K-Pop Culture under The Male Gaze

The idea of the male gaze was introduced by the British feminist filmmaker theorist Laura Mulvey in her essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. The male gaze often refers to how visual media and art, particularly cinema, present the world and women from a heterosexual male perspective.  (Mulvey, 1975)

In this post, I would like to talk about the male gaze in the K-pop (Korean pop) industry.

K-Pop (Korean Pop), is an international and popular music genre based in South Korea that has a great global influence and widespread global popularity. This music genre combines multiple music styles such as hip-hop, pop, rock, electronic, and R&B into a single unified sound. Its special blend of catchy tunes, smooth and eye-catching choreography, and high production qualities of shows have made it a global phenomenon and has gained many fans, but it has also faced criticism for elements of its culture that align with or challenge traditional gender norms.

K-pop music videos often employ visually striking and choreographed performances. Some people argue that these videos may perpetuate the male gaze by emphasising the physical appearance of the performers, particularly female idols. The use of certain camera angles, costumes, and dance moves may contribute to the objectification of idols. For those who follow K-pop culture, I believe that similar videos and images as below are not unfamiliar to you.

Revealing clothing, heavy makeup, and provocative sexy dancing. Does it look familiar? Kim HyunA, a South Korean solo female artist, released this music video of her song Lip & Hip in December, 