How much do looks matter in kpop?

you dont need to be able to sing at all

hell you dont even need to be a good person in general

when it comes to kpop

just the face

like 99% lol

we all know the answer

But you will get a lot of hate if you lack any skills

we see many talents in kpop so it's still important too, it's just it's not as important as it should be

80/20

80% looks, 20% talent and im already being generous only because there's so many good looking idols nowadays that they need a bit more talent to stand out. In the past it would be 95% looks, 5% talent

How much does breathing matter in life?)

Realistically speaking all you need to have in kpop is visuals and you'll be set for life: you'll get screen time, center part, cf deals, acting opportunities, etc. Nobody really cares about talent, definitely not fans, they just go for visuals and if their beloved pretty face has a lack of talent then they'll either 1) call that idol Queen/King regardless, 2) defend that idol regardless, 3) find millions of possible excuses for such idol regardless or 4) say they stan idol for their personality cause music is not important in kpop or whatever. Idol should just be more or less ok with pre-made choreo (and the task is even easier cause in a group it's less visible that someone is lacking, it can be covered) and be possible of some bearable singing (which considering lip-syncing also doesn't really matter) - there are millions of such average people, literally basically everyone can do it so if such person has visuals then he is good enough. And if fans, who bring money, do not care, then why would company?

If you want a fandom, yes.

There is a certain minimum threshold of attractiveness that 98 percent of idols need to reach if they want to have a chance at being an A list idol. Literally the only A list idol that i can think of right now that doesnt meet Korean beauty standards is Hwasa.

looks. I don't even think talent matters anymore, all they care about is the looks tbh

It's an important factor, I'm not gonna lie that it does help an idol but imo it shouldn't be a yardstick for success. After all talent should still be what it's all about.

Quote from MissBehave

I love Soyeon. I think she's both talented and gorgeous, but yeah, it seems like she's not considered to have top tier looks by the korean public.

Do you think Soyeon could have made it if she wasn't put on a group that had other members filling the conventional looks requirement?

Love soyeon too and think she's incredibly talented.

I think that with this issue - men have more leeway in terms of looks than women do in Kpop.

I had a conversation with friend recently regarding how mark lee from NCT doesnt exactly fit conventional Korean beauty standards but was not required to have plastic surgery/adjustments by SM and appears to be walking around with his natural face...... On the flip side soyeon despite her enormous talent appears to have had some work done which was noted a few months ago.... for women in Kpop it appears talent alone is not enough unfortunately......

Quote from MissBehave

It should be.... but is it? I'm not even getting on the idols themselves

I think that so much fan attention gets focused on the visuals that companies just give us what they think we want.

Well nowadays it's too much about visuals from fans and companies and idols become commodities, and the better looking will have a hugely successful career but that's pretty much been the way in mainstream music as well.

Just like in any pop scene,it's about looks + image,then talent.The only difference is that k-pop goes for a much more uniformed look,whereas for example in the west you see artists from all different facets visually.

I wouldn't say talent is that neglected as some claim,especially when you take the performance aspect

into consideration.

Visuals, unfortunately, WAO got bullied so badly when they first debuted because of their visuals.