Recently, a post on the popular Korean online community Theqoo went viral for pointing out how often tall female idols are accused of lying about their heights. The OP (original poster) compiled the following instances:
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Tzuyu
Standing at 170 cm tall, Tzuyu is the tallest TWICE member. But the idol debuted when she was 168 cm. During a variety show appearance, she recalled how right from her debut, people would refuse to believe that she was below 170 cm.
No but what’s funny is that my height was really 168 cm during debut.
When I said I was 168 cm tall, people would tell me, ‘Yup, you’re 170 cm.’
And during the last health checkup, my height really came out to be 170 cm.
But now that I say I’m 170 cm, people go, ‘No, you’re 172 cm.’
I am telling the truth, but people won’t believe me.
— Tzuyu
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Yujin
While all IVE members are praised for their impressive heights, as the tallest in the group, Yujin’s height is often talked about a lot. However, she also struggled with people not believing her when she states her real height in numbers.
“It might be difficult to believe but this is true.
But if I say I’m 173 cm, most people don’t believe me.
I’ll leave it to your imagination, but I’m 173 cm tall.”
— Yujin
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Wonyoung
Wonyoung, also praised for her tall height, faces a similar issue as her groupmate Yujin.
“I am the same height as Yujin unnie.
‘Did I grow even more? Or am I the same?’ I’m the same.
We’ll leave it to your imagination.
We always said the truth.”
— Wonyoung
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Doyeon
Weki Meki member Doyeon once aired out her frustration at people disbelieving her about her height to fans, adding that it forced her to start lying about it.
“No but if I say my height is 171 cm, nobody is going to believe me.
No matter how many times I check it at the hospital, it has always shown 171 cm.
Do you know why I say I’m 173 cm?
Because nobody believes me. So I just say I’m 173 cm.”
— Doyeon
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Sowon
GFRIEND member Sowon talked about the same issue on Weverse a few years ago.
“It’s true that I’m 173 cm…
Even if I were 180 cm, I would have proudly said it. But I’m not. What can I do?”
LOL, I’m not reducing my height 🙄.
If I measured my height on video, would you believe me?
Let’s stop with the controversies from now…”
— Sowon
The compilation has gone viral, with over 68,000 views at the time of writing. Netizens have offered a few explanations as to why this phenomenon is so frequent.
- “Because those people are short.”
- [Comment deleted.]
- “It’s because they themselves are short.”
- “Troubling faultless female idols. Tch, LOL.”
- “Since short men lie [about their height], they must think women do it too.”
- “They have a good body proportion, so they might look taller, but accusing someone of lying isn’t right.”
- “Short people, LOL.”
- “When a woman and a man are the same height, women often look taller because of their build and proportions, but they always insist otherwise.”
- “Guys who aren’t 170 cm tall always claim to be 170, which has caused this big fuss.”
- “Male idols are just all really short… I was shocked when I saw them in person; they were so small…”
Source: Theqoo
