There’s a New ‘Pretty’ K-Pop Boy Band and Twitter Has Feelings About It
By Ryan General
September 18, 2017
New-Ace, a new boy band from South Korea that has yet to make its official debut, has already generated quite a buzz due to its four members’ very distinctive looks.
Formerly known as J-Peace, the K-pop group immediately caught social media’s attention following the release of some eye-catching promotional photos.
According to Allkpop, group members Jion, Seunghoo, Jinseo, and Sangwook have been hard at work promoting themselves by making TV show appearances and attending multiple events nationwide.
Get to know the members of New-Ace who are set to be officially launched in January next year:
Jion (Kim Jion), the 30-year-old main vocals (leader) of the group, is an ulzzang model who grew up in Okinawa, Japan.
Sangwook (Lee Sangwook), 24, is the group’s rapper/dancer who was first featured in a South Korean survival reality show Boys24.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Seunghoo (An MyeongCheol) was previously being groomed to be a solo artist before he was eventually included in J-Peace.
The group’s youngest member is 21-year-old Jinseo (Shin Jinseob), who is tasked to be New-Ace’s main rapper.
The members, who seem to be going for a noticeably gender-bending look, have elicited mixed responses from social media users after their official Twitter account @Newace_official unveiled the promotional photos.
Many commenters on AllKpop have expressed criticisms on the members’ apparent use of plastic surgery:
“I thought it was a girl group at first before I reread the title and saw ‘boy group’. No offense, but Jion and Sangwook’s profile photos freaked me out, I’m sorry. Also all that make-up… I bet Jion and Sangwook would look better underneath those. I’m afraid they might get attention for all the wrong reasons,” one netizen wrote.
“The amount of plastic surgery in this group is shocking, especially the first guy his face is scary as hell,” another one commented.
On Twitter, some were quick to point out how “pretty” the guys looked…
…while others seemed to balk at their features.
Despite the negativity, there were plenty who defended the group members from early critics.
We’ve seen many gender-nonconforming entertainment groups in the past, but New-Ace definitely owns a look that may be perceived to be feminine in Western culture; however, it is very important to note that for Koreans, being ‘pretty’ guys do not equate or relate in any way to being effeminate or homosexual, which is in some way, a Western concept. Rather than being ‘girly’, men who wear makeup or have such looks usually subscribe to the concept of “prettiness”, which in South Korean culture exists for both males and females.
In the broad spectrum of Korean masculine appeal, while the manly-looking males are often viewed as the “good-looking” or “cool” look for some females, the ‘prettiness’ of the “younger brother” types as exhibited by some KPop artists are also deemed attractive.
What do you think? Do you stan for New-Ace? Is Jion your bias? Or are you going to pass on these beautiful boys? Let us know in the comments!
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