the ice princess image in kpop and why its melting away

[@way6862]

i see the princess side for mina but not so much the ice. maybe it's because if twice's friendly aura. she just seems cute and shy idk

[@nunyomfbusiness3294]

I remember like in a lot of interviews and all she does seem to usually have a straight face but it’s more of a natural expression

[@abc_jv_xyz]

she doesn't have enough rbf to be an ice princess

[@mateobanda6808]

I absolutely see her ice princess aura. When I started following and loving Twice, I always thought she never even wanted to be there, in twice or to be an idol at all. I remember thinking, wow, she's beautiful and talented but is she happy? 😂❤

[@fatyfarrell]

Jessica is the OG ice princess! People who think Mina is one must not be fans... She's too nice!

[@lazyassgamingph]

Jessica is definitely the OG Ice Queen, Mina is our Madagascar 'Skipper' 🐧🐧🐧

[@MrAresxy07]

So....to be a ice queen she has to be horrible

[@mariunfabregas7533]

​@@MrAresxy07no one said anything about being horrible, calm down lol. I think they were just talking about how Jessica's cold sense of humor and personality was part of her branding, which is why Knetz gave her the "ice princess" title way back in 2nd gen

[@mateobanda6808]

What do you mean they're not fans at all? You don't have to be mean to be an ice princess. I love Twice and I definitely thought she is the ice princess of the group. Still is.

[@7vt8td]

Sinb from Gfriend has a more ice princess image than her. Edit- but then again sinb doesn't give off the princess vibe

[@viki7268]

Due to climate change, the ice is melting alot quicker unfortunately.

[@soralution]

Hahaha good one

[@habeebahshittu4753]

😂😂

[@AquaRunner533]

I forgot this persona existed

[@SerenityQuartz44]

Jessica Jung is the OG Ice Princess at all times

[@mkay0630]

It's fading for a very easy reason, I think. Female idols aren't allowed to be too sarcastic or blunt anymore. Take the og ice princess, Jessica, for example. Even though she is a very gentle person at heart and has very cute mannerisms, an idol like her would be torn to shreds today by the Korean GP. You have to be likeable to a fault nowadays.

[@WarriorSageNeha]

Korean GP More like new breed of international fans who are to sensitive 😂😂 like Wonyoung got hate for eating strawberry in particular way not by Korean GP but international fans

[@mkay0630]

@WarriorSageNeha You missed the point of my comment, my friend. Who do you think bullied multiple idols and Korean celebrities to the point of taking their own lives? Korean people did that. Bullying culture has been prevalent in SK for decades. International fans can be very toxic, too, but that's not what we're talking about here.

[@WarriorSageNeha]

@@mkay0630 Korean GP bullied idol for different reasons like looks, weight gain or some drugs allegations not for personality.. ( those who hated idol for relationship was their own Korean fans ) Jessica was literally one of the most popular idol in Snsd's peak in Korea.. She wasn't hated for her personality Compare it to now .( Among international fans ). People label anyone pick me or bully

[@mkay0630]

@@WarriorSageNehaOh absolutely, I don't disagree with that. And I'm aware that Jess is definitely one of the most loved members among SONEs. Having said that, I saw a poll in an old magazine clipping recently where Jessica is voted as the scariest-seeming member of the group. Jess definitely had a fair amount of haters but I won't deny that other popular members, from what I've noticed, seem to have been treated far, far worse. I think domestic and international kpop fans alike are so quick to put down female idols for any and everything. The things they're put down for, of course, can differ between international and the Korean GP. (Sorry for the essay lol)

[@mariekorolyov1009]

first one that came to mind is dreamcatcher's handong because her name (韓東) sounds similar to 'cold winter' in chinese (寒冬) - both [hán dōng] in pinyin. she also used to be very shy and reserved so that's why she started being called ice princess handong

[@idkjshssbvVs]

I think tripleS yooyeon is the closest we have to this persona in 5th gen

[@idkjshssbvVs]

But I think that's just how she acts naturally, not forced

[@mattevans6752]

As someone who started following Kpop mid-4th gen, I haven't really experienced idol personality archetypes very much at all. Also, I definitely disagree with people considering Mina as an ice princess. She doesn't come off cold at all. She is quiet, but in a shy way, not in a standoffish way.

