Counterpoint: The Yoona Complex

Yoona’s actually overexposed, not overrated, to be perfectly honest. She may have all the attention on her, but I hardly even see her intentionally hogging the spotlight. If you watch them in interviews or variety shows, she would rather let everyone else talk or do their thing before she does. She gets a lot of screentime choreography wise, though, because she does them cleanly. Hyoyeon’s definitely the better dancer, but she shows off and almost exaggerates the moves to prove that she’s the best dancer in the group, while Yoona does the choreography exactly how it should be done.

It is what it is so get over it.

i love yoona and hyo and i think hyoyeon is starting to become more popular in the last few months

I the vibe she gives off. There is something vaguely Audrey Hepburn-like about her. Grace, fragility, subtle beauty. Honestly, I would probably put her in the center as well (even tho I find Tiffany, Jessica, Taeyeon & Sooyoung prettier).

Hyoyeon… Ah, pity party time. I used to be a great fan of her. Liking the underdog. There is just something noble about it. Then I got over it. Let’s face it – she is the least attractive out of 9. And she is awkward as hell on variety shows. She started trying too late to make any change, and she’s just trying too hard. She is a good dancer. It’s a fact. But… she just ain’t using that fact to her benefit. When she has to freestyle on varieties, she does a series of awkward pop-lock moves and a couple of  waves.
Yuri is a much weaker dancer, but she makes her routine attractive. She sexy, she does splits, she find the camera and winks at the right moment.. And mind you, Yuri is one of my least liked members (she and Jessica :p ).

I’ma Sone but never once have I really thought that Yoona was the prettiest on in the group. I actually thought and still think that maknae was and is the prettiest one. And I’m no westerner.

She’s vanilla ice cream. Or with the right makeup, vanilla bean ice cream. Still ain’t my thing though.

sounds like you don’t know anything about the girls. but I had to agree about Hyoyeon’s screentime/exposure

Let’s just be up front about this. SNSD, especially Yoona, are presented and perceived by the media and  audiences as pretty girls. Fans call them flawless, goddesses, beauties, etc. It’s their image. It’s how they’ve consciously packaged and presented themselves for years and they have been enormously successful with it. People focus on Yoona as the “untalented, useless pretty face” of the group when in all honesty, the majority of SNSD is only mildly talented. 

Taeyeon can sing. Hyoyeon is a ok dancer. And occasionally Tiffany and Jessica will carry a tune. But nothing that couldn’t be heard in any number of karaoke bars across the US.  The remaining girls can follow a dance routine but I don’t think anyone would argue that these girls attract fans because of their enormous talent. That would just be an outright lie. 

They are fun cute girls who are, to some, incredibly likable. But Yoona isn’t any more untalented than the rest of the girls. In fact, there are a number of girls in the group who bring even less and yet receive less hate. Don’t get me wrong. I am by no means a Yoona supporter. I find her bland and boring. But Yoona, at least, brings something to the group. She makes up for her lack of a “substantial” talent contribution  by bringing hundreds upon hundreds of fans who are obsessed with her face. What are the other girls contributing?

Labeling Yoona’s popularity as “baffling”, “discomforting” or “undeserved” is the same as discrediting SNSD’s popularity entirely. What makes Yoona popular: her “flawlessness”, her likability on variety shows, and her fun personality is exactly what has made SNSD, as a group,  popular.  Why hate the one when it’s merely a representation of the whole?

i’ve always been a little bothered with how much attention she gets. but i feel like it’s also to balance out her talent (or lack thereof) with the rest of the members.

I don’t know about any of you, but I kinda want the SNSD girls to have a duet with Adele or Lea Michele or Charice or someone. Not because I want the SNSD girls to get more famous, but because I want to see how they do against someone that really can sing. I like SNSD and I feel sorta bad because it feels like I’m hating on them, but I just kinda am I guess. I’m a neutral fan towards SNSD but I want them and their craziest fans (SONEs are typically agreeable until they start talking about SNSD) to be put in their places. I find the SNSD girls to usually be sweet and likable but occasionally too conceited for their own good. Their fans are worse. Maybe if they sang next to someone that can hit all the notes, has perfect pitch, great tone, and puts emotion and feeling into their music, they and everyone else would realize that they’re not all that great.

