All the similarities between BLACKPINK’s Jennie and IVE’s Wonyoung: From popularity to controversy
It seems like Jang Wonyoung is another version of Jennie among 4th generation female idols.
Lazy dancing, controversial attitude and getting biased treatment from the companies, Jennie and Jang Wonyoung get embroiled in surprisingly similar controversies. But all of which don’t seem to affect their popularity in Korea.
IVE’s Jang Wonyoung is currently one of the most popular female Kpop idols. Every time she attends a new schedule, she becomes a trending topic on social media, drawing much attention from Korean netizens. But popularity often comes with haters and Jang Wonyoung is no exception. Wonyoung is a prime example of “getting hate even for breathing”, because everything she does is scrutinized.
Compared to 3rd generation idols, it seems that Wonyoung is walking down the same path as BLACKPINK’s Jennie, because these two outstanding It girls of Kpop happen to share many similarities.
Getting called the company’s “bias”
Since debut, BLACKPINK’s fandom has been stirred up many times by the controversy over YG’s biased treatment towards Jennie and discrimination against other members. Jennie often got to wear outfits that made her stand out more than the other 3 members, taking the spotlight in BLACKPINK’s MVs or their appearances at award shows.
The “war” within solo stans of BLACKPINK members was pushed to a climax when Jennie made her solo debut in November 2018, when BLACKPINK was only a 2-year-old group. Fans lashed out at YG for giving Jennie a solo too soon. Instead of promoting Jennie, the company should have focused on BLACKPINK’s activities as a whole. Although Lisa or Rosé both made their solo debuts last year, many fans still accuse YG of favoring Jennie and mistreating the rest of BLACKPINK.
Wonyoung and IVE members are caught in the same situation as Wonyoung is said to be the member who gets pushed the most by Starship. Wonyoung was constantly dressed in outfits that overshadow the rest of IVE. At the 2021 year-end music festivals, Wonyoung wore outfits in totally different colors, with more eye-catching designs, causing other members to look like her backup dancers.
“Lazy dancing” controversy
Another similarity between Jennie and Wonyoung is that they both got involved in controversy over “lazy dancing”. Jennie’s controversy started at the end of 2017, with a rehearsal video recording 3 BLACKPINK members enthusiastically dancing while Jennie was wearing dark glasses and performing with a superficial attitude.
By November 2018, the controversy of Jennie’s lazy dancing got more serious when her alleged on-stage lazy moments at concerts or music shows were exposed. Jennie drew criticism claiming she was unprofessional, lacked enthusiasm and caught a “celebrity disease”. This controversy caused Jennie to face negative comments for a long time. Even when she was revealed to be dating EXO’s Kai, Korean netizens mocked that she should ask her boyfriend to “give her a proper dance lesson”.
While Jennie was involved in a controversy for being lazy, Wonyoung was criticized for the same reason right on the debut stage. Specifically, at Music Bank on December 3, Wonyoung was criticized for dancing the wrong choreography, and having a superficial attitude even though it was the first performance when re-debuting with IVE. The female idol disappointed many netizens because her unprofessional performance ruined the stage.
When IVE performed the Genie dance challenge at the show Weekly Idol, Wonyoung continued to cause controversy. Korean netizens criticized Wonyoung, saying that she should take a dance course. Genie is a famous song with simple and familiar movements. However, the female idol born in 2004 did not complete the movements exactly like other IVE members.
Bad attitude scandal
Jennie and Wonyoung continue to have another thing in common in terms of personality controversies. Since pre-debut, Jennie has been rumored to be a school bully and racist. Although YG has denied, asserting that this is a baseless rumor, Jennie’s reputation was still badly affected.
In 2018 – 2019, rumors of Jennie being mean and bullying Lisa surfaced on many forums in Korea and China. At MMA 2018, Jennie was also criticized for being disrespectful to BTS. At that time, she was blamed for not standing up and bowing before the group of seniors. Sometimes at the airport, Jennie was also said to have a pretentious attitude when she did not smile in front of the media’s cameras.
Wonyoung, on the other hand, has been involved in numerous issues involving rude facial expressions and attitudes since her time in IZ *ONE. Many people said that Wonyoung was envious of the other members and sought to steal Sakura’s spotlight. Wonyoung’s attitude controversies continued to erupt when she re-debuted in IVE. She was criticized for constantly forgetting to bow to her seniors when attending music shows. Wonyoung, although being active for three years, still forgets the basic rules.
Still being supported by the Korean public despite the controversies
Despite many controversies, both Jennie and Wonyoung are still supported by Knetizens. The two girls have visuals that match the taste of Korean fans, and are ideal models that many Korean audiences love. Jennie and Wonyoung are undeniably the top K-pop stars of each generation. Every time Jennie and Wonyoung appear on stage, all the attention is focused on the two girls.
Of course, Wonyoung has not yet reached the level of popularity, talent and charisma like Jennie, but the female idol is the most potential factor to become the leading female idol of Gen 4. With outstanding visuals, and the With support from the company, Wonyoung can absolutely be more successful in the future.