[@OGseoulite]

…… that’s why she’s considered an ice princess. You don’t have to be stand offish. In fact a majority of the examples are people who are introverted and extroverted.

[@vim2339]

Jessica and Krystal and winter and Irene are the real ice princess

[@northrnstar]

twice doesn't really have an ice princess. the closest candidates are mina and tzuyu, but they come off as more quiet and shy than distant. they're both very sweet women too

[@mimi_imfat]

Not to be an mbti nerd but it’s interesting how majority of the idols who fit this persona have a similar mbti (not the mbti they say they have, i mean the real ones). Majority of them are STs (mostly istj and istp) Winter: istp Irene: istj Krystal: istp Jessica: estj I would also add baemon pharita (istj) and loosemble hyeju (istp) I don’t think mina (infj) really fits this. She comes across that way cause of her introversion but she’s naturally sweet and not emotionally distant and considers others’ feelings, she just doesn’t show it much, again cause her introversion. This typa “ice princess” usually has istp or istj personality type. They’re introverted, blunt, honest, emotionally distant, usually business oriented, nonchalant, not chaotic, rarely ever tries to fake being nice. This typa personality in kpop especially for female idols is often hated for being rude or disconnected. Usually they are mistaken as pretentious but it’s just their natural personality to be quiet and not want to express their emotions all the time. Not cause they necessarily see themselves better than everyone else. They are not the most personable people but i personally love these typa people. Having this typa personality is especially hard for female idols cause just having an rbf or speaking your honest mind could get them hated immediately.

[@abc_jv_xyz]

how are you so sure you know their "real" mbtis?

[@CHAI24613]

Interesting analysis. I’m just curious, does Nancy fit the category? Idk her mbti

[@Kpoplover2338]

Mina is actually ISTP as well!

[@naruske97]

I also love this personality type, they all are my bias/bias wrecker

[@tokyoinooshi4836]

Krystal is thee Ice Priness for me LOL I always thought of her as kpop's Posh Spice. You can tell that was just her and her sister personality. The funny thing is they were actually more relatable to me because they came off so real. I mean when you got 90% of the industry smiling and carrying on it was nice to see sombody that was just like there....chillin' 😂😂 I miss Krystal they used to give her such a hard time in the press calling her rude. But ice or not the girl was super talented. And she was still super popular because the fans loved her being herself.

[@PS12342]

She was never rude to begin with. She is just calm and reserved. As an introvert I can relate to her of having this image . She is more comfortable with people who she is close with

[@AaA-lk8kx]

She is the posh spice of kpop. Sm was influenced by spice girls in the making of f(x). Victoria is ginger spice, Amber is sporty, Luna is scary, Sulli is baby and Krystal is posh

[@WarriorSageNeha]

Super popular yes ? But super talented how ? She wasn't main vocalist or main dancer of the group lol

[@Ofra8191-]

We have an "Ice princess" in Dreamcatcher in the form of Handong (and she's very proud of the title, thank you very much), she has the beauty and elegance DOWN, as well as confidence, but she can still be goofy and funny WHILE being those other things, and she has great stage presence (all of Dreamcatcher are BEASTS on stage), so she's not lacking in any way, and she has a beautiful warm voice and she's a good dancer.

[@tequilatracer1924]

YES I was hoping someone would mention her! Our dongie

[@palissovski1829]

Handong came to mind immediatly !

[@abc_jv_xyz]

I don't think she fits the title

[@Ofra8191-]

@abc_jv_xyz she has all the requirements, she just has more on top of it...

