Korean Idols are expected to conform to Korean values, promote Korean culture, and act as role models and representatives of Korea on the international stage. Part of this is showing patriotism and supporting nationalist values, particularly when it comes to issues surrounding modern history and territorial disputes. However, with rapid globalization and the growing export of K-pop into various regions, it becomes increasingly difficult for idols to maintain neutrality on these issues. Koreans want idols to show patriotism, while international fans want idols to sympathize with their local causes. These conflicting perspectives are often irreconcilable, as one contradicts the other (Fedorenko 2017: 499).
I agree that it is not possible for an idol to publicly and explicitly support Korean nationalist views while maintaining popularity in the regions where those views clash with the local agenda. For instance, an article in Newsis from February 21st, 2012 revealed that when Kim Taehee came out in support of Korean territorial control of Dokdo, a disputed island in the East Sea, she received backlash from Japanese fans and had Japanese advertisements cancelled. There is no room for balance, since idols can either support, or oppose Korean nationalist views.
There are two ways for idols to keep Korean fans content, while avoiding backlash from international audiences. One is for idols to avoid talking about political issues completely, and ensuring that all of their produced content including music, scripts, and social media posts are as neutral as possible. While this is effective for the most part and the strategy most idols tend to use, it may seem unpatriotic to some which is bad if the idol is more popular in Korea than anywhere else. The other method is avoiding any explicit public stances on issues involving other regions, while using media to promote and celebrate Korean history. This naturally leads to fans, both domestic and international, talking about the issues themselves, without getting the idol involved.
To understand the second method and to see why it is effective, we must see an example. Bada, a popular Korean singer from the group S.E.S., made several posts on social media in 2016 of her celebrating Gwangbokjeol, the Korean Independence Day. Korean fans were happy to see their idol show patriotism while the Japanese fans had no issues with her celebrating a national holiday and talking about history. Not only that, any international fans that were previously unaware of Korea’s colonial past could learn about it.
Fedorenko, Olga. “Korean-Wave Celebrities Between Global Capital and Regional Nationalisms.” Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 18, no. 4 (2017): 499.
Yi, Jaehun. “Dakeshima, Gim Taehee balmokjapda… Dokdo allimi hwaldong pyojeok [Takeshima, grabs Kim Taehee by the ankles… Dokdo Awareness Activity the Target].” Newsis, Feb. 21, 2012. http://www.newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20120221_0010535560.
Written by Jun Hyung Park
Hi 준형, if the author of the Newsis article wrote in Korean, please Romanize properly using RR romanization. If you’re unsure, you can use this site, which works well from Korean to Roman letters–> http://roman.cs.pusan.ac.kr/input_eng.aspx
Hi Dr. Saeji, thank you for your feedback and recommending the useful site. I’ve (hopefully) now romanized the author’s name correctly. Sorry about not seeing this sooner. I didn’t realize I had a comment filter on, which I’ve now turned off.
It’s acknowledged that Korean idol industries had already expanded around the world, and it’s tough to find a balance between the local expectation of international fans and the patriotism which required by Korean fans. I agree that the best way to satisfy the Korean fan’s requirement and to keep attracting international fans is to remain neutral. If the idols never engage in an advertisement or a collaboration which is politicized, fans will pay more attention to idols’ music, videos, and personas but not the political stand of idols.
Your suggestion is thoughtful and effective for the most part. However, I think that being neutral is not always the best way to attract fans, especially Korean fans. As taught in class, Korean idols cannot become popular internationally without the support of the Korean fans. Simple actions like using social media to exhibit their nationalistic pride and patriotism could significantly help with building a positive image for idol groups.
It may be true that staying neutral could satisfy both the Korean fan’s expectation and attract international fans, however, I think that being a public figure in Korea, and the occupation of an idol makes remaining neutral on political matters and not openly expressing patriotism impossible. Kpop has certainly become a global phenomenon, as Waris mentioned, many entertainment companies aims to be more internationally popular by auditioning and selecting trainees of different nationality. This is a great way to attract fans from all over the world and at the same time still promoting nationalistic elements. By expressing their patriotism but refrain from engaging themselves in political matters that are too controversial, i think would help to satisfy their fans in general.
I agree with what you suggested! Despite be in an out of the American gaze over the decades, Korean pop stars have been pressured to keep up with the growing Western demands, as discussed in lecture and pointed out in the article by by Shin Hyunjoon and Kim Pil Ho (2014: 279-280). The struggles of balancing nationalism and the international demand, whether through music or politics, has only been heightened as “Hallyu” is on the rise.
