This IVE member sparked discussion for being "cringe," according to Korean netizens.
In the online community Nate Pann, IVE Gaeul drew attention among netters after one user wrote an article, titled, "Why is Gaeul so cringe?" It now has over 50,000 views on the platform.
The article seemed to be a backhanded compliment to the idol, initially talking about how pretty and good at dancing she is, but later claiming that she has a "cringe" vibe.
The OP then provided a screenshot of Gaeul's expression during the recent Tiktok viral challenge created by dance creator, Dayana. When the K-pop idol posted it last month, it amassed 1.7 million likes and 11.3 million views, as of the writing.
While fans loved her entry, Pann commenters agreed that Gaeul has a cringe image due to her expressions and awkward dancing.
In the past, she won the hearts of fans that earned her the title, "Gaeul sunbae (senior)," but even that was criticized as it felt like the star was pushing her sexy and fatale concept.
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Here are some of the comments:
- "I think the title 'Gaeul sunbae' led her to a weird vibe. The moment I learned about that people started calling her that, I cringed so hard."
- "Ah me too, honestly, I find it too cringe that Gaeul's image is being portrayed as sexy + fatale + sunbae. I totally admit that Gaeul is pretty, but she's not the decadent sexy type of beauty.
- Maybe it's because she's called the 'child president,' but she seems to have a lot of young fans who think she's sexy when she's skinny and has a squinty expression. I really hope Gaeul doesn't get consumed by that concept."
- "No, her dance is okay but what can't be done about is that cheesy and awkward expression. She's really acting deadly, but she's skinny and doesn't have a lot of volume to her, so it doesn't even feel sexy. Because of her previous image of being stiff, I couldn't get past that. I hope she practices singing instead."
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Written by Eunice Dela Cruz