IVE's Jang Wonyoung Can't Catch a Break: Lip-Sync Allegations Follow Attitude Criticism

A video spreading under the title "Jang Wonyoung lip-syncing again?" put IVE's most-scrutinized member back in the hot seat this week, just days after someone in the industry went online to defend her.

The clip is from the Water Music Pool Party event held on August 16 at Everland and Caribbean Bay in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The other IVE members perform visibly and audibly throughout, with Ahn Yujin drawing particular attention for singing through what appears to be a knee injury, at one point grabbing a tent support pole to stand up and hit a high note. Jang Wonyoung's sections, by contrast, see a sharp drop in vocal volume, which is what triggered the lip-sync accusations.

Netizens went further than just the audio. Comments called her dancing "limp," accused her of prioritizing her appearance over her performance, and raised the familiar complaint that she has "lost her original drive." Others pushed back: she may have been in poor condition that day, the argument went, and her schedule leaves almost no room to rest.

The counter-narrative that made this messier

The timing of the backlash is awkward for her critics, because just before this clip circulated, a separate post went viral from someone claiming to work in the entertainment industry who had shot with Jang Wonyoung on set.

The account was detailed. A three-hour scheduled shoot, they wrote, wrapped in 40 minutes because Wonyoung had already positioned herself on her mark before the crew said a word, and was already posing by the time they looked up. The writer used the on-set slang term yarikiri, a word roughly meaning someone who dispatches their assigned work quickly and precisely, and said she was a textbook example of it. They also noted that she communicates her preferences clearly and draws a sharp line between professional and personal, which makes collaboration easy.

Fans circulated that post widely as proof of her professionalism. The contrast with the lip-sync accusations only sharpened the debate.

A longer run of controversies

The attitude criticism the insider post was responding to has a specific paper trail. In June, Jang Wonyoung was photographed crossing her arms while exchanging her passport at immigration ahead of a Shanghai departure, and the image spread fast. In July, another photo showed her standing with her arms crossed while an Everland staff member gave directions, same posture, renewed criticism, with opinions splitting between "disrespectful" and "it's just how she stands."

The lip-sync clip adds a new layer, but the underlying story is the same tension the fandom has been navigating for months: whether the criticism is proportionate or just a pile-on against an idol whose every frame gets audited.

Meanwhile, IVE is wrapping up their second world tour, SHOW WHAT I AM, with the final date set for September 13 in Taipei. Jang Wonyoung is also planning an exhibition called Annyeong together with fellow member Ahn Yujin.