[@MM-gr9ri]

I thought of Shuhua at first but then I remember how she is when she's talking😂 she's a ball of energy

[@thisisavivistanaccount7866]

Mina gives princess vibes, but not so much the “Ice” part. I think Winter was given the brief of “Ice Princess”, but i think she breaks “character” a bit too often. SM loves giving archetypes to their idols bc it’s easy and simple marketing.

[@WarriorSageNeha]

Never get Ice princess vibes from her

[@Zhong_Babe]

I feel like something some of the people in the comment section need to understand is ice princess visuals don't always mean you look cold. It's normally just that they kind of look a bit untouchable or unapproachable which a lot of the idols that were given as examples do come off that way Mina isn't really an ice princess in terms of her personality necessarily I don't think she's very blunt like some of the other examples are but her appearance is like she looks very unapproachable that is something that has been stated by people who are not fans of hers when it's just like harassing face her just standing there she looks like a royalty like someone you wouldn't want to approach because you'd feel like you're bothering them it's the same thing with winter she has a cute look but she also comes off as someone you wouldn't want to approach but I also think that just deal with personality types. I feel like nine out of 10 times you're getting an introvert in a group that's going to be considered an ice princess. I saw someone kind of break down the certain types someone did say that a lot of them are is personality types which I definitely agree with but I also feel like it's just introverted personality types in general. As someone who is an infp I can definitely say that I've had people tell me that I come off as very unapproachable or that I give off that kind of icy vibe myself and it's not even because I genuinely do anything 90% of the time it's just because I'm not going out of my way or trying to necessarily interact with everyone. when it comes to K-pop especially and with idols I think a lot of people have this image in their head that all idols are clearly supposed to be outgoing and they're supposed to want to approach people and all these other things so when you have introverts where it's like unless you're approaching them they're not necessarily going out of their way to talk to you they're sticking to the people that they know primarily you'll see them only really talking to their own group members or people that they have possibly trained with before or from their own company they come off as like icy Krystal the og ice princess if you ever saw videos of her with like her sister her and Jessica had their own little reality show on KZbin at some point or even if you saw her interacting with her bandmates you'll know that she wasn't necessarily this like cold harsh person she could just be blunt sometimes but most of the time she was very much so joking with them she was having good laughs overall a very approachable vibe she gives off with people that she's friendly with and comfortable with. But when they had to interact with like other people that she didn't know very well she just observed them which is something I think introverts do a lot. Instead of jumping right into hey let's just have a conversation let's just become best friends it's like I'm going to watch how you interact with people I'm going to feel you out as a person before I decide how I'm going to approach you. I feel like we have less examples of ice princesses or the icy characters in K-pop now just because honestly groups don't really interact with each other as much I feel like we definitely would have a lot more of them if we saw a lot more interactions between groups that weren't under the same record label. On top of that I feel like because 90% of the content that we are being fed about groups are just the groups interacting with each other it's them on their own KZbin channels on their own variety shows their own reality shows things that they're companies producing and coming out with weather is on TV or it's on KZbin or it's on very specific apps that their companies own. We're not really seeing them interacting with people that they have it most likely trained with for several years so they're comfortable with them. like it's easier for you to sit there and see someone who has like a golden retriever or a puppy like personality whether they're with people that they're comfortable with or not because it's just a overall very sunny type of personality while it would be very hard to pick out someone who might come off as a icy or even more of a royal vibe kind of personality based off of how they're interact with people they're comfortable with because they're always going to come off as a lot more open and interactive. Like the difference between watching an introverted person with people they're genuinely comfortable with a no for years versus them with people that they're just meeting for the first time you're basically looking at two different people.

[@mimi_imfat]

This is good explanation of how someone comes across vs their actual personality. Introverts would be less likely to be idols or have a career in the entertainment industry in general. So that’s why when someone is an introverted idol they immediately come across as cold to many people at first but some of them can be quiet caring and considerate and people oriented. So ig it’s up to interpretation about who’s really an “ice princess” whether it’s about how they come across and their public persona or their irl personality. Krystal, jessica and irene fit both imo.

