), and I feel this kind of pressure that's bugging me lately due to this kind of trend. Like, if Wonyoung can be like that (an it girl that everybody loves), why can't I? We're on the same age so why I can't be Wonyoung? It gone so bad that it actually triggered my anxiety. I'm not thin enough (plus my mom often pointed out how fat am I even if my BMI is normal), I'm not diligent enough (even woman and girls in my country keeps calling girls who doesn't want to do makeup and skincare a pick me), I'm not pretty enough (I have acne and PIE and I need to hide it with makeup so I can look like I have "glass skin" and my mood ruined instantly if I have a single acne on my face). I need to mute her name and the trend name not because I'm a hater, but it because I feel uncomfortable with the pressure. I miss the old day when I don't gave a fuck with standards but now it seems like a norm to be a certain kind of person.
I don't have a problem with young girls taking care of themselves, which is a bit weird to me is the fact that this is a "persona" not her, not her personality, she is a product for a company and have to keep this "princess" image, we never see her acting natural, never know how she truly feels about the things and you must say "just as others idols" but not really, most of them are way more relaxed and have moments where they can just chill or more honest, she doesn't and as i say before is weird, because your idolizing someone that probably doesn't even like the lifestyle that this people relate to her, and i dont wanna think how bad is for someone of her age be loved and have people obssesed about her looks
Yup i definitely agree with this! When im talking about young girls taking care of themselves I wasn’t saying it’s a bad thing, just that they are sacrificing vital things like sleep for a bit of extra skincare which isn’t necessarily needed for their age!
@@hollypurplesyou don't worry I know that, it's terrible seeing a girl who hasn't still full developed yet waking up at 4:30 just to have extra time for skincare and makeup, like girl at that age you don't need a full 7 skincare routine, rest and you body in general will appreciate it more😭
As a long time fan I honestly think y'all just never watch any content of her. We do see her acting natural and you don't even have to dig deep. There's a thousand vids of her screaming, yelling, laughing loud like every other idol and just because she poses for the camera sometimes doesn't mean she's a product... I actually really hate this narrative, it feels so dehumanising. Y'all don't even try to get to know her, you see out of context Tiktok's and run with this. She's literally herself. Every friend she has makes light fun of her because she's a genuinely girly and extra person.
@@sb3937 I don’t think people are trying to say that she isn’t like this herself? As a long time fan I recognise what she is, I think they were just stating that due to her being in a contract with a company there are certain restrictions on what she can and can’t do and likely the level of presentation
half way through the video so far but i love the presentation of this video and the explanations were detailed, good job holly and hope to see more videos from you!
I don’t listen to k-pop at all and clicked on the video bc I was curious-just wanted do say this was a great video! Especially since it’s your first one! I wouldn’t have even thought this was your first video essay; you did such a good job!
I love your video! Especially the part in positives where you talked about how its beneficial for some people to follow routines. As someone who’s neurodivergent and has binge-eating disorder, this trend helped me a lot. The routines helped me have reasons to wake up the next day, they help me know exactly what I need to do and manage my time better. I found myself cleaning my room more instead of letting it look like a dumpster like it used to. In terms of eating, I still eat the things I like (especially fast food) but I manage to control myself by not skipping meals and eating snacks in between them so I dont eat everything all at once in one meal then starve the next day. I also used to be addicted to soda to the point where i had to drink soda everyday but Wonyoungism reminds me to drink water so I craved soda less and less until I stopped drinking it everyday, now I only drink soda when it’s offered to me. Also, i dont mind eating whatever I like because I exercise anyway, sometimes I don’t but I try to be active like easy stretches and walking. I manage to get 5-8 hours of sleep for the most part too! Though I still have problems with chores like doing laundry and dishes, my life has been pretty good compared to what it was before. ❤ Im so glad I stumbled unto the positive side of it first and only follow creators that actually do what they preach and have realistic goals. Once I see the toxic videos, I immediately hit block as much as I can.
Young girls like 13-16 or even younger being obsessed w dieting and skincare is very concerning what happend to liking a idol/artist because they are talented and not just their looks. Like they shouldnt be on tiktok anyways but poor parenting is everywhere.
i wrote a blogpost about this on my kpop blog, ‘my secret playlist’! it’s called the wonyoung effect, i discuss a lot of the same things you do, and expand on ed social media culture, competitive nature of kpop and eds, and the dangerous of aestheticizing dangerous content. i really enjoyed this video!
I like the whole healthy part of this like the skin care, study tips, etc. and I do follow some tips because they help me to positively change myself, but it’s just weird how people are idolizing her and treating her like a religious figure. Also concerning bc don’t these ppl see her as human rather than a trend?
