IVE Jang Wonyoung & Ahn Yujin Accused of Favoritism — K-Netz Defend The Idols

Jang Wonyoung and Ahn Yujin are being accused of being the favorites of IVE. Following the accusations, Korean netizens have risen up to defend the two idols.

Ever since their debut in IVE, Jang Wonyoung and Ahn Yujin have been the central figures of the group. Thanks to their popularity as former IZ*ONE members, they are often pushed with more activities, as the general public is already familiar with them. However, this has rubbed some DIVEs the wrong way, with some accusing the two girls of being favored over the other IVE members.

However, Korean netizens have since tried to debunk these rumors.

K-Netz Defend IVE Jang Wonyoung and Ahn Yujin From Favoritism Accusations

On March 15, 2024, a post titled "About IVE Annyeongz's favoritism" was posted to a popular South Korean online community forum.

This post addresses criticisms regarding the supposed favoritism Starship Entertainment has towards IVE members Jang Wonyoung and Ahn Yujin. In the post, the original poster (OP) debunks these claims, stating that both members have actually faced mistreatment in the group's activities.

For instance, Ahn Yujin stands out as the sole member without official cover content on IVE's YouTube channel.

Additionally, Jang Wonyoung hasn't appeared on any variety shows since the latter half of 2022, whereas other less popular members have made numerous appearances on various programs since IVE's "I AM" comeback.

The post also adds that Rei even has her own web variety show.

In terms of IVE's line distribution, the post notes that Liz has the most parts in "I AM" and their debut song, "ELEVEN." Meanwhile, Leeseo and Jang Wonyoung receive a similar amount of lines. Rei and Gaeul are the group's rappers, but Rei often gets the most killing parts and sings the introduction or within the first verse.

While the poster stated the group's balance is not bad; in fact, with all of these in mind paired with Jang Wonyoung and Ahn Yujin's solo brand deals, IVE is considered a fair group.

Korean Netizens Agree IVE Jang Wonyoung & Ahn Yujin are Not Favored in Group

Soon, Korean netizens flooded the comment section to agree with the post. It was noted that it was common for companies to promote their more popular members, and it was actually great of Starship Entertainment to promote all members with unique opportunities.

They agreed that it was odd that Ahn Yujin does not have an official cover on the IVE YouTube channel and hoped Starship Entertainment would bring Jang Wonyoung to more variety shows to promote IVE's upcoming comeback.

However, some believed that Jang Wonyoung and Ahn Yujin were still favored, pointing out how in shows featuring all members, the spotlight is often placed on the two former IZ*ONE girls.

Some comments read,

• "In the first place, these young ones are crawling on the far, so it is no use bringing up the facts and explaining to them. Three members use custom microphones: Jang Wonyoung, Ahn Yujin, and Leeseo. But they always leave Leeseo out and only point out Annyeongz."
• "Yujin is IVE's main dancer and vocalist, but she doesn't have an official cover. It doesn't make since. They have been doing it since the start of their debut, so it's not like she can't do it just because she was busy with schedules like Lee Mu Jin's show. I heard she chose to cover "Event Horizon" and uploaded the video herself. Why didn't she get any help from Starship?"
• "Wonyoung needs to be sent on variety shows for their comeback. They should also let her on shows when she comes back to Korea in April."
• "Even though they guested as a group in "Running Man, it was obvious that Liz and Rei weren't being focused on. I only saw Jang Wonyoung and Ahn Yujin. Do you have anything to say about that? Seriously?"
• "Other groups are promoting their popular members, but they're saying that Starship discriminates without thinking about the other members. It's amazing. If you promote the group using the popular members, it will work well."

What do you think of the situation? Tell us in the comments below!

KpopStarz Owns This

Written by Alexa Lopez