INTRODUCTION

yong is the main dancer, lead vocalist, and rapper of BLΛƆKOUT. his weight has been and still is a heavily debated topic since he debuted in 2019. he has a fairly large following both internationally and in korea but during the times mentioned, he got hate from both, with the korean ones being the majority. his figure was treated as a punching bag by netizens during one time.

DEBUT WITH DEBUT SONG

pretty healthy, praised for his good proportions, start of hate

BLΛƆKOUT instantly shot to fame when they debuted with *song* due to being the sister group of BLΛƆKPIИK. international and korean fans were very interested in this new group. for a while, yong was praised for his tall height and healthy weight but hate started to come in due to his parents spreading false information to ruin his career. while he was physically healthy, he was under a lot of pressure as he always saw toxic comments about himself. and that's when his weight fluctuation started in the form of him gaining about 3 kgs in his legs due to stress.

it wasn't that horrible nor was it that obvious but it didn't stop the eagle eyed haters from noticing it. sadly, the hate didn't stop. not at all. instead, it got even worse as people started to attack his body as well, making up the nickname 'fatyong'.

COMEBACK #1 WITH INSERT SONG NAME

sudden weight loss, lots of hate, loss of confidence, diagnosed with general anxiety

during this era, the continous weight loss was obvious on his figure but even with this change, people still criticized his looks for seeming unhealthy since the quick weight loss was strange. things only got worse during the following months. here are some of the things people have commented:

[+45, -8] Um... I'm not trying to hate but he still looks like a pig, he still looks different from the other members
[+40. -32] How did YG even cast him? As a main dancer you should have a slim and fit body
[+82, -9] I hope he gets kicked out, he's just ruining BLΛƆKOUT's reputation at this point

and so the hashtag #yongoutofblackout was formed and used across countless posts, yg entertainment didn't respond to any of hate he received and didn't clarify whether he would be kicked out of the group or not. with yg not doing anything to protect him, yong lost a lot of confidence and after the members insisting and haneul threatening to hit him with his slipper, yong went to see a psychiatrist and got diagnosed with general anxiety disorder

COMEBACK #2 WITH INSERT SONG NAME

extreme weight loss, hate still keeps on going, so is his loss of confidence, hiatus

yong kept loosing more and more weight because of his inability to eat anything due to nausea or throwing it right back up. some fans defended him from any hate to his body although it still wasn't enough. yong often kept his head down during performances due to having low confidence and his anxiety, which made him gain sympathy from people

[+56, -4] I've seen Yong keep his head down during performances recently and it makes me so sad T-T He's so handsome so he should keep his head up instead
[+62, -2] I feel so sad seeing Yong being uncomfortable and anxious
[+58, +14] He deserves love, not hate. He hasn't done anything wrong!

throughout promotions, he lost more weight and it became obvious that he wasn't happy nor healthy since he looked very emotionless all the time

this was the lowest yong's weight had ever gotten. he was approximately 53 kg ( 116 lbs ), severely underweight for his height and not in good shape at all. things got too much for him when rehearsing for their third comeback and after almost passing out, he finally decided to take a hiatus until his health got better at least. yg entertainment then let out a statement regarding his health and his future activities in BLΛƆKOUT.

❝ ...member yong will be temporarily halting group promotions due to health concerns and personal reasons. for the past few weeks, yong had difficulties smoothly carrying out scheduled activities for BLΛƆKOUT's promotions due to health concerns and personal reasons. as a result, after discussing the matter with all eight of BLΛƆKOUT members, yong has decided to temporarily take a break from group promotions. BLΛƆKOUT's comeback will carry out as scheduled but with 7 members, with the absence of yong... ❞

yg had a bad reputation already for not speaking out against the hate yong received so some fans accused them of already being aware of his unhealthy condition but deciding to ignore it for him to lose weight. yong's fanbase grew immensely and he received large amounts of loving comments which made his recovery easier.

the members weren't allowed to talk about yong or his wellbeing while he was away but the leader briefly said in a vlive 'our giant baby is recovering because of hate, he's handsome and very talented so shouldn't that be enough?'

COMEBACK #4 WITH INSERT SONG NAME

return from hiatus, small weight and muscle gain, confidence rising

this comeback marked the return of yong from his hiatus, in a much healthier look. his legs seemed to fill out and he looked to be in a pretty healthy weight for himself. he also seemed to gain more confidence, as he was shown vibrant and very talkative in variety shows, so fans felt assured that he was at least slightly better. it was obvious to the members that he was still getting over the incident from their last comeback but tried to seem unbothered about it, looking very happy and almost always smiling. his estimated weight at that time was 58 kg ( 127 lbs ), still underweight for him but nonetheless an improvement as he had also started to work out and gain muscle.

COMEBACK #5 WITH INSERT SONG NAME

healthy weight, more support

during this era, yong looked be getting more muscular in his arms and thighs. he always seemed so happy and his real personality shone through during v-lives and variety shows. after a variety show where he showed his locking and popping abilities, fans speculated that yg was trying to hold yong back from showcasing his true abilities and he became very popular once again. there was only one time he talked about how the issue with his parents and the hate comments stemming from it affected him and that was during a somewhat of a "letter to blackout fans" type video. yong said:

"as you know, during my debut i was struck with false accusations and it affected me badly. i didn't even want to leave the dorm to go to practice at one point. i honestly thought i was traumatized and wouldn't be able to perform again. just before our comeback with "insert comeback #3 title song", the members told me i almost passed out. i really don't remember what happened because i was just... how can i say this? tired? under pressure? the next thing i know, the members and our choreographer are all surrounding me and seulki hyung and haneul are literally yelling at me to take time out for myself."

COMEBACK #6 WITH INSERT SONG NAME

new look, bouncing back

people were shocked to see this bright and cheerful side of yong, he fit the concept perfectly and easily owned this era with his bright smile. he seemed very fit and healthy, maintaining a weight estimated to be around 63 kg ( 138 lbs ), very healthy for his height and body type. he also looked to have gained a lot more confidence and realized that no matter what people say and no matter how much he weighs, he is absolutely gorgeous.

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MOON YONG'S WEIGHT CHART:

DEBUT: 70 kg ( 154 lbs ) -> 73 kg ( 160 lbs )

SECOND COMEBACK: 65 kg ( 143 lbs )

THIRD COMEBACK: 60 kg ( 132 lbs ) -> 53 kg ( 116 lbs, time of hiatus )

FOURTH COMEBACK: 58 kg ( 127 lbs )

FIFTH COMEBACK: 60 kg ( 132 lbs )

SIXTH COMEBACK-PRESENT: 63 kg ( 138 lbs )

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-haru's corner: and here i was, thinking about making this span for about four eras, but nope, my brain was like 'make him miss out on the third comeback!' and frankly, i thought it would be unrealistic. sadly, we see this kind of intolerable behavior all the time towards people and although in the k-pop industry, it is aimed more towards women, men can, and often times do, go through this as well. weight fluctuations and eating disorders do affect men as well. no one, and i repeat, NO ONE should be treated this way just because they do not fit someone's ideal body standards.