As you mentioned Andrew, Korea’s political conflicts have mostly been with their neighbouring countries, particularly with Japan, rather Western regions. I believe entertainment industries have try to combat this issues on a commercial level by creating diverse groups. This trend has been on the rise with groups such as NCT and Got7, as well as many other groups, succeeding internationally by having diversity within their groups. The ability to speak multiple foreign languages and perform and interact with fans worldwide allows international fans to feel connected with their favorite artists. Other groups with less diversity tackle this issue by releasing their songs in multiple versions, with a focus particularly on the Japanese market. Many international fans find Korean popular music appealing because it consists of a great balance of the familiar and the foreign.
Majority of groups do a great some in appealing to the Korean audience considering that they are the dominant target audience of their music. Artists are constantly appearing in CFs, variety shows, performing fan service and holding concerts expressing their love and appreciation for their Korean fans and their country. In terms of remaining nationalistic, Olga Fedorenko suggests that for Korean artists to thrive on a global level, they need to remain impartial to political issues, however also noting that remaining entirely neutral (Fedorenko 2017: 498) , especially with the political tensions today involving their nation intensifying, is tremendously difficult. I feel that idols try to take the safe route in not expressing any strong support to any political causes with the fear that it will upset a demographic of their fan base. In a way they are forced to walk on eggshells because they are considered “idols”, and are placed on such a high pedestal to be role models to the Korean youth. However an article posted April 17th 2017 on Korea Exposé focusing on the Sewol Ferry tragedy, is an example of Korean artists able to express solidarity to their nation without enticing criticism from international fans. Many Korean celebrities were able to commemorated the victims, at the time of the incident and throughout the years on the anniversary date of the tragedy through social media by posting the yellow ribbon, despite the additional presence a strong political connotation to the symbol.
Therefore, I believe that it is possible for artists to express patriotism to their nation as well as appealing to the international audience, as long as they do not express opinions too far on either side of the political extremes. Focusing on the music culture will allow them to prosper of a international level.
Fedorenko, Olga. “Korean-Wave celebrities between global capital and regional nationalisms.” Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 18, no. 4 (2017): 498-517
Park, Seohoi Stephanie. “Politics of the Yellow “Sewol” Ribbon.” Korea Exposé. https://www.koreaexpose.com/politics-yellow-sewol-ribbon/ (accessed 09/25/2018).
Shin, Hyunjoon, and Pil Ho Kim. “Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Group Sound Rock.” The Korean Popular Culture Reader, no.1 (2014): 275-95.
I totally agree with your ideas about how Korean idols should be mindful of what they are posting on social platforms since one small mistake could lead to an irreversible damage on their careers. As we have learned in class, the Korean society is extremely sensitive to biased and/or political matters and the ongoing Japan-Korea disputes make it harder for the Korean idols to gain support and popularity in Japan. Like you have mentioned above, most of idol groups are multicultural and even the Korean members are continuously learning different languages, mainly English, Japanese, and Chinese, in order to connect with their international fans. As K-pop is becoming more and more popular worldwide, idols are under this constant pressure to please both Korean and foreign audiences. One of the strategies that the entertainment companies have been employing is to have separate promotion periods and what I mean by that is when idol groups release their new albums, they will initially perform in Korea to attract the local fans and then will eventually stop performing. After, they will travel to various countries and start performing there for the international fans. As idols have unbelievably busy schedules, allowing them focus on one group of fans at a time can have a huge difference on their career success.
I agree with the statement that it’s hard for Korean idols to maintain a balance to please both domestic and international fans because they must be cautious with their actions, words and the things they put on social media at all times. A big controversy that occurred in 2016 was when Tiffany Young from Girls Generation under the label SM Entertainment during that time posted a picture on her Snapchat using the Rising Sun Flag filter that wrote “Tokyo”. Tiffany didn’t intentionally do it on purpose to anger her domestic fans but wanted to let her fans in Japan know that she was in Tokyo (she was doing a concert there), therefore she used the filter. However, her Korean fans said she should have known that the day she posted the picture using the Rising Sun Flag filter was the same day as the Korean Liberation Day (when Korea defeated Japan) and that she could have used a different filter. After this incident, Tiffany’s reputation went downhill in Korea to the point where she was removed from a variety of TV shows because she disrespected her own country on a very important date. This goes to show how one mistake can affect your whole career as an idol. In addition, I also agree with the statement you made about ways Korean idols can keep their domestics fans content, while avoiding backlash from their international audiences. I believe for a Korean idol to maintain their popularity both domestically and internationally is to avoid any political or historical issues in their songs/lyrics because there’s always going to be an audience that’s opposed to their views. If a Korean idol wants to post about a historical moment that has happened in Korea on social media, they should only talk about Korea to avoid any criticism internationally. A good example of a K-pop group that avoids any political or historical issues is BTS. BTS is a group that makes their songs based on the younger generations that are struggling with mental illness or suffering from bullying, which are issues everyone can relate to hence their popularity internationally and domestically. Overall, being a Korean idol is not as easy as people think it is because there’s a lot of pressure that comes with it such as being cautious with everything you do, trying to meet the fans expectations, and dealing with criticism.
