K-Pop has been on the rise for a couple of years, gaining more and more popularity across the world. When I first encountered the bright and colourful, intense and extreme world that is K-Pop, it was through the song Gangnam Style by the artist PSY. Back then, I didn't think much of it apart from that it was a rather catchy song and a cool dance routine. The next time I came into contact with the kpop world, it was through a friend who had made me curious about the music and bands for a rather long time.
The Korean music industry works in a very different way to the European or American one; it is pretty much ruled by three big record companies, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment. The musicians are recruited at a young age, 13-18, and then trained for at least a couple of years before they debut. The training methods are often criticised for being very restricting on the trainees, giving them little free time and harsh training conditions. All K-popstars have to look a certain type, and plastic surgery is quite common for both males and females. Their diets, especially shortly before a comeback, are extremely strict, and the right body shape is very important. For example, during one talk show a member of the audience thought it was appropriate to say that the girl group f(x) still had some weight to loose in his opinion, and then told one of the girls, Sulli, that she should loose some weight around her arms (Sources: x & x).
The member T.O.P. of the boy band BIG BANG is also known to have lost 20kg in 40 days, before his record label YG Entertainment would accept him into the training programme (Sources x, x, x).
What I like about the Korean pop culture though, is that it applies these standards onto both men and women equally. Both genders have to be skinny, attractive and wear make up as well as fashionable clothing. The record companies realised the immense potential to make the fans like a certain group or more, if they are more attractive, and therefore sexualise men and women equally. This is a very different point of view to the European and American pop culture, where the sex appeal of women is a lot more important to the success of an artist than the sex appeal of a man.
After following a couple of artists for a while, I have also realised the danger that this poses to the musicians, and the fans. To the fans, these kinds of images just repeat the message that women have to be sex objects, and add the subliminal message that men have to be that as well. They also make it look normal to be extremely skinny, and try to hide when they've had plastic surgeries. To the artists, constantly having these unrealistic standards applied to themselves can lead to high insecurity about their body and image, and therefore easily slip into depression or other personality disorders, as well as eating disorders. The K-pop industry is a very stressful environment, and long exposure to it can be harmful to the musicians. The before and after picture of T.O.P. also illustrates quite well that they go through quite extreme make-overs - imagine how it must make the k-pop stars feel when their record label tells them even though they are talented they can only be successful if they change completely how they look. Shouldn't music be more about what it sounds like than what the person who makes it looks like?
Charlie Crxsh
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| Sulli, for Ceci Magazine September 2013 (Source x) |
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| T.O.P. (Source x) |
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| T.O.P. - before and after his weight loss (and make-over) the image is a screenshot of a video, which I couldn't find, but this picture was posted on here: x |
What I like about the Korean pop culture though, is that it applies these standards onto both men and women equally. Both genders have to be skinny, attractive and wear make up as well as fashionable clothing. The record companies realised the immense potential to make the fans like a certain group or more, if they are more attractive, and therefore sexualise men and women equally. This is a very different point of view to the European and American pop culture, where the sex appeal of women is a lot more important to the success of an artist than the sex appeal of a man.
After following a couple of artists for a while, I have also realised the danger that this poses to the musicians, and the fans. To the fans, these kinds of images just repeat the message that women have to be sex objects, and add the subliminal message that men have to be that as well. They also make it look normal to be extremely skinny, and try to hide when they've had plastic surgeries. To the artists, constantly having these unrealistic standards applied to themselves can lead to high insecurity about their body and image, and therefore easily slip into depression or other personality disorders, as well as eating disorders. The K-pop industry is a very stressful environment, and long exposure to it can be harmful to the musicians. The before and after picture of T.O.P. also illustrates quite well that they go through quite extreme make-overs - imagine how it must make the k-pop stars feel when their record label tells them even though they are talented they can only be successful if they change completely how they look. Shouldn't music be more about what it sounds like than what the person who makes it looks like?
Charlie Crxsh
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