Kim Chaewon, a member of the South Korean girl group TripleS, appeared noticeably thinner than usual during a recent performance in Taipei, prompting worries from fans about her health. Videos of the 18-year-old dancing on stage circulated on social media, leading to comments expressing shock over her visible bones. The incident highlights ongoing pressures within the K-pop industry on young performers.
Kim Chaewon, 18, performed with TripleS at a concert in Taipei, where fans observed her looking much skinnier than before. Dressed in a sleeveless pink midriff top and a ruffled miniskirt, her bones were clearly visible as she danced to the group's single 'Bubble Gum Girl.' The performance video quickly spread on social media, eliciting concerned reactions from K-pop fans.
One fan commented, 'It's amazing that she even has the strength to move, it's not normal.' Another wrote, 'The camera adds ten pounds... I can't imagine how small this girl looks in person.' A third remarked, 'I'm sorry, but she's literally a skeleton. For a second, I thought it was a skeleton AI dancing to K-pop, but omg! This is so wrong.'
Chaewon joined TripleS at age 16. The group, which has 24 members, formed in 2022 and has released two studio albums, multiple EPs, and undertaken several world tours. Prior to TripleS, Chaewon competed on the K-pop series Universe Ticket, where she was the fourth contestant eliminated. She began her career as a child actress, debuting in 2008 at age four.
The K-pop industry generates billions of dollars for South Korea's economy annually and demands perfection from its young stars. According to the book K-pop: Idols in Wonderland, as reported by the Korea Times, eight out of ten female K-pop trainees stop menstruating due to restrictive diets, with stress and lack of sleep as additional factors.
Similar issues have affected other idols. In 2023, NewJeans member Hyein, then 14, shared a video of her meal during a music video shoot: sliced avocado, two halves of a cherry tomato, and some yellow rice. TWICE's Momo, now 29, described starving to lose 7kg in a week before the group's 2015 debut. She said, 'I didn't eat anything for the whole week and went to the gym all the time... And when I laid down on the bed and tried to sleep, I was scared that I wouldn't wake up again, so I suddenly started crying.' She consumed only a cube of ice and exercised nonstop.
In related news, former AOA member Kwon Mina, 32, was rescued after a suicide attempt on January 1, following previous attempts in 2020 and 2021. She attributed her struggles to bullying in her former group and an alleged sexual assault in 2007.
