Kpop is a word that has been gaining more and more space on the internet, especially in recent days, where its fans have been performing feats admired by the general public, such as taking down apps to denounce participants in American protests, flooding hate speech tags with videos of their favorite artists and making Trump believe he would have a gigantic audience by confirming their presence at his rally.
With all these years of protest, it is not rare to see on social networks, such as Twitter, messages of support and admiration for the kpopper community, even after several years of contempt and preconception by that same group of people. In the meantime, what is to be questioned by this post: Where do you see these positions? Why are kpoppers politically aligned with popular actual movements? Is music related to that?
Is that a recent phenomenon?
My history with kpop is not that recent: I got involved with the music genre in mid-2012, well before the big explosion it had in western lands, and today I am practically an old lady within the community. I don’t know younger groups that well, 60% of my playlist is dedicated to groups that no longer exist and I’m no longer involved as I used to be, but I can say that within kpop I was often exposed to lyrics about revolution, empowerment and inclusion .
Of course, within this same industry there are many problems: machism, bullying, exploitation of idols, work in conditions analogous to slavery, xenophobia and much more, but this is the subject for another post. This one is to understand and praise lyrics and moments that led us to where we are now: politicized kpoppers against machism and authoritarian movements.
We can start talking about female empowerment and the image of women, which was built over the years by girl groups that faced the prejudices of the time and opened the way to the current scenario, where various female groups talk about empowerment and beauty.
Despite this being a well commented, accepted and even expected subject for current groups, years ago the culture of empowerment was not popular and, many times, not even well regarded. It is worth remembering that the kpop industry is based on trends and that for a group, not following these trends can mean failure, few sales, hate from Korean extremist fans and the like, so when we have groups like Miss A that in 2012 launches “I Don’t Need a Man”, with lyrics that talk about female independence, paying your own bills and not needing a man to do it for you, we’re talking about a risk that opened doors for other groups to talk about the same subject and about songs that women identify with and mirror.
A year later, Girl’s Day released “Female President,” a sexy concept song that says if a woman can be president, we can achieve anything, there’s no need to hesitate. It’s still possible to see comments talking about the “vulgarity” of the group, which shouldn’t expose themselves so much, a common case when we see female groups that use sensuality, however minimal, in their videos and songs.
Even before these groups, brave women like Lee Hyori challenged the Korean patriarchy with “U Go Girl”, “Bad Girls” and “Miss Korea”, as well as being positioned against the strict South Korean beauty standard.
B.A.P, a group that no longer exists, right in their debut song “Warrior”, criticizes society’s system and the cold way of looking at problems, while encouraging people to be warriors and not let injustice choke them. “No Mercy”, “Power” and “One Shot” are other songs from the group that scream the group’s dissatisfaction.
One of the most famous groups today, BTS, despite having in their main songs the most current lyrics that talk about love, began their career criticizing the South Korean education system, famous for being extremely rigid and even punitive for students who do not dedicate themselves completely to him, sacrificing time and mental health, as the lyrics of “No More Dreams” and “No” say. Most recently, BTS’ “Am I Wrong” makes up in upbeat music and colorful costumes critical of South Korean government scandals.
Finally, depression and mental health has also been a hot topic in the medium through songs and discussions. G-Dragon, leader of the group Big Bang, brings in most of his albums the feeling of emptiness he feels and how being an idol and having everything he’s always dreamed of doesn’t seem like enough. RM, leader of BTS, also brings in the songs written by himself the feeling of loneliness, lack of self-love and how depression hits him. “Superstar”, from G-Dragon, and “Reflection”, from RM, are recommendations for understanding this perspective.
Talking about depression, self-esteem, female empowerment and socio-political issues in the lyrics encourages young fans to think, reflect and discuss their positions in the world, and that’s why it’s so easy to find Kpop fans disgusted with the current world as time passes, all of your favorite artists talk about it through songs, choreographies and even posts on social media.
At the same time fans are always bombarded by machism and xenophobia attacks on groups, bizarre news from within the industry such as human trafficking and allegations of prostitution, in addition to the unfortunate suicides that happen due to depression and the pressure existing on the singers. Because they are living all the time with such powerful music together with such a sick world, most fans are not completely alienated, they bring these problems with them and adapt them to their realities, as each country faces different problems.
In the end, the great wave of Kpop and the positioning of its fans is the result of the growing dissatisfaction that young people feel about the current situation in their countries or communities and who feel in the songs of their favorite groups the voice they need to feel that they can change the world.
