Former Berry Good member Johyun, now known as actress Shin Ji-won, has found herself at the center of an online debate after her recent film appearance.
A video from the VIP screening of Karlovy Vary showed her in a fitted burgundy dress, but viewers quickly focused on an unusual-looking detail around her lower abdomen.
Some people questioned the styling, while others felt strangers were picking apart a woman’s body.
One commenter asked, “Maybe she’s wearing a pad?” Another wrote, “Can women ever just exist without people saying sh*t?”
Johyun drew widespread attention after her dress became the main talking point due to an unusual detail
Shin Ji-won attended the VIP screening and stage greeting for Karlovy Vary in Seoul, where she appeared alongside fellow cast members.
Karlovy Vary is a comedy directed by Lee Youg-seok. Shin Ji-won plays cinematographer Kang Ha-na, with Oh Ji-ho and Lee Je-yeon as co-stars.
For the premiere, she wore a burgundy ribbed knit maxi dress with a fitted silhouette, a cross-shaped V-neck, and a long skirt.
The material hugged her figure, and the event’s strong lighting made some of the dress’s contours stand out.
One particular shape around her lower abdomen quickly caught viewers’ attention.
Shin Ji-won was also seen keeping both hands together in front of her body during parts of the stage greeting. Some viewers thought she appeared aware of how the dress looked.
“She should have seen it before leaving if it was a pad,” one said, while another wrote, “Did she not check the mirror before going out?”
Others, however, defended her, writing, “Having a FUPA is a crime? Get a life.”
In 2016, Shin Ji-won debuted as Johyun, a member of the K-pop girl group Berry Good. After the group disbanded in 2021, she continued working in entertainment before changing her stage name to her real name.
After her dress went viral online, Shin Ji-won appeared completely unbothered
Shin Ji-won appeared to carry on with her normal life. On September 6, she shared photos with her dog and captioned one moment “LOL.” The casual post came while the outfit discussion was still circulating online.
That did not stop the trolling, though.
Some people continued to criticize the styling. “What’s that bulging out?”
Another asked, “Is the stylist her anti-fan? They should have paid more attention.”
Someone else wrote, “The styling was too much.”
But not everyone thought the outfit deserved such intense scrutiny. One netizen said, “It’s just natural creasing.”
Others suggested the unusual shape could have been caused by the event setup rather than anything about Shin Ji-won herself.
“It seems like a lighting issue,” one person wrote, while another suggested, “It looks like audio equipment.”
Apparently, this isn’t the first time Shin Ji-won has dealt with fashion-related backlash
In 2019, when Shin Ji-won was still known as Johyun, she appeared at a red-carpet event for the e-sports program Game Dolympic 2019: Golden Card.
She dressed as Ahri, the nine-tailed fox character from the popular video game League of Legends. Her costume included a garter belt and a large purple tail.
Some viewers called the outfit “too revealing” and criticized it as vulgar.
Johyun later addressed the reaction herself.
“I’m also human and a regular Korean woman whose emotions and thoughts waver as a result of criticism and words of support,” she wrote on Instagram.
She added, “I believe we should respect everyone regardless of their gender because we all grew up in different environments and think differently. I love everyone who is living in the same era as I am.”
Shin Ji-won’s latest fashion debate is not the only controversy she faced this year
In June 2026, Shin Ji-won became involved in a political discussion surrounding South Korea’s local elections and protests over a ballot shortage.
She posted photos connected to the protests and wrote, “Citizens of Jamsil! Citizens of South Korea! Please make sure to eat and take care of your health.”
Her post later drew criticism after she responded to a message describing protesters with politically charged language.
Shin Ji-won replied, “Are you not a citizen of South Korea?”
She also wrote, “Are the people cursing really citizens of South Korea? Both the Democratic Party and People Power Party are saying this is serious, so whether it is 1 or 2 is not what matters here.”
The situation became personal when a fan warned her that speaking publicly about politics could hurt her career.
Shin Ji-won admitted she was afraid of that possibility.
“My hands and heart shake sometimes, too,” she wrote.
She went on to say that she had spent her 20s building a career she loved and was scared of losing it. But she also made clear that she was prepared to accept the consequences of speaking as a citizen.
“But if it comes down to people hating me for what I do, then I will leave behind everything I have so preciously protected until now. I can just work even harder and live by doing part-time jobs.”
Furthermore, she denied deliberately supporting one political party over another.
Netizens shared their opinion on Shin Ji-won’s unusual detail
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