We all know the term. It-Girl. And we love to throw it onto any of our faves who are top visuals. But, even though, there are so many pretty girls in K-Pop, not everyone is an It-Girl...
And that's because being the most pretty doesn't actually make you an It-Girl.
That's why Lisa And Jennie are way more popular than Jisoo and Rosé who fit the KBS way more.
That's also why from all IVE members, only Wonyoung has the reputation of an It-Girl, though they are all luxorious and gorgeous.
That's why none of Le Sserafims members, even though they all are crazily charismatic and pretty, are It-Girls.
It finally came to me when I watched their documentary. They don't seem to have confidence in themselves at all. What makes an It-Girl is someone who's hot and they know it. Look at Jennie. Her confidence is insane. Just one look at her face and you know whatever you say can't throw her off her throne. Same goes for Wonyoung. She went extremely viral for her "I dont care, you are you, I am me" comment.
Because people, especially girls, absolutely LOVE confident gorgeous girls that they can look up to. But most K-Pop Idols don't show confidence at all. All of Le Sserafims members, with the exception of Yunjin, talked excessively about their fears in the documentary. None of them however showed drive, ambition, confidence and joy for their lifestyle.
If you don't show confidence and self-worth as an idol, you cant be an it-girl. You won't ever turn from "Wow she's so pretty" to "Wow she's everything a girl aspires to be"
What sets Wonyoung and Sakura apart? (a.k.a what truly makes an It-Girl...)
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Catgirl
Changed the title of the thread from “What sets Wonyoung and Sakura apart? (a.k.a what truly makes an It-Girl?)” to “What sets Wonyoung and Sakura apart? (a.k.a what truly makes an It-Girl...)”. -
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it girl is usually a combination of: visuals + popular group/survival show + nationality
your own example Lisa is the least popular in Korea despite being the most popular everywhere else (+ Jennie) cause she's not Korean and doesn't have the look they like in Korea.
There's also idols who are considered gorgeous in Korea but they're still not it girls cause their groups don't have the hype.
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I just mentioned in my text that visuals actually don't matter that much
Karina isn't an It-Girl because she doesn't have the aura yet. She is at a very high level but not at Wonyoungs. It's literally what I talked about. Most pretty idols miss that confidence. Otherwise, Sullyoon, Minji, Winter etc would all be top It-Girls, but they aren't
Honestly, Nationality doesn't matter too much either. Look at Lisa, she is arguably even more popular than Jennie internationally -
it girl is usually a combination of: visuals + popular group/survival show + nationality
your own example Lisa is the least popular in Korea despite being the most popular everywhere else (+ Jennie) cause she's not Korean and doesn't have the look they like in Korea.
There's also idols who are considered gorgeous in Korea but they're still not it girls cause their groups don't have the hype.
I don't think group popularity matters that much, since it-girls are the ones that actually make their group more popular. Sullyoon for example could be an It-Girl, but she just doesnt have that confident aura
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I just mentioned in my text that visuals actually don't matter that much
Karina isn't an It-Girl because she doesn't have the aura yet. She is at a very high level but not at Wonyoungs. It's literally what I talked about. Most pretty idols miss that confidence. Otherwise, Sullyoon, Minji, Winter etc would all be top It-Girls, but they aren't
Honestly, Nationality doesn't matter too much either. Look at Lisa, she is arguably even more popular than Jennie internationallyKarina and Wonyoung are head to head in terms of almost every metric in SK, but Karina is much more popular than Wonyoung internationally!
Just look at her Ig followers almost 20 million
In 3-4 months she will have 2 times more followers than Wonyoung
You think Karina doesn’t have confidence?
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I like both, but what sets Karina and Wonyoung apart in terms of it girls is not only numbers which both have, is that Wonyoung have shown long lasting impact in several of her actions. For example, ever since Hapa Kristin had Wonyoung as endorser the brand, once small, grew so large it was able to open a new store in LA for the first time last year. I already posted about it but there's a percentage before and after Wonyoung and it's BIG. Wonyoung managed to go VIRAL for several brands she endorsed: Innisfree, which became a challenge on tiktok and the audio became associated to beauty and glow up. Her most liked instagram post was a picture where she's holding her endorsed Samsung phone. She went viral for the way she ate the pizza Papa Johns. Her move in an IVE concert became so massive and viral in China it became an actual move in several videogames. She go viral for simply breathing. People love to look at her, comment about her, be it to hate or praise. Is there any other idol we know about that a youtuber was PAYING people to write hate comments about her? Her impact is so big that a whole lifestyle based on her was created. Wonyoungism have over 1b mentions on tiktok and you can search it in any other media and you'll see there's a dedicated base of people trying to be like her.
