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On Monday, December 18, the popular Korean online community platform, Pannchao, uploaded an article pointing out RIIZE Wonbin's alleged short height. The article, titled RIIZE Wonbin's Height Becomes a Controversy Causing a Buzz, caused a stir. It contained netizens' reactions to the idol's fancams and videos at the group's recent 100-day anniversary celebration at Kwangwoon University Donghae Culture Arts Center Grand Theater in Seoul.
Following the pictures and videos of the idol looking allegedly short, netizens surfaced more supposed evidence of the idol's short height. While there's nothing wrong with being short, the issue soon snowballed into people shaming and criticizing him for his short height.
However, fans soon came to his defense by stating that the idol isn't short and the fancams fail to capture his proper height, which is estimated to be around 5' 10. Regardless, fans also believe that it isn't right to shame or scrutinize someone based on their height and appearance.
Fans angered at netizens for dragging RIIZE's Wonbin for his alleged short height
RIIZE's Wonbin, who recently debuted in September of this year, has been the talk of the town ever since fans got a glimpse of him through their pre-debut content. While his visuals are undeniably stunning, fans also couldn't help but notice his impeccable skills at both dance and vocals.
As the internet continued to buzz over his endless list of attractive qualities, the recent reveal of the idol's alleged real height caused quite a spur on the internet.
Fans thought the idol was about 5' 10, but recordings and fancams of him at events, such as music festivals and award shows, suggested that he might not be as tall as they thought. Several images and videos circulated among netizens supposedly revealed that the idol was almost the same height or shorter than his fellow member, Sohee.
While fans do agree that he and Sohee share the same height, they also stated that 5' 10 is not only pretty tall but the reason they look short is due to their other fellow members who are 6 feet and above.
Nevertheless, a number of internet users voiced their discontent upon seeing that the idol is shorter than they had anticipated. They added that Wonbin's reputation might suffer greatly from the fact that height is a crucial characteristic for K-pop idols.
However, many fans have rather been neutral about the recent revelation and even adored him for his height. When they came across other netizens shaming and sending hate towards Wonbin for his height, they immediately jumped in to defend him. They stated that regardless of the idol's height, his impressive skills and qualities should be paid more attention.
In addition to stating that one's appearance and features shouldn't be criticized, fans also called out netizens for creating controversies to allegedly bring the idol down. They believe that since Wonbin is neither surrounded by scandals nor lacks any skills required for a K-pop idol, netizens are using his alleged short height to create a negative reputation for him.
However, with fans' heavy criticism of the netizens who've expressed both insensitive and groundless statements, the issue has begun to settle.
