Former IZ*ONE Nako Reveals Her Body Image Hardships as a K-Pop Idol

In an interview with Yahoo! New Voice in Japan, former IZ*ONE member Nako opened up about the hardships she went through in terms of her body image while promoting as a K-pop idol. Keep on reading to learn more.

Former IZ*ONE Nako Confesses Her Body Image Struggles as a K-Pop Idol

On October 22, former IZ*ONE member Nako sat down for an interview with Yahoo! New Voice in Japan. During her interview with the media outlet, she opened up about the struggles she went through during her time as a K-pop idol.

IZ*ONE is famous for having two extremely tall members. Their youngest members, Jang Wonyoung and Ahn Yujin are known for their model-like proportions. Maknae Jang Wonyoung, who is currently 17-years-old is speculated to be between 171cm and 173cm tall, while 18-year-old Ahn Yujin revealed she is 170cm tall.

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The other members of the group were much shorter. Nako, however, was the shortest member of the group, standing at 149cm tall, or 4'11". This makes her 20 centimeters shorter than Wonyoung and Yujin. She is much shorter than the average height for South Korean women. In South Korea, most women are around 163cm tall, making her 14 centimeters taller than the standard.

Nako revealed in her interview that her petite stature was an insecurity of hers. She stated that while promoting as a member of IZ*ONE, she was worried about her short height, as there weren't many Korean idol groups with short members. In fact, during her time in IZ*ONE, she was considered the shortest girl group idol in K-pop.

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She revealed that she was afraid her height would affect the group's image while dancing. "To be honest, I was always worried about what to do," said Nako,

Thankfully, the members of IZ*ONE made sure to support Nako through and through. Nako said, "The Korean members would tell me 'I never notice your height when you are dancing.'" They would also tell Nako that she is adorable, even when she is just breathing. They would also tell Nako how grateful they are to have her as part of the group.

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She said that these words from her Korean members helped her become more confident, and she has never forgotten how they used to cheer her up.

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

Yabuki Nako Recent Activities

On April 29, 2021, her contract with IZ*ONE expired. She and the other two Japanese members of the group (Miyawaki Sakura and Honda Hitomi) returned to Japan following IZ*ONE's disbandment. On May 15, 2021, she returned to her activities with HKT48 with a theatre performance.

She is currently playing a supporting role in the Japanese drama Kao Dake Sensei, where she plays the character Sanjo Aika.

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Alexa Lewis wrote this.