I think it’s a cute aesthetic however I have seen ppl take it too far 😭 like I saw this one 13 or 14 year old making a video on how she doesn’t care that she’s too young for intense skincare or wonyongism life and put that quote from wony saying like “I’d rather suffer from studying than suffer with bad grades or smth” and while that is true, it can be an unhealthy mindset, especially for young girls. Also I find it kinda weird how much people are idolizing this teenager like sgdhfj y’all made not only a whole aesthetic, but a whole ass “lifestyle” of a singer?? I saw some people on Pinterest call themselves wonyongists ☠️ IT SOUNDS LIKE A CULT LMAO so although it’s a nice style and good motivation with the rise of self care and self love, it’s wild to base a whole aesthetic around her I feel 🥲
the term is just so funny lmao i always feel second hand embarrassment whenever someone speaks of it like it’s an actual life style… like come on yall base your life around a kpop idol? after we all know clearly how bad that industry is especially for women… the excessive diets, the plastic surgeries, and many damaging things… the girl is literally a brand ambassador, how we see her on camera is not all there is but her fans made her out to be some standard that little girls should look up to…
I loved this video! Can't believe this is your first video essay, it wasreally interesting and reminded me of the interest I have in other video essay videos/ channels. I have also seen a lot of Wonyoungism tags and trends on Tiktok and wanted to find something speaking about it. You've gained a new subscriber! Thanks for this video, was great as a break for studying in the library haha
such a wonderful video! thank you! you’ve done a great work, i’m so happy i’ve found this video! it’s so interesting to listen to you, you are such a great speaker
Never forget this content are editing and a lot of filters are used. So nothing is according to reality. Parents should teach their children this from young age on.
I like wonyoungism because I was a very feminine girl and I loved it but I felt like it wasn't right? idk I saw ppl shitting on girls for being hyper feminine which is what I was as a little girl so I feel like since it became a trend I can go back into it!! love cute pink stuff with my cute silly girl things and watching chick flicks with my cute silly girly music
for me wonyoungism is helpful and i mostly like the religious ones and the ones giving "soft" advice like "hey, sweetie i know it's hard but please, get up and study. you're gonna be so happy when you pass that test and you can reward yourself afterwards
honestly I just don’t like how much self improvement is gendered. Most of what I’ve seen is hyperfeminine or hypermasculine and I just want something that more in the middle
So basically is wonyoungism ideology is just to become best version of themselves and have confidence? I guess that ideology doesn’t sound so bad. To be honest though, seems like some people doing this are having unhealthy habits instead of having healthy habits and are trying to be like Wonyoung and try to be super pretty and seems like it’s leading to unhealthy lifestyle instead of healthy lifestyle for some people doing this. I’ve heard some people are developing eating disorders from this. And i know Wonyoung didn’t say it in this context and I think she was responding to haters but one of the quotes Wonyoung literally said “YOU are YOU, I am ME” and that audio is used a lot in those wonyoungism TikToks So YOU….be YOU. So honestly they shouldn’t try to be exactly like Wonyoung and be themselves, of course wonyoung’s confidence is definitely something to look up too, but many people in wonyoungism are going to the extremes….(like eating disorders and etc.)
As a 14 year old like you said I wish people don’t care about how they look cause I’m really really insecure about how I look but in this generation I feel like how you look is so important as a south Asian I’ve had people say means things for being dark skinned so it’s really hard for girls my age to not care about their appearance I hope it gets better I personally love the confidence and motivation videos of wonyoungism but I loved your video holly 🫶🏻🫶🏻
Yes I agree, I personally suffered with an ED at only the age of 11 so I know how much pressure there is at that age, I’m sure you’re absolutely beautiful and thank you🩷
it's the first time when I watched your video, and I liked it so much! you did a great job making research on this important topic. thank you for that! also, it's pleasant to listen to your voice! keep making your video 💖
omggg I recognised you from tiktok! Love the video it was v insightful! I'm also going to the IVE concert next year, if you're also going to the London one
Ik this is kinda annoying coming from a wonyoung acc but tbh I love ive and I’m a kpop stan myself and got into wonyoungism it helped m a lot I still eat a lot and keep a healthy routine and wonyoungism first started as something that can make you a better person to have. Good appearance ect.although there is some ppl promoting Ed and ppl treating wonyoung like a product there is still a wholesome part of wonyoungism that just wanted a better routine but this explains very well on how the “trend” is getting to far
I remember a few months back I saw a post with wonyoungism tips and it was literally just absurb and low-key ed promoting. But I do agree! I think wonyoungism is actually very much a cool trend, and some tips are in fact really useful but we all know what happens when you look up to a girl as pretty as Jang Wonyoung. Also unrelated, you're so pretty 😭😭
when i was 13, i kind of had to wake up at these extreme times to be able to go to school and also look presentable. I usually woke up at 5:30 which gave me like 80 minutes to get ready and then leave my house for school (for referance i usually left at 6:50 and got to school at 7:45 since my school starts at 7:50) but if you have school at like 8:30 or 9 even then you really shouldnt be doing that sort of thing at the age 13
one of my least favourite parts abt wonyoungism - and this is such a nitpick - are the accounts tryna influence you into buying stuff that they havent even tried themselves 😭😭 i see it sm with &honey products i just think its so odd
Just the fact that is named Wonyoungism...??? It's weird !!! She is beautifull and smart but like most of wonyoungism are more just pretty than smart. Also Wonyoung is rich she has the money to always looks flawless.
I'm so sorry, but this "trend"/unsustainable way of life is just making Wonyoung the face of the That Girl™, Balletcore, Old Money Chic, Coquette, Pink Girlie aesthetics all in one. Like.........these niches all conglomerating to be used as a descriptor or lifestyle for ONE PERSON who isn't even championing this drivel is insane. Wonyoung ain't tell y'all to do that, she's literally just doing her job and happens to be pretty. I don't think we should be encouraging people-speaking of the trend in general, not regards to this video-to be so obsessed with one person that they're literally trying to build their lives around some made up philosophy of who they THINK Wonyoung is and what they think Wonyoung would do. It can not be overstated enough that y'all need to learn how to be y o u r s e l v e s.
Yes definitely, I think it’s all fine when it’s just a simple trend of doing a bit of skincare but people going so far as to try and live their life exactly like her is too far
