what’s wrong with k-pop

shinobi-imagines:

I bet some of you following my blog are currently avid K-Pop fans so perhaps some of you may have heard the news of Kim Jonghyun (김종현) of SHINee and his suicide. Although I don’t really consider myself a fan of K-Pop, I did have my time and SHINee was probably my favorite band back then. So this tragedy punches a hole in a part of my childhood. 

Let begin with why I stopped being a connoisseur of K-Pop. It has a lot to do with what I saw from it as a culture. At the core, it was the toxicity on both the fans and idols created by these big entertainment companies. While I cannot speak for why Kim committed suicide, it’s still one of those things that really makes me think about the life of an idol. Their lives from the moment they step into an entertainment company (ex. SM, YG, JYP), they are controlled and restricted of all sorts of freedom. Popular bands like BTS are not allowed to date or even remotely show any sort of romantic interest. 

So why is that? Why are they so controlled? I believe it is for two reasons. One, the companies are selling a fantasy that needs to be perpetuated by the youth. The reason why most idols, especially rising ones, are not allowed to date is to keep the fans happy and to keep idols as far away from celebrity drama as possible. Two, hardcore fans are crazy. You yourself may consider yourself a crazed fan so you may be offended, but I am talking about a whole different level of insane. I have had friends who have been TRACKED down to be threatened by fans for a silly picture (please do not ask for details on this just believe that it is true). If you follow the K-Pop community you’ll know that members from EXO, I.O.I., EXID have been physically violated and had their privacy invaded (like setting up cameras in bathrooms). I thought it was weird enough that fans in Korea actually refer to male members as “우리 오빠 (oori oppa)“ in casual conversations which translates to “our big brother (오빠/oppa being an endearing honorific and not some 1984 reference).” What do you mean they’re yours? These people who have been held as the epitome of Korean culture pay the price of losing their own identities and are manufactured by the companies to be sold.

Then again, the case can be argued for various bands. BigBang, for instance, is pretty laissez fare. Scandal after scandal, drug abuse after another. Well, there is a generational gap that must be taken into consideration. BigBang has been around for years and K-Pop was also not as sensational on a global scale. Same goes for 동방신기 (TVXQ), Highlight– formerly known as BEAST, SNSD, and SuperJunior. All these groups have been highly successful, but now we hear news of them dating and basically live life as they should have been. Also, their fans have aged with them. While this is only a personal theory, I can’t help but think that there is truth in an overarching maturity. Now I am not blaming the fans. Not at all. I mean, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t fantasized about going on a date with T.O.P. The people to blame are the companies that are taking away basic right from idols and making susceptible little girls (like me) fall for these people. YG’s WINNER confesses that their band wasn’t even allowed to leisurely travel or even drive a car. Now the case can be made that the company wants to protect their members, but South Korea is a democratic society where freedom should be both a privilege and a priority. Yet, that does not stand true in many situations even outside of K-Pop. Unfortunately, that itself is a whole other story, but do feel free to ask me questions about my perspective on life in Korea.

These idols themselves are direct representations of the darkest parts of a capitalist society where it’s money over anything else. That notion stems from a lot of different things much of which is not only embedded into our society but also our history of continuous oppression immediately followed by rapid development. Essentially, we have been taught that doing what you want often has too many consequences. While that is a lesson we all eventually learn in life, Korean idols and Korea, in general, have taken it to another extreme. In the instance of K-Pop stars, they are often underpaid and strictly monitored on all fronts (from the companies to the fans to even the haters). Again, I would like to reiterate that this may have nothing to with Kim Jonghyun’s suicide, but please do not just blindly mourn the death of a talented man. Rather think about all his accomplishments and what it must have taken to get to where he once stood. Remember, life as an idol is far from perfect and that many of them have laid down so much for you and me, their beloved fans. Some idols have gone from extreme poverty in a society that is already hard enough to succeed in, to a position where they can no longer move freely as an exchange for THEIR OWN DREAM. Please do not ruin their dreams to perform and produce music. After all, they are humans and not gods. 

김종현씨, 소고많았어요. 이제 편하게 쉬세요.