The New York Times: Calling K-Pop Stars ‘Identical,’ South Korea Tries to Limit Their Influence

[DocumentaLy]

 

HONG KONG — Doe-eyed with delicate features. A sharp jawline and willowy figure. Fair skin so clear it almost glows.

 

With many South Korean pop idols fitting that description in their sleekly produced music videos, their mass appeal has many of the country’s young people wanting to look just like them.

 

But in an effort to tone down their influence in a beauty-obsessed country where plastic surgery is rampant, South Korea’s government is trying to limit the stars’ presence on television, saying they look too much alike.

 

“Are all the singers on television music programs twins?†the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family wrote about the stars of K-pop, as their music is known, in broadcast guidelines released this month, according to The Korea Times.

 

“They seriously look identical,†it said, adding that many pop idol groups’ musical styles were “just as limited as their appearances.â€

 

The guidelines drew such criticism from fans that on Tuesday the ministry apologized for “causing unnecessary confusion,†and said that some of the recommendations would be removed or reviewed, the news agency Agence France-Presse reported.

 

Some compared the guidelines to the censorship imposed during the country’s military dictatorship during the latter half of the 20th century.

 

An online petition, calling for the ministry to be dissolved, read, “The ministry has dared to point out female idols for being too pretty, wearing the same clothes and being skinny,†according to the newspaper Korea Joongang Daily.

 

Ha Tae-kyung, a politician from an opposition party, compared the guidelines — which the gender ministry said applied to both female and male performers — to restrictions on hair and skirt lengths during the dictatorship.

 

“There are no objective standards to people’s looks,†he wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday.

 

It wasn’t the first time Mr. Ha had defended influential K-pop band members. Last year, he called for them to be exempt from the county’s military draft, since top classical musicians are given exemptions.

 

The guidelines were intended to make television a more benevolent experience. Ministry officials said on Monday that viewers worried that television shows “exacerbate inequalities and gender stereotypes, rather than fixing it,†the Korea Joongang Daily reported.

 

In the guidelines, officials suggested that shows avoid featuring performers “whose appearances are exceedingly similar†in the same program.

 

One in three South Korean women have undergone cosmetic surgery between the ages of 19 and 29, a Gallup Korea poll has found — a trend that mirrors the narrow beauty standards epitomized by K-pop stars.

 

Some South Koreans have openly celebrated having cosmetic surgery, documenting their physical transformations as a rite of passage.

 

In a pair of videos called “Getting Pretty Before†and “Getting Pretty After,†members of the K-pop group SixBomb giddily went for manicures between appointments at a plastic surgeon, where their faces were prodded and poked.

 

 

“Getting Pretty After†showed them wearing pink bodysuits in an operating room, prancing out afterward with altered faces.

 

 

 

Source

 

[momo's lamborghini]

So many important news to cover about kpop and NY times chooses this

[#goddamnitkongwee]

^

American music scene is alway like this, controlled by lobbies.

[JihyoStoleMyHeartAYAYAY]

 

[UMJI MOODS]

Sigh. So many acts here or coming and this is Times Kpop news.

[Siobhan Halo]

OMG, it's true, see they all look .... oh, completely different to each other. (How good does Yeoreum look? What a stunner she is)

 

[evil4life]

this article is...strange they use SixBomb as an example but the group is literally infamous because of their ps publicity stunt, besides that SK is basically being self racist by insinuating that people can't tell groups like RV, BP, and TWICE apart oh don't even get me started on the body shaming.....

 

like YES K-pop has no doubt contributed to an increase in popularity of ps and some idols of full of crap for making people believe they're 100% natural but at the end of the day if the government wants to do something about it they can start by banning or limiting the rampant amount of plastic surgery ads in the public

 

[eunkyul]

flop, stan sixbomb 

[Yeddong]

So many important news to cover about kpop and NY times chooses this

 

That's why I don't trust in American media.

[Balancetonquoi]

we dont even know this group lol why are they talking about it

[Aurorae]

So many important news to cover about kpop and NY times chooses this

...

BTW, this song is a BOP!!!! 

 

[DocumentaLy]

So many important news to cover about kpop and NY times chooses this

 

 

Sigh. So many acts here or coming and this is Times Kpop news.

 

But what would you expect from an entity like The New York Times? It's not some fanblog.

