3 Korean stars who “destroyed” their pure idol-image to follow their path as actresses (ft. Seohyun, Yeri, IU)

While Yeri and Seohyun were met with mixed reviews, IU had her role of a lifetime. 

Here are 3 female idols who risked changing their image and receiving criticism from the audience in order to fully portray their roles. 

Yeri (Red Velvet)

Yeri (Red Velvet) was once criticized for her nurse image in her first drama “Mint Condition”.  In the trailer, she appeared with a short skirt, a provocative expression when standing next to an elderly male patient.  Although the final content of the film was unknown at that time, this image had caused Yeri to be severely criticized.  Netizens thought that she had damaged the image of nurses and doctors.  Many people even thought that this was the act of sexually harassing the patient.

Seohyun (SNSD)

SNSD’s maknae recently got into a fierce controversy when starring in a BDSM-themed movie called “Love And Leashes“.  Although in the whole movie, Seohyun did not have any real bed scenes, she was still criticized for breaking the image that she had built for more than 10 years because of a movie.

IU

IU was once heavily criticized for releasing a lolita concept album with songs that were deemed to contain pedophilia contents. That’s why when deciding to participate in ‘My Mister’, a series about the relationship between a young girl and three middle-aged men, IU once again faced controversy. Many people think that this age difference relationship is too offensive and not suitable for the image of the ‘national younger sister’ that IU is trying to rebuild. Fortunately, ‘My Mister’ received very positive reactions from the audience thanks to its artistic scenes which are not at all offensive. On the contrary to what has been predicted, this series helped IU to have the role of her life.