Now I feel bad. I’m such a witch. I have a love-hate relationship with SNSD and I think I’d like them more if it weren’t for their fans. Not all their fans are mean or vicious, many that I’ve talked to are very nice, but they can be sooo irritating. SNSD is cute and charming and they work hard but that doesn’t make them superbly talented. Taylor Swift (who I looooove) has all those qualities but I don’t go around trying to convice people that she’s the best singer ever and everyone that disagrees is fat, racist or jealous. Her voice is pretty but not very strong. I hate bringing Taylor Swift into this, because I love her, but I think she is a good example. Not a perfect example but a good one. What is one really big reason why people love Taylor Swift? She’s sweet. She’s relatable. She’s likable. She’s known to go out to her fans before and after a concert to hug and kiss them and thank them for coming. What is one really big reason why SNSD is so popular? Because they’re likeable and charming. They’re pretty and know how to present themselves so to be idolized by people internationally. I wouldn’t put SNSD on the same level as Taylor Swift, though. Taeyeon and perhaps Tiffany can sing better than Taylor but Taylor writes and composes her own music, plays like 5 or so instruments, and is passionate about what she does. She can’t dance but she’s genuine. I wouldn’t call all the SNSD girls genuine.

I’m really biased. I’m not the best person to get an opinion from lol.

She’s probably the main reason SNSD is a household name in Korea. While SNSD was still a struggling rookie group. Yoona was cast as a lead in a daily 178 episode drama “You are my destiny”. This drama was so popular it often pulled in 40% viewership rating. It not only put Yoona in the forefront of popularity among teens but also garnered legions of housewife and granny fans. Her popularity also helped SNSD become a household name because she was often referred to as “that girl from SNSD”.

Do Americans really liked hyoyeon that much?  because from what i read and see in numerous polls on Asian countries hyoyeon always(almost indefinetly) became the 9th favourite from snsd. And maybe that is the reason why her camera time is always the shortest than anyone else, because this is show bizz and the producer gives what the public demand and sadly for hyoyeon asian fan doesn’t too interested on her. SNSD is korean artist and so they gives what the korean demand and from numerous poll as well in opposite of hyoyeon, Yoona tends to be the 1st favourite, and that is why she placed on the center, because that is what asian fans demands. their main income comes from asian market, so if you want hyoyeon to get more camera time, i suggest you make snsd became a huge in America with many fans so the sm-management will hear your request, because if not. Yoona will always be the center because that is what their market demands

“And give Hyoyeon some camera time while you’re at it.”
I.LOVE.YOU.  …;D
No, but seriously, Hyoyeon lacks recognition, despite the fact that she deserves it. Ever watched fancams of her solo stages?NO? You seriously missed out then, because she got skill&talent!

I don’t think Yoona is beautiful, either. Looks nice in good clothes and make-up. But that’s about it.

Sigh. Another article riddled with biased opinions. And so many Yoona haters.
I personally used to be a big fan of SNSD before their songs started becoming more americanised and inextricably mainstream (i.e “The Boys”).
However, I still love each member as themselves, rather than as a group; they have interesting and amusing personalities and idiosyncrasies, which you can see on countless variety shows.
And as such, I love Yoona; her looks and appeal, positive mindedness, sense of humor, and the like, which many people are unable to appreciate for some strange reason. This may be because they have not seen enough variety shows (emphasis on “enough”), or another reason or whatnot.
I cannot believe that people are unable to see her beauty and allure; one of the main reasons she was put in the group was to be the figurehead icon of their group; the “face”.
Even during my “extreme-anti-SNSD” phase (trust me, I was very, very anti), I could still understand why people loved her so much. Maybe it’s because of the culture difference – many non-koreans do not think that Yoona is all that pretty, but for most Koreans, Yoona is pretty much the “ideal”.
As it stands, other members do indeed need much more airtime, but with nine members and only so much song/mv time, of course the most appealing member would be shown the most, that member being Yoona.
(Note: To those saying Yoona only looks good in make-up and all that other nonsense, please keep that to yourself, and then go look up some of her selcas. If you still think she looks “ugly” or “plain”, then you just insulted a large number of peoples’ sense of style and taste. If she isn’t “that pretty”, and is “dull” and “plain”, then please explain to me why she is so popular and considered to be beautiful by many, many, MANY people.)