[PockyAddict1989]

Once again, i'm reminded why i don't like most western coverage of kpop. 

 

It always has the same problems that western coverage of Jpop has.

[momo's lamborghini]

But what would you expect from an entity like The New York Times? It's not some fanblog.

No it's worse than fanblog

[Hazard125]

No it's worse than fanblog

The New York Times is one of the most respected papers in the world. This is just how America still sees kpop as a whole so this is what is reported on that’s not BTS news.

[momo's lamborghini]

The New York Times is one of the most respected papers in the world. This is just how America still sees kpop as a whole so this is what is reported on that’s not BTS news.

NY times is shit ,their writers are trash ,I know about that paper and how racist they are and not just against kpop 

[Hazard125]

NY times is shit ,their writers are trash ,I know about that paper and how racist they are and not just against kpop

 

Are you sure you’re not confusing it with the New York Post? That’s a trash paper known for being racist. I don’t know what you’re talking about with the Times and I live here. It’s the most respected paper in the country.

[momo's lamborghini]

Are you sure you’re not confusing it with the New York Post? That’s a trash paper known for being racist. I don’t know what you’re talking about with the Times and I live here.

I am not confusing anything ,just bcos nyt is against trump dosent mean they arent racist themselves ,one such example is posted here 

[justtree]

I understand and appreciate the reasoning and concerns behind the ministry's recommendations. However, in my opinion in order to broaden Korean beauty standards trying to control the existing idol industry is not the best way to achieve that. Instead I think they should spotlight the benefits that come from having beauty that is not typical or they can develop a campaign highlighting Korean people with diverse physique and occupations. Moreover, I think idols themselves are not the issue, the issue is when children and/or adults (including fans and/or idols themselves) mock/ridicule/bully people that have physique outside the beauty standards. I think addressing these mockery of others' physique would also be a more constructive way in widening narrow beauty standards. 

[Problematic]

East Asians all look alike where have I heard that before? Everywhere

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using OneHallyu

[remembering]

Feeds into the stereotype

[NoIdeaWhyImHere]

So many important news to cover about kpop and NY times chooses this

What K-Pop news do you think is more important than the government of Korea saying most idols look and sound the same and that, that needs to be changed?

 

Like i get that this is stupid fucking topic and the government is idiotic for even bringing this up, but there is not much news K-pop related that is more important than it this week. Should they have just written a throwaway article about BTS' stadium tour or Blackpink's tour to get clicks or something? The only other event even remotely close in magnitude is the whole Seungri thing and that is even more of a mess than this to get into.

[momo's lamborghini]

What K-Pop news do you think is more important than the government of Korea saying most idols look and sound the same and that, that needs to be changed?

 

Like i get that this is stupid fucking topic and the government is idiotic for even bringing this up, but there is not much news K-pop related that is more important than it this week. Should they have just written a throwaway article about BTS' stadium tour or Blackpink's tour to get clicks or something? The only other event even remotely close in magnitude is the whole Seungri thing and that is even more of a mess than this to get into.

The biggest news in K-pop is that seungri thing ,it's a legitimate news not this stuff which not even kpop fans care about and just promotes negative stereotypes about K-pop or Korea in general

[NoIdeaWhyImHere]

The biggest news in K-pop is that seungri thing ,it's a legitimate news not this stuff which not even kpop fans care about and just promotes negative stereotypes about K-pop or Korea in general

The issue i see with them reporting on the Seungri stuff is that not even Korean new sources are getting good information or have a clear picture of what is going on aside from very basic stuff. This news on the other hand is an official from the Korean government making these statements in an official capacity and not just some off the cuff remark that was taken out of context or just their personal opinion on the issue. The Korean government has taken an official stance and made it clear that want to take action to rectify the situation. I honestly don't think anything will come of this because it seems ridiculous but if it does end up happening it's huge news, who gets to claim what "Look" or concept and how do they determine if a group is different enough to be allowed.

[remembering]

The biggest news in K-pop is that seungri thing ,it's a legitimate news not this stuff which not even kpop fans care about and just promotes negative stereotypes about K-pop or Korea in general

I think the government imposing unreasonable guidelines to TV STATIONS about certain people is huge news. It means that they have no respect for the idol industry, which brings billions of dollars into the slowing Korean economy.

 

The people in charge of KBS, SBS, and MBC are handpicked from this government who probably think they have to implement these guidelines made by this government.