In the 2016 article “Cosmopolitan Strivings and Racialisation: The Foreign Dancing Body in Korean Popular Music Video.”, Saeji Cedarbough argues three main categories of cosmopolitan strivings visible through the incorporation of foreign bodies into K-pop music videos; authenticity, atmosphere and sexuality (Cedarbough 2016: 268). I will use atmosphere and sexuality to discuss the ways in which Jay Park uses foreign bodies in his MV, appreciating culture rather than appropriating cultures. Cedarbough states that “the presence of dancing bodies demonstrates the group/singers star wattage, sends a message of inclusion (one world, enjoying together) and situates the video in transnational context.” (Ibid: 273). Jay Parks recent MV for single “V” is a perfect example of this. Jay park incorporates women from multiple different countries and nationalities in his MV, sending the message “that he supports/embraces other cultures and does not discriminate, while also increase his “star power” or global popularity.
Sexuality of foreign bodies in K-Pop tends to be a way K-Pop artist objectify foreign women, through, as Cedarbough mentioned, hypersexualizing them stimulate interest and attract more views. These women tend to be used as props rather than love interests in these MVs and as argued by Cedarbough play the role of neither the love interest nor the sexual desire of the K-pop star in focus. Jay Park deviates from this common use of foreign women by having MV where a African-American woman such as in “Me Like Yuh” or a Latina woman such as in “Hulk Hogan” or a plethora of different woman in “V” are the love interest of Jay Park, rather than an sex object to make him look better, deviating away from the standard use of foreigners in K-Pop or hip-hop music videos. Therefore, all though there are many MVs where foreign bodies are used merely as prop to gain authenticity, Jay Park in many ways incorporates foreigners, especially Black and Latino individuals in his MVs to appreciate them rather than appropriate, and by doing so actually gains recognition and authenticity.
Cedarbough, Saeji T. “Cosmopolitan Strivings and Racialisation: The Foreign Dancing Body in Korean Popular Music Video.” In Korean Screen Cultures: Interrogating Cinema, TV, Music and Online Games, edited by Andrew David Jackson and Colette Balmain. 257-92. Oxford: Peter Lang Publishers. 2016.