[@KY-jd1nl]

Mina and Winter are not "ice princesses." Its not simply about being unexpressive or calm, but there's an air of unreachable sophistication that Krystal and Jessica really embody. Irene also I dont consider an "ice princess."

[@luckyclover-ld8tx]

maybe newjeans haerin could be classified as a modern version of this trope??

[@tokyoinooshi4836]

She definitely is

[@SamEricLlort]

Haerin is more like Seoul cycle. Haerin opens up when the time to seduce rich men comes. That is how he got in Hybe by letting Hybe producers eat the ”Cookie“ and coming inside like NJ sang in Cookie.

[@SamEricLlort]

Haerin is a Seoul cycle, he is not shy when letting Hybe producers eat the ”Cookie“. After all that is what NJ did to debut.

[@neb.9489]

@@SamEricLlortWhat the fuck is wrong with you? She’s a minor for gods sake. Leave her the fuck alone.

[@northrnstar]

personally I don't think so, but granted i don't follow newjeans that closely. haerin just comes off as a cute awkward teen to me lol

[@LadyAyoka]

first one that came to my mind for the newer gens is wonyoung! i agree, there isn’t much of an emphasis on character types today however, wonyoung or maybe ive as a whole, have leaned into the persona a few times! most recently w a song on their ep called ‘ice queen’ (absoLUTE banger of a track btw) edit (clarity): i don’t personally think wonyoung individually or ive as a whole are ice queens or embody that at all. i think they have fun playing around w the PERSONA through concepts and certain visuals.

[@Angel.aaa109]

I don't think qonyoung is an ice princess at all, I think she just embody's the princess archetype, she's never been as cold as Irene or krytel

[@wonybabie]

"ice queen" is definitely a banger!! but ive and wonyoung particularly, aren't cold at all, wonyoung is confident but she doesn't come off cold at all and for the other ive members i see no one meeting the cold persona AT ALL and im a dive since day one and a wiz*one since produce 48 so i know yujin and wonyo's persona on screen a little lmao

[@SamEricLlort]

Wonyoung is pick me archetype. Wonyoung even did surgery lately to make her go from boy body to get curves.

[@princess555o4]

​@@SamEricLlortand you are a hater archetype. Sad and obsessed. Why do you like putting down wonyoung?

[@AlanSmithee789]

@@SamEricLlort Lol do you know what a pick me is? How is Wonyoung a pick me? Give examples please.

[@soralution]

🤔🤔🤔 to me an ice princess/queen is someone who exhudes elegance while also at the same time exhuding a kinda standoffish look, for me some examples of this would be krystal, jessica, miyeon (ish lol) and bibi to a certain extent i think due to the phenomenon of trying to appear relatable, authentic and likable seen in 2019 - current day, i think this is why we are seeing the ice princess model melting away. I also do think like most of the comments section, i believe kpop archetypes are becoming non-existent in general for the 2020s to allow these idols to reveal a more warm and welcoming exterior. Im not quite sure if i have an opinion on whether companies should keep or discard these kpop archetypez, but I'm happy to view from both sides regarding this

[@belaytriks]

Nor Winter nor Sana have that feel to me, Sana seems to much warm and Winter seems to much quirky.

[@ThemedNumber02]

Amazing video and analysis! ALSO great pun there at the end!!!

[@Yooniverse35]

As a my, I genuinely don't get the winter example. She has more of a "puppy" image and is generally sweet. I don't think any of the girls could classify as an ice princess but if I had to choose one then maybe Ningning since she's a little sassy (iykyk lol) but even then she doesn't take herself that seriously. I guess if you see things purely based off of visuals then maybe you could say Winter. In my head an ice princess is someone who's blunt / quiet, like they only speak when they feel like something has to be said ykwim? For me, ice princess is more in the attitude than the face. In 4th / 5th gen I haven't really seen someone like that. I think it's because of the overall acceptance of society that's come to realize that being introverted / having a rbf is a thing.

