(CNN) South Korea's government has withdrawn guidelines that criticized the "similar appearance" of K-pop stars and aimed to diversify the industry, following an outcry from fans of the wildly popular music genre.

The guidelines, issued to Korean broadcasters last week by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, warned that the interchangeable appearance of K-Pop groups could lead viewers to develop unhealthy standards of beauty.

But critics said the guidelines were an attempt at "censoring" the profitable industry and could deprive its many fans of the chance to watch its stars. The department will now revise parts of the guidelines, a spokeswoman told CNN.

The "beauty standard of music shows is a serious problem. Most of them are idol band members but they don't represent various appearances (of society)," the original guideline document said.

"Most members of idol bands have similar appearance, such as skinny body figure, light skin color, similar hairstyle, body conscious clothes and similar make-up," it added.

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