Hwasa, featured in SBS Special "Bodymentary" / Captured from SBS

Last month, the SBS documentary special "Bodymentary" spotlighted five famous female singers — Kim Wan-sun, Soyou, Han Seung-yeon, Jun Hyo-seong, and Hwasa — who opened up about their struggles with eating disorders and the damaging societal pressures on women's bodies.

The singers discussed the impact these pressures had on their mental and physical well-being, highlighting the entertainment industry's obsession with weight and body image.

Hwasa, 29, a member of the girl group MAMAMOO, shared a deeply emotional moment from her dieting struggles. Driven by intense cravings, she secretly ate a single piece of black sesame rice cake. However, the guilt and anger that followed were overwhelming, causing her to cry and force herself to vomit. This marked the beginning of her battle with anorexia and depression.

Viewers praised both the artists for their bravery in speaking out and the broadcaster for addressing its own role in perpetuating harmful stereotypes in past programming.

Soyou, formerly of girl group Sistar, reflects on self-perception struggles after weight gain in SBS "Bodymentary." Captured from SBS

Unrealistic weight standards and severe dieting

From their trainee days, female idols are required to weigh themselves daily, often adhering to the rigid "height-minus-120" formula to determine their "ideal" weight. For example, a singer 165 centimeters tall is expected to weigh just 45 kilograms.

Many idols face extreme pressure from agencies, hearing phrases like, "You can't debut unless you lose weight." Post-debut, they are bombarded with malicious comments about their appearance, compounding the challenges of staying thin.

Han Seung-yeon, 36, formerly of KARA, revealed that her extreme dieting led to patulous eustachian tube disorder, a condition where the ear loses its ability to regulate internal pressure due to weight loss. Her doctor prescribed an unconventional treatment: to gain seven kilograms.

Soyou, formerly of girl group Sistar, shared how extreme dieting once led to her collapsing on the street and being hospitalized. Even then, her primary concern was, "What if I gain weight from the IV fluids?" Her struggles with panic disorder followed, further compounded by online criticism over her demeanor.

Experts emphasize that nutrient deficiencies caused by severe dieting increase susceptibility to depression and other mental health challenges.

Jun Hyo-seong of Secret reflected on years of binge eating, weight gain, and self-loathing, describing it as "a continuous cycle of shame and self-hatred."

For Kim Wan-sun, now in her 39th year in the industry, meals were such a rarity during her career that fellow celebrities once joked, "My dream is to see Kim Wan-sun eat."

Author Oh Chan-ho, who appeared in the documentary, criticized society's obsession with weight as a measure of self-discipline, calling it "a lazy and judgmental mindset."

Singer Kim Wan-sun speaks in SBS special "Bodymentary." Captured from SBS

Challenging beauty standards

The documentary, directed by SBS producer Chung Jae-won, was inspired by the rising prevalence of eating disorders among women in their 20s.

Chung said that the project took ten months to create, focusing on the voices of female singers rather than relying solely on expert analysis.

Despite attempts to include younger idols in the discussion, no current fourth-generation idols (those who debuted after 2020) participated, highlighting how the industry's pressures remain pervasive and silence its newer entertainers.

Chung expressed hope that the documentary would encourage viewers to question societal beauty standards and help alleviate the self-blame often experienced by those struggling with eating disorders.

Studies show that understanding the structural flaws behind societal beauty norms can reduce feelings of self-blame and improve mental health outcomes for individuals dealing with such challenges, Chung said.

Supportive comments from viewers on the SBS special "Bodymentary" video on YouTube / Captured from YouTube

The documentary garnered significant attention from audiences, who left supportive comments on YouTube such as, "Thank you for courageously sharing your stories," and "It's empowering to see artists speak up. I hope this sparks more conversations about rejecting body shaming "

Many viewers said that such discussions would help foster a society where judgments of people's bodies were considered inappropriate.

Jun Hyo-seong, top, and Han Seung-yeon who shared their personal experiences with eating disorders and the harmful societal pressures put on women's bodies in "Bodymentary." Courtesy of SBS

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.