[@mimi_imfat]

I think that’s cause of winter’s idol image. I would guess her irl personality would fit this. She has to act cute and sweet cause it’s her job (not saying she’s fake or anything, it’s normal) but her actual personality comes across as introverted, emotionally distant and blunt (also nothing wrong with any of those, i personally love this typa people) what you said “someone who only speaks when they think something needs to be said” actually fits winter perfectly. She’s definitely the most introverted member in aespa I would not consider ning an “ice princess” at all. Yea she’s sassy but she’s not distant. She doesn’t shy away from expressing herself emotionally and she’s a bit shy but there’s a very extroverted side to her as well. She’s very bubbly and chaotic lol (also love her)

[@Yooniverse35]

@@mimi_imfat Yes, that's why I said there's no one in aespa who's a true ice princess imo. And maybe I'm missing something with winter but from all the content I've seen she just seems the most introverted. I wouldn't go as far as to call her blunt though. If you have some examples of her being blunt I'd like to know out of sheer curiosity.

[@mimi_imfat]

@@Yooniverse35 imo the way she tells her members how to do something or what they are doing wrong is blunt. This is a very broad example, i don’t remember very specific moments but you can see this in their rehearsal behind videos etc. Even karina as the leader and the oldest person in the group is considering of the others’ feelings when she tells them what they need to fix and speaks in a careful manner but winter just tells it as it is and can come across as a bit rude because of this. I remember one rehearsal where they were all monitoring the performance and all the others would say something like “should you do this instead?” or ask why are they doing it that way but winter would just say something like “this part isn’t suppose to be that way, do this”. Other examples can be: when they were playing a game where they were suppose to compliment each other and winter rather tells ning that she looks really good with lipstick on her teeth. Ning: i will smile shamelessly with lipstick on my teeth Winter: you weren’t able to smile seamlessly tho Winter to Giselle: your asymmetrical hair looks nice or when ning was trying to be playful and said she wants to try cat foods and winter says “don’t do that you’re allergic to cats” She kinda has this “no-nonsense” and logical pov to everything (Ofc most of these are jokes cause she has to watch what she says cause of her job’s nature but she seems to be the most careless member when they have to roast each other and just goes for it lol)

[@Yooniverse35]

@@mimi_imfat ah I see where you're coming from. My friends and I joke around like this a lot so I didn't see it as anything unusual / worth noticing. Ig we all just have different perspectives according to our own experiences.

[@mimi_imfat]

@@Yooniverse35 i agree that most of this typa behavior is just joking around but in kpop they can be perceived differently. We know other idols who have said similar things like winter has said and got hated for being a “bully”. Obviously my observation of winter’s personality is just an assumption, i can’t speak confidently without actually knowing her but imo she’s blunt and straight forward but kinda has to “tone it” down cause of her idol job. Compared to idols who shy away from even making a joke or follow up with “I’m just kidding”, winter seems to care less about that. That’s why i consider her to be this way and guess that her “off camera” personality would be this way

[@VDO-ty3bw]

KEP1ER COMEBACK NOVEMBER 1st!!!!! Please tune in 💖💜💖💜

[@mangojelly23]

BP's Jennie and Dreamcatcher's Handong are good contemporary examples as well, i'm a 2nd gen kpop stan and I think dropping those labels is for the best and I also think it's because stans are even more critical nowadays, it was a thing then but now is kind of unbearable and I have so much empathy especially with female idols

[@MajoCardona]

Jennie is more fiery than ice if that makes sense

[@mangojelly23]

@MajoCardona oh definitely, but to me she has that classy royal like beauty ("princess" side) and can come off as rude because of her neutral expression ("ice" side)

[@Slayoon]

Nancy also gives off ice princess imo idk. Taeyon too. I was gonna add Shuhua but I think she only has ice princess visuals not exactly the persona.

