IVE’s Wonyoung performing despite a knee bleed mid-performance draws mixed reactions

IVE’s Wonyoung scraped her knee on stage but continued performing without any indication of her pain on January 15. The incident has led many netizens to praise the young idol for her professionalism.

On the other hand, netizens are also raising concerns over the expectations of such “perfection” that idols are supposed to have, leading to an unhealthy idea of professionalism.

IVE’s Wonyoung continues performing after realizing her knee is bleeding

Starship Entertainment’s newest girl group IVE debuted with multiple record-smashing bangs with single album ELEVEN. Wonyoung, former IZ*ONE and current IVE member, became the point of discussion again due to her mid-performance injury live on stage.

On January 15, IVE performed its songs Eleven, Take It and a cover of Fifth Harmony’s That’s My Girl at the Welcome K-pop Click Concert. During the last performance, one of the dance moves required the girls to sit on one knee and turn on the sides. It might have been that moment when the idol scraped her knee.

Wonyoung continued performing as if nothing had happened, even after realizing her knee started bleeding as her fingers got smeared in blood. Take a look at the performance below. The idol only seemed to discover her knee was bleeding at the 2:50 mark.

The knee kept bleeding but the IVE member continued performing her best, never letting it show in her dance or her face. The 17-year-old idol earned immense praise for her professionalism. Online community forums, both local and international, were filled with compliments and respect for the artist.

Netizens were even frustrated at the stage management team as they believed there might have been something that led to the idol’s knee bleeding. Meanwhile, some even demanded the choreography be changed.

On the flip side, many raised concerns regarding the idea of perfection that has seeped into the K-pop industry. Netizens wondered if praising the idol for continuing her performance despite an injury would lead to more harmful expectations of idols to do the same in the future.

With mental health discussions becoming increasingly public in the industry, fans are hoping to open the discussion as to where professionalism ends and self care begins.

Despite the scare, IVE’s Wonyoung asked fans not to worry about her injury in a video call. In other news, the rookie girl group recently achieved the eleventh music show win for ELEVEN.

About the author

Afreen has been a K-Pop Content Specialist at Sportskeeda since 2021. She holds a Bachelor's degree in English Literature, along with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication. Afreen has over 4+ years of working in various positions including being an entertainment content writer with Pinkvilla’s K-pop division Hallyutalk and CineDope, and as a copywriter at Flying Cursor.

As per Afreen, she loves her work because she gets to write about the things she is obsessed with. Her thorough research and following the two-genuine-source rule of journalism helps her produce the most accurate content, along with helping her be up-to-date with the industry.

Afreen has had the privilege to interview The Rose's frontrunner, WOOSUNG, and LIONESSES, K-pop's first openly LGBTQ+ group. She is a big fan of SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, BTS, and The Rose for their hard work, sincerity, and the comic relief their shows provide.

When she is off her shift, Afreen explores the streets of Nottingham in the UK, cooks, and listens to new music.

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