The estranged fate of sub-dancers in Kpop music groups
Hyo Yeon and many of her juniors debuted for a long time but they have not had a chance to shine.
They always stand in the last place and sing small parts. Their role is described as “sub-dancers”.
Hyo Yeon, after over 10 years of having faint activities with SNSD, has recently confined that “I was really angry during the promotion time with SNSD because I was always in the side instead of in the center”.
Hyo Yeon’s comment represents hundreds of other girls with the same issue in Korean showbiz. They are not the only ones, just because no one is as brave as Hyo Yeon who can say it all.
The feelings of the sub-dancers
The center positions in a Korean idol group are always given to the handsomest/prettiest and most famous boys and girls. To put it in another form, center positions would be for the most popular members and they deserve the promotion from their agencies.
Many of the centers don’t have the remarkable talent, in return they only have outstanding appearance. However, they are definitely at the center of every performance and every activity. Those will be the places attracting the most cameras and audiencces.
Besides the center position, the side position of the team is often behind the other members and can even be completely hidden. The position is considered as “sub-dancers” by netizens.
Hyo Yeon took on the role of main dance but she had 11 years experiencing this feeling. That a less attractive appearance in the SNSD makes her less promoted but for her talent.
However, when this singer frankly expressed her feelings, she didn’t receive much sympathy and encouragement. There were many shaming comments about Hyo Yeon’s appearance and netizens said that a girl who is not beautiful should satisfy with what she has with SNSD.
Appearance is the most important criteria
“To be honest, for idol groups nowadays, especially for girl groups, it does not matter how talented you are or how you sing, how you dance, the most important thing is appearance. It makes up about 80% of what decides the central role” a netizen commented. And indeed, beauty is an indispensable role of any Korean group.
The appearance pressure presses on anyone, not just the boy or girl idols. Therefore, the ways to lose weight, make-up, especially cosmetic surgery is increasingly made use of, even abused.
But is natural appearance in exchange for artificial beauty is enough to make the public satisfied or not. The answer is no, they still have a variety of reasons to criticize and lower their status as a singer.
Some typical examples are Park Bom from 2NE1 and Namjoo from Apink. After many years of being considered as the most unpopular members in their groups, recently, her comestic surgery news has spread in media and social networks. With a different appearance and her slopping nose, Namjoo has become widespead on TV shows, she never could have been on before.
However, along with the rising in top finding, she also suffered from negative comments. “ Namjoo has become the second Park Bom and her top finding is because of her failed surgery”, a netizem commented.
Some people were curious as to why she did that comestic surgery and her fans were extremely irritated: “She has suffered from a lot of negative comments in terms of her appearance, when she could not handle this and decided to have surgery, people even keep sneering at her.
This is a common thing in Kpop, it is a disadvantage if you are not good-looking or have normal appearance. You don’t even have a chance to become famous, capture attention of the media and be widely known by the public.
However, along with the rising in top finding, she also suffered from negative comments. “ Namjoo has become the second Park Bom and her top finding is because of her failed surgery”, a netizem commented.
Some of people were curious why she did that comestic surgery and her fans were really irritated: “She has suffered from a lot of negative comments in terms of her appearance, when she couldnot handle this and decided to have surgery, people even keep sneering at her.
This is the normal thing in Kpop, it is a disadvantage if you are not good-looking or have normal appearance. You even donot have chance to become famous, capture attention of the media and be widely known by the public.