[@jisooinyourarea6751]

mina is not an ice princess she looks very nice not distant at all

[@DreaYB]

I’m interested into kpop image tropes I would love to see more videos like this

[@dearyoongi]

Ooh good to know thank you!! There's a playlist of some more I've already explored on my channel, but if there's any others you know of and would like to hear about I can look into them too 🥰

[@skrrtskrrt4681]

I know it's too early to tell but I think Gawon from Teddy's girl group Meovv is the 5th generation equivalent to an Ice Princess.

[@amibae9157]

This just makes me think of Lino lol and he is a PRINCE 😂

[@love4dolls]

Idek how winter is an ice princess. she's just shy than the other members even off stage winter has a puppy like look, soft and cute which why knetz like her. she's also friendly with ppl. thats not what an ice princess is

[@izumihanagata1148]

Winter? Her laugh is so cute hehe 🥰🥰😅😅

[@Sheepy16able]

First of all: Very cool video name :) It`s such a well thought wording :) And second or better saying a video idea for you: many kpop stans also name some idols like Jihyo of Twice or Hyeju of Loossemble as latina girls of kpop. Maybe this could also be an interesting video topic

[@msd1ary]

I wouldn’t say that any of twice are an ice princess, especially Mina or Tzuyu. The only reason they could sound like one is because their persona is a little more on the quiet and shy side, but in this case this is not in a way that stands them apart from the group, or that they come off as “cold” in that matter. There’s way more to being an ice princess than having a nonchalant look or a shy personality in my eyes.

[@shadow3340]

Half of these examples are the complete opposites of ice princesses being beautiful doesn't equal ice... for example irene and winter have bubbly, funny, somewhat shy and caring personalities not emotionless in the least

[@SienAppelsien]

Sometimes ice princesses just dont have stage presence and hide it under this persona 😭

[@Mystic_Paths]

Ice princess image has been popular for many years, often appealing to fans through its mystery and allure. However, it's gradually melting away as K-pop evolves towards more authentic, relatable, and open portrayals of idols. Cmiiw

[@JrJ2018]

when I think of ice princess I think of Jessica, Irene and Jennie

[@DP-mv7ph]

jennie doesnt fit at all

[@JrJ2018]

@@DP-mv7ph she actually does she has a rbf and isn't very sociable. So if we go by the way knetz see her I'd say she fits. her recent pr is changing that steroid type though

[@abc_jv_xyz]

2:16 I'm not sure if it's just a belief, pretty sure that's a fact. Unless a 1st gen idol received the same title or something.

[@dearyoongi]

I was thinking the same! I can't think of any examples of 1st gen idols who were known for this image but maybe somebody can 🤔

[@mayruuh]

i thought you would bring up gfriend/viviz sinb bc i definitely heard ppl call her an ice princess more often than mina

[@zhisu2665]

it only fits Jessica and her sister Krystal but we all know Jes is the OG Ice princess Barbie of kpop

[@DP-mv7ph]

Is there a name for the male version of this? maybe mysterious guy persona? bcs SM is def trying to give Wonbin this cold image lmao

[@Chrisalphamale]

I love stayc

[@jisooinyourarea6751]

winter is not an ice princess she literally looks like a cute bunny because of her cheeks. there's nothing cold about her visuals.

[@vim2339]

She is a ice princess

[@jisooinyourarea6751]

@@vim2339 no shes a cute little chipmunk

[@neb.9489]

It’s crazy how most of the time, it’s introverted idols being pushed into this image. The quieter members are always seen as cold or boring because they’re not bouncing off the walls. Like…I’ve seen people call Haerin of Newjeans boring because she’s not as outgoing. Especially if you compare her to someone like Danielle who is known for her energy.

[@cherryprincess5396]

Off topic, Winter in the thumbnail kinda remebles Sam from icarly in the earlier seasons

[@dearyoongi]

Omg I get what you mean! I think it's the hair style ahah

[@noraeriksson4138]

I have been called ice princess more than once, because my shyness makes me appear distant. But people who actually knows me says I'm more like a puppy, lol

[@Ach37755]

I’ve seen Sunghoon but also cause he used to ice skate lol

[@deadmansquestions]

yall make videos about anything ggbhgffhk