"Overflowing with Health Beauty" vs "Is This an Adult Magazine?" Lee Young-ji's 'Body Profile' Photoshoot Sparks Debate

Lee Young-ji Shows Off Body Sculpted by 101 Days of Diet and Exercise
'Body Profile' Photoshoot Receives Praise for Strong Willpower
"Is This an Adult Magazine?" Some Criticize Excessive Exposure

On the 2nd, rapper Lee Young-ji shared body profile photos taken after weight loss on her Instagram. Photo by Lee's Instagram capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Opinions are divided over rapper Lee Young-ji's body profile photos. A body profile refers to photos of one's body sculpted through exercise, taken at a professional studio for preservation or self-promotion. However, some have criticized that Lee's expressions and poses in the photos resemble those seen in adult magazines.

Recently, the health-related YouTube channel 'Physical Gallery' conducted the 'Proteins 101' project, aimed at weight loss and muscle gain. The purpose was to manage the body through dieting and exercise over a set period and conclude with a body profile photoshoot.

Six participants, including Lee Young-ji, rapper Raewon, and broadcaster Hong Seok-cheon, completed their body profile shoots. The focus is on rapper Lee, who has high public recognition.

As part of the 'Proteins 101' project aimed at weight loss and other goals, rapper Lee Young-ji is struggling as the fitness trainer increases the workout intensity during her exercise session. Photo by YouTube channel 'Physical Gallery' capture.

Lee shared her dieting process through 'Physical Gallery.' For about three months, she maintained a diet mainly consisting of chicken breast and multigrain rice, along with intense workouts.

In a video titled "The Madness Vlog of Hungry Lee Young-ji," she complained about the high-intensity workouts, saying "I'm dying" when her trainer added weights to the equipment, and showed sensitive reactions such as punching the scale when her weight did not decrease. She quit ordering delivery food and lost about 10 kg through consistent exercise and dietary control.

Earlier, Lee attracted attention by successfully dieting after turning 20 in January last year. Known as the winner of Mnet's 'High School Rapper' in 2019, she was characterized by comfortable 'training fashion,' but after losing weight, she released a photo shoot wearing a short miniskirt, which became a hot topic.

In January of last year, rapper Lee Young-ji, who succeeded in dieting, revealed the scene of shooting a photo spread wearing a short miniskirt in March of the same year.
/Photo by Lee's Instagram capture

At that time, Lee explained in an interview with a fashion media outlet that her decision to diet was due to forming healthy lifestyle habits and changing her image. She said that after the COVID-19 pandemic, spending more time at home led to irregular habits and decreased stamina, making work difficult. Also, as she debuted in the entertainment industry through 'High School Rapper,' she seemed to want to transform her 'student image.'

After much effort, Lee's body profile photos attracted attention for her significantly changed appearance compared to before dieting. The final video of 'Proteins 101,' which documented the 101-day schedule, recorded 2.17 million views within four days of release. Most netizens who watched the video applauded Lee's efforts.

Many praised Lee's strong will to sculpt her body through thorough self-management. However, some criticized that the body profile photos, taken in revealing outfits resembling underwear and with a vacant expression, reminded them of adult magazines.

A netizen A said, "Young-ji always shows great results through effort, whether in music or dieting," and added, "I got good motivation from Young-ji." Another netizen B praised, "It must have been tough exercising, but she’s amazing. At 176 cm tall and 56 kg, isn’t she almost a model? Her bone structure is so beautiful."

However, there are also criticisms that Lee's body profile resembles adult magazines. University student Yoon (21), who was a fan but felt disappointed after the body profile, said, "When Young-ji first appeared on High School Rapper, I became a fan because of her skills, attitude towards competition, and kind personality. I watched her diet efforts because they looked good, but after seeing the body profile photos, I wondered if this was the Young-ji I knew."

Yoon continued, "The problem is not showing off the effort of resisting food and doing unwanted exercise, but the body profile photos taken in a sexy way like an adult magazine." In the photos Lee took, she wears a black outfit resembling underwear and lies on a sofa with a slightly open mouth and a vacant expression.

Yoon expressed disappointment, saying, "I became a fan because I admired Lee's healthy mindset, but in this body profile, her original charm is not felt at all. It just seems like showing off underwear under the name 'body profile.' Personally, I was disappointed."

Meanwhile, there were also concerns raised about the body profile shooting method itself. Office worker C in their 20s said, "Taking photos in revealing outfits is not just Lee Young-ji's problem," and added, "We should also consider that 'body profiles' have had a culture of showing off extremely thin bodies achieved by extreme starvation rather than healthy bodies."

C said, "Lee chose a body profile shooting style that reveals as much of her body as possible, following the social atmosphere that praises thin bodies. Especially among women in their 20s, body profiles are trending, and the atmosphere of cheering for slim bodies had a big influence." They added, "The atmosphere that responds to the idea of 'building' the body through effort reinforces biases about beauty." In fact, last year when the 'body profile' craze was at its peak, many posts and videos appeared on online communities and YouTube complaining about eating disorders such as binge eating caused by diet obsession after body profiles.

Experts expressed concerns that while body profile photo shoots can be for self-satisfaction, focusing too much on others' evaluations can lead to adverse effects by conforming our bodies to others' standards. They suggested that it is unnecessary to create a pretty body or figure at the expense of health.

Kim Jong-gap, director of Konkuk University's Body Culture Research Institute, said, "Our body is an organ for human life functions such as metabolism, but in body profiles, the body is visualized," and added, "When the body is capitalized for interests such as attention and profit, we end up evaluating our body from others' perspectives. In fact, the body is an invaluable asset that cannot be exchanged or separated, but when it is 'visualized' and separated from oneself, life inevitably becomes empty."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.