I strongly agree with your statement, and the event which you mentioned about Tiffany Young reminds me of another issue of a Korean American rapper who called Steven Yoo. At the peak of his fame and just before he was on military service, he announced that he decided to become a United States citizen. His irresponsible action makes his fans and Korean government infuriate. Thus, in 2002, the Korean government banned him from coming back to South Korea (Kichi 2017: 27). According to Steven Yoo’s issue, it’s obvious to see that Korean idols should not show their political views in order not to against the requirements of Korean fans and government.
As you mentioned about BTS in your response, BTS claimed that they collaborated with a famous Japanese music producer, Akimoto Yasushi. However, when Korean fans found out that Akimoto Yasushi is a right-wing, they were indignant, and they sent requirement to Bighit Entertainment (the company which BTS belongs to) for canceling the collaboration. At last, under high pressure from the public, BTS canceled their cooperation with Akimoto Yasushi. In this event, BTS’s choice is wise because if they continue the collaboration, the expectation of the idol’s patriotism will be violated. The best way to meet Korean fans require and to keep attracting international fans is never talking about politic in any form and in any way. By avoiding politic, international fans and media will focus on idols themselves but ignoring their nationalities and political views, and the balance between Korean fans and international fans can be developed.
Kichi, Danny. “Why is this K-pop legend banned from entering South Korea?” DramaFever News. https://www.dramafever.com/news/who-is-this-kpop-legend-banned-from-entering-south-korea/ [Accessed 26 Sep. 2018].
Korean idols are often put in a very tight spot when it comes to politics, for example, Korea and Japan’s dispute over Dokdo for several decades. Whether they publicly take a stance on a certain issue or not, they would receive backlash either way. An article in The Dong-A Ilbo from August 27th, 2012 reported that when KARA was asked for their opinion on the territorial control of Dokdo in a press conference, the members were not able to give a reply because of the host’s intervention. As a result, they were heavily criticized by Korean netizens for staying silent. This clearly shows that K-pop idols cannot freely express their thoughts without getting bashed because their livelihood solely depends on their reputation. Because idols are public figures, they have more pressure to show off their nationalistic side. This issue is not exclusive to Korean idols but also to foreign K-pop idols. No matter how much an artist tries to please both their domestic fans and international fans, the scale would never balance out — unless the fans cooperate by respecting their idols’ political views, or by leaving the fandom.
I can agree with everyone’s point that idols can at least try to avoid criticisms by remaining neutral as much as possible, or by just celebrating Korean history and culture in their social media accounts. Even though these two methods seem to work effectively for all parties involved, I personally think international fans should not be shocked if their idols voice out their opinions when it comes to issues concerning their own countries, no matter how disappointing they might be. Many people tend to forget that idols have their own opinions, views, values, ideas, and feelings.
Having said that, it would not hurt if idols educate themselves at least on Korean history. In the recent years, idols have been embroiled in history-related controversies due to their ignorance. Because of their massive influence on youths globally, the Korean government expects them to set a good example since history must be passed on to the next generation for the future of the nation.
Lee, Jin-yeong. “The Dokdo dilemma for Korean Stars.” The Dong-A Ilbo, August 27, 2012,
http://english.donga.com/List/3/all/26/404548/1.
I strongly agree with your statement about idols should be able to express their own opinions and feelings even about the topics that could get criticized later on. It is impossible to meet everyone’s demands and no matter how hard they try, there will always be people knocking off their pedestals. I think it is amazing when Korean idols courageously show patriotism and encourage the younger generations to be proud of their nation.
I cannot agree more with the point you made regarding how as idols, role models, and beholding such influence with their popularity, they must set a good example by educating themselves on Korean history. As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility, their role in helping to build the younger generation’s patriotism and appreciation of their culture is crucial. The idol’s knowledge and education on the matter is also vital to their reputation: like we discussed in class with the case of AOA’s Jimin, her history quiz controversy was costly to her whole group. One can imagine that for her fans, her ignorance to Korean history is a betrayal to their support.
Also, as you said, international fans tend to see their idols as an image rather than someone that could carry different values or have different opinions on political issues. They should be granted the freedom of sharing their thoughts and opinions publicly, or show affection for their country, whether or not their international fans may believe that it is offensive. As public figures and as artists, there will always be a number of the crowd that will not appreciate them, but if they do not openly show their patriotism and keep nationalistic elements in their work, they may also lose their support from big networks.
Your opening paragraph shows understanding of the dilemma, yet offers the direction of your argument, that it is ultimately irreconcilable for K-pop idols to achieve balance. In particular, I like how you branch the methods used for idols to keep the balance between international fans and the Korean general public through a very holistic discussion of both. Some food for thought: how can you distinguish the expectations and outlets of expression placed upon actors and actresses such as Kim Tae Hee, as compared to a K-pop idol such as Bada, whom you later enlist as an example?
Good job!