Her impact is just on another level, it's not just numbers, and that's what set her apart from Sakura, Karina and other IVE members (including Yujin who actually have more endorsements than her and any other 4th gen idol).
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The Trinity are each different
Karina is the nice girl next door, similar to Yoona
Wonyoung is the who younger girls aspire to be
Sakura is imperfect but keeps trying
I also feel that this year, it is becoming more Karina & Friends and Sakura & Friends, even though it is not ideal for their respective groups.
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I like both, but what sets Karina and Wonyoung apart in terms of it girls is not only numbers which both have, is that Wonyoung have shown long lasting impact in several of her actions. For example, ever since Hapa Kristin had Wonyoung as endorser the brand, once small, grew so large it was able to open a new store in LA for the first time last year. I already posted about it but there's a percentage before and after Wonyoung and it's BIG. Wonyoung managed to go VIRAL for several brands she endorsed: Innisfree, which became a challenge on tiktok and the audio became associated to beauty and glow up. Her most liked instagram post was a picture where she's holding her endorsed Samsung phone. She went viral for the way she ate the pizza Papa Johns. Her move in an IVE concert became so massive and viral in China it became an actual move in several videogames. She go viral for simply breathing. People love to look at her, comment about her, be it to hate or praise. Is there any other idol we know about that a youtuber was PAYING people to write hate comments about her? Her impact is so big that a whole lifestyle based on her was created. Wonyoungism have over 1b mentions on tiktok and you can search it in any other media and you'll see there's a dedicated base of people trying to be like her.
Her impact is just on another level, it's not just numbers, and that's what set her apart from Sakura, Karina and other IVE members (including Yujin who actually have more endorsements than her and any other 4th gen idol).
Well I love Ive girlies too. She is my 2nd bias after Yujin!
But I don’t know if she can maintain that popularity, since Ive as a group is declining in popularity internationally! Even if she is more popular than Ive, group itself also gives a lot of exposure and stability!
Karina on the other hand is skyrocketing especially after her dating scandal, even western world knew who Karina was, a lot of K-pop fans, kdrama fans got to know Karina!
Also about Instagram likes, Karina has 2.5m -3m + likes on average! While Wonyoungs average is 1.5-2m+. And Karina has the most liked posts for 4th gen female idols. Her ig followers are steadily rising at the highest rates among 4th gen female idols since October 2023. She will surpass Hyunjin of Straykids in 1-2 months!
She is also fancam queen of 4th gen! In supernova-Armageddon era she has around 10 fancams exceeding 1m+
She is most searched female 4th gen idol in SK and US this year! Her unreleased solo from her concert performance is also blowing up both on YouTube and TikTok
Karina is also trending like crazy in TikTok too.
Body Bang part in Supernova, Karina’s bounce in drama(has 34 m views in 2 months), Supernova dance break part and etc.
She is trending much more this year than Jang Wonyoung! She also has bigger fan base in China and other parts of the world!
But what sets apart Karina and Wonyoung is that Karina has better skills than Wonyoung! Karinas singing, Rapping, Performing, Dancing>>>> Wonyoungs skills in those areas!
Karinas skills helps her a lot which brings more K-pop audience! While in Ive that attractor is Yujin!
That’s why Karina will have better longevity than Wonyoung! Unfortunately many people will forget wonyoung when she will reach 30+ age!
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Well I love Ive girlies too. She is my 2nd bias after Yujin!
But I don’t know if she can maintain that popularity, since Ive as a group is declining in popularity internationally! Even if she is more popular than Ive, group itself also gives a lot of exposure and stability!
Karina on the other hand is skyrocketing especially after her dating scandal, even western world knew who Karina was, a lot of K-pop fans, kdrama fans got to know Karina!
Also about Instagram likes, Karina has 2.5m -3m + likes on average! While Wonyoungs average is 1.5-2m+. And Karina has the most liked posts for 4th gen female idols. Her ig followers are steadily rising at the highest rates among 4th gen female idols since October 2023. She will surpass Hyunjin of Straykids in 1-2 months!
She is also fancam queen of 4th gen! In supernova-Armageddon era she has around 10 fancams exceeding 1m+
She is most searched female 4th gen idol in SK and US this year! Her unreleased solo from her concert performance is also blowing up both on YouTube and TikTok
Karina is also trending like crazy in TikTok too.
Body Bang part in Supernova, Karina’s bounce in drama(has 34 m views in 2 months), Supernova dance break part and etc.
She is trending much more this year than Jang Wonyoung! She also has bigger fan base in China and other parts of the world!
But what sets apart Karina and Wonyoung is that Karina has better skills than Wonyoung! Karinas singing, Rapping, Performing, Dancing>>>> Wonyoungs skills in those areas!
Karinas skills helps her a lot which brings more K-pop audience! While in Ive that attractor is Yujin!
That’s why Karina will have better longevity than Wonyoung! Unfortunately many people will forget wonyoung when she will reach 30+ age!
The wonyoungism girlies will never forget her
Honestly it's crazy, y'all have no idea how strong and big the wonyoungism community is. TikTok/Insta/Pinterest is full of girls aged 11-15 who take massive inspiration from Wonyoung and see her as a role-model. Hell, it's a giant community! No other Idol has a whole lifestyle around them. Wonyoung didn't go viral multiple times this year, but that doesnt mean her popularity vanished. At least people aren't commenting as much on her body like they used to.
Internationally, Wonyoung is seen as an icon and role model. It's obviously not Karinas fan demographic. She has a large male fanbase. -
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Her dating scandal brought a lot of hate from mys tho!
She doesn’t have the hate that Wonyoung has because she has skills to back her up! Not saying that Wonyoung is mostly hated for her skills, but because Karina is an ace she will be hated less in other areas too! And in Aespa the most hated member is Giselle unfortunately! Giselle takes all the hate in Aespa, because she is the weakest dancer-singer in the group! And sh*tty SM never gives her Rap parts! Another reason, wonyoung is more like a model, while Karina is not! That’s why people will nitpick everything she does, while Karina will be more prone to that. That’s why Jennie is much more hated than Lisa, because Jennie is more like a model!
But wait until she will become undisputed number 1 among 4th gen idols both female and male, you will see all the hate!
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Well I love Ive girlies too. She is my 2nd bias after Yujin!
But I don’t know if she can maintain that popularity, since Ive as a group is declining in popularity internationally! Even if she is more popular than Ive, group itself also gives a lot of exposure and stability!
Karina on the other hand is skyrocketing especially after her dating scandal, even western world knew who Karina was, a lot of K-pop fans, kdrama fans got to know Karina!
Also about Instagram likes, Karina has 2.5m -3m + likes on average! While Wonyoungs average is 1.5-2m+. And Karina has the most liked posts for 4th gen female idols. Her ig followers are steadily rising at the highest rates among 4th gen female idols since October 2023. She will surpass Hyunjin of Straykids in 1-2 months!
She is also fancam queen of 4th gen! In supernova-Armageddon era she has around 10 fancams exceeding 1m+
She is most searched female 4th gen idol in SK and US this year! Her unreleased solo from her concert performance is also blowing up both on YouTube and TikTok
Karina is also trending like crazy in TikTok too.
Body Bang part in Supernova, Karina’s bounce in drama(has 34 m views in 2 months), Supernova dance break part and etc.
She is trending much more this year than Jang Wonyoung! She also has bigger fan base in China and other parts of the world!
But what sets apart Karina and Wonyoung is that Karina has better skills than Wonyoung! Karinas singing, Rapping, Performing, Dancing>>>> Wonyoungs skills in those areas!
Karinas skills helps her a lot which brings more K-pop audience! While in Ive that attractor is Yujin!
That’s why Karina will have better longevity than Wonyoung! Unfortunately many people will forget wonyoung when she will reach 30+ age!
Yes Karina have numbers. She can be more skilled than Wonyoung. But what you're ignoring is that Wonyoung have a bigger impact on not only the brands she promote but also in pop culture. And that's why she is the it girl and other 4th gen girls don't come close.
Just one example this year
External Content x.comContent embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.She also was mentioned in a recent BTOB subunit song
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Yes Karina have numbers. She can be more skilled than Wonyoung. But what you're ignoring is that Wonyoung have a bigger impact on not only the brands she promote but also in pop culture. And that's why she is the it girl and other 4th gen girls don't come close.
Just one example this year
External Content x.comContent embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.Taemin-Identity Didnt Jennie make the hair clips go viral in Korea to the point where they were even called Jennie clips? It-Girls need to have Impact and be able to sell a product nd start a trend. Haven't seen karina starting any viral trend
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Taemin-Identity Didnt Jennie make the hair clips go viral in Korea to the point where they were even called Jennie clips? It-Girls need to have Impact and be able to sell a product nd start a trend. Haven't seen karina starting any viral trend
Other insane examples of her impact only this year
An increase of 95% of sales of a Schopenhauer book after she mentioned she likes to read it
External Content x.comContent embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.150% of increase in sales after endorsing rolarola
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The wonyoungism girlies will never forget her
Honestly it's crazy, y'all have no idea how strong and big the wonyoungism community is. TikTok/Insta/Pinterest is full of girls aged 11-15 who take massive inspiration from Wonyoung and see her as a role-model. Hell, it's a giant community! No other Idol has a whole lifestyle around them. Wonyoung didn't go viral multiple times this year, but that doesnt mean her popularity vanished. At least people aren't commenting as much on her body like they used to.
Internationally, Wonyoung is seen as an icon and role model. It's obviously not Karinas fan demographic. She has a large male fanbase.I actually don’t stan any female idol!
I’m a bg stan mostly! I like ggs solely because of music! Because girls don’t perform and dance like boys!
Well Wonyoung has been pushed a lot since Izone days! While SM is semi- pushing Karina from last year! Rightfully other Aespa members have equal or more amount of solo promotions compared to Karina! So we will see what SM will do!
Well ageism in kpop is extremely brutal, so at least kpop fans will drop her because of that! It is just a sad fact!
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Well ageism in kpop is extremely brutal, so at least kpop fans will drop her because of that! It is just a sad fact!
I disagree. Even if kpop fans ditch idols for their age, their impact can be long lasting just like it was for Suzy and Lee Hyori. And Karina is 5 year older than Wonyoung. Age have nothing to do with popularity. If anything the more young and inexperienced an idol is the least they are taken seriously.
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I disagree. Even if kpop fans ditch idols for their age, their impact can be long lasting just like it was for Suzy and Lee Hyori. And Karina is 5 year older than Wonyoung. Age have nothing to do with popularity. If anything the more young and inexperienced an idol is the least they are taken seriously.
Yes Karina is 5 years older than Wonyoung, but they don’t stan Karina mostly for Looks!
Age very much has to do with popularity unfortunately! Then why companies are debuting idols younger and younger each year? Then why 30+ year old idols aren’t talked about their looks compared to 20yr old idols? Ageism and Lookism always existed in K-pop, because it is in K-pop’s culture and is pushed by companies!
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I was just saying that I realised it's confidence what sets It Girls apart from other pretty idols
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Other insane examples of her impact only this year
An increase of 95% of sales of a Schopenhauer book after she mentioned she likes to read it
External Content x.comContent embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.150% of increase in sales after endorsing rolarola
IMG_5388.jpgIMG_5389.jpgIMG_5391.jpgIMG_5392.jpgIMG_5394.jpgIMG_5396.jpgIMG_5397.jpgIMG_5398.jpg
She has an impact too
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Yes Karina is 5 years older than Wonyoung, but they don’t stan Karina mostly for Looks!
Age very much has to do with popularity unfortunately! Then why companies are debuting idols younger and younger each year? Then why 30+ year old idols aren’t talked about their looks compared to 20yr old idols? Ageism and Lookism always existed in K-pop, because it is in K-pop’s culture and is pushed by companies!
I never understand this visuals will be over due to age when 2nd gen has shown that visuals r absolutely thriving like yoona and suzy while except taeyeon none of the 'talents of 2nd gen' are. It's about keeping the hype up. The most popular girls in kpop r blackpink girls who are older than 4th gen girlies. Irene was super popular until her scandal and she debuted way older than most kpop idols.
Also karina popularity is absolutely carried by looks. Sure she is much more skilled than most visuals but she wouldn't be where is is without those looks of hers.
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Btw is this real ?
I wish!
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I never understand this visuals will be over due to age when 2nd gen has shown that visuals r absolutely thriving like yoona and suzy while except taeyeon none of the 'talents of 2nd gen' are. It's about keeping the hype up. The most popular girls in kpop r blackpink girls who are older than 4th gen girlies. Irene was super popular until her scandal and she debuted way older than most kpop idols.
Also karina popularity is absolutely carried by looks. Sure she is much more skilled than most visuals but she wouldn't be where is is without those looks of hers.
Who do you think is bigger now? Taeyeon or Suzy?
Wonyoung is also not that type of idol like Yoona and Suzy who fits being an actress!
I didn’t say Karina’s popularity isn’t carried by looks, I’m saying her talents also are a stan attractor compared to other top visuals!
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It-girl, is yet another vague k-pop perception thing. There are only patterns and no hard definitions.
For example, while all idols have different extents of talents & glamour.
It-girls can't be talent-first. So typically your main vocals of any group, leaders etc, won't be the "it-girl".
While dancers, FOTG, visuals/centers can be It-girls.
That is why Talent-first cases, even if they the looks, loads of CFs etc., like IU, Jihyo, Eunji, Yujin, Sejeong, Chaewon, Rose will not be considered It-girl.
But glamour-first cases even if they are talented, can be considered so - Jennie, Wonyoung, Suzy, Nayeon etc,
It is a strange dichotomy in popular perception, we don't want to credit the same person with extreme sexy appeal as well as talent, irrespective of what they are actually.
Wonyoung is definitely on that path.
But Sakura is yet another anomaly in Kpop. She is a veteran in the industry, yet in a recently debuted group. And was already a major star in Japan. She is on a category by herself. And again if the idol is already occupying a category, then they rarely get other accolades.
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Can't compare taeyeon and suzy like that because of their different paths. Suzy even today has a bigger brand value for cfs and a bigger celebrity I'd assume if i had to compare.
I guess you are saying wonyoung has nothing that will keep her popularity afloat like acting,singing once the group activities eventually die out? I do hope starship makes her do things other than cf. Like she went on a solo variety show and it did good numbers on youtube. She does have a certain appeal that puts her in a box but also has it's advantages.
I do agree karina is well skilled compared to most visuals and that increases her appeal. Also she has more of a universal appeal which can connect with most of the public
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Can't compare taeyeon and suzy like that because of their different paths. Suzy even today has a bigger brand value for cfs and a bigger celebrity I'd assume if i had to compare.
I guess you are saying wonyoung has nothing that will keep her popularity afloat like acting,singing once the group activities eventually die out? I do hope starship makes her do things other than cf. Like she went on a solo variety show and it did good numbers on youtube. She does have a certain appeal that puts her in a box but also has it's advantages.
I do agree karina is well skilled compared to most visuals and that increases her appeal. Also she has more of a universal appeal which can connect with most of the public
Taeyeon is definitely a bigger celebrity than Suzy! She is celebrity of celebrities!
She also is in top 5 most searched idols in Korea (Google, YouTube) in past 5 years! She also almost every time is in top 10 brand reputation ranking! She is also a digital monster!
While Suzy is not as big of an actress compared to Taeyeon in Music!
Yoona is bigger than Suzy in acting world!
Yeah I don’t know what will keep her afloat, since Ive is already declining significantly internationally and also declining in Korea too compared to their peaks! Because when she will get older and her looks won’t be enough to attract as much as people as she used to have then her career will decline significantly too! I don’t even see her as a soloist! Yujin can be a soloist but not Wonyoung! I don’t see her as an actress either! So how she will maintain her popularity? Starship should do smth about it, but firstly Starship should give Ive better songs like Love Dive, I am and After Like
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people keep forgetting that Taeyeon was also very popular for her cute looks. When SNSD debuted Taeyeon was considered one of the prettiest members, after main visuals Yoona and Sooyoung. Yes, she's a great talent but so were other main vocals who got nowhere near her level. Her visuals set her apart.
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