Jang Won-young has become a sort of ideal to strive for for her online fans who now seek by all means to be like her. Thus was born wonyoungism, propagated by proselytizing fans who urge their followers to gain the same confidence as Jang Won-young by following a certain number of steps.
Almost everything depends on physical appearance and self-confidence: getting up at 5 a.m., sporting long manicured nails on thin, pale fingers, a luscious mouth, long straight black hair, but also and above all a body skilfully worked on through slimming diets and intensive sports sessions.
The problem? Wonyoungism would encourage a diet and sports training that are far too strict, and not really suitable for young people aged 13/14, or sometimes 10/11, who constitute the majority of Jang Won-Young’s fans. Under the hashtag wonyoungism, we even find videos on TikTok of chewing gum or empty plates… through which TikTokers promote the fact of starving themselves, or of suppressing their hunger by chewing gum.
But what are they looking for? The goal is simple: perfection! Beyond the physical, wonyoungism is a new branch of personal development. That is to say that the inspiration drawn from the figure of Jang Won-Young should allow us to lead a serene, productive, happy life, and as smooth as an Instagram filter.
The American media The Daily Beast spoke with Yeshia Otero, 14, who runs a TikTok account dedicated to wonyoungism. She explains : “It’s quite difficult at the beginning, if you don’t have motivation and discipline, you won’t succeed. It’s easy for me, even if sometimes I lose my bearings a little.” And above all she defends herself from promoting bad eating habits. On the contrary, as she explains in a video, wonyoungism would have allowed her to – I quote: no longer get sick, have confidence in herself, get better grades at school, receive more compliments, be prettier. In short, to achieve a certain perfection. At least the one conveyed by k-pop groups, whose stars are as physically smooth as Barbie and Ken in the 90s.
But don’t panic, Jang Won-Young herself posted a video in which she encourages her fans not to follow a diet, at least until they reach adulthood. Phew, wonyoungism should still have a few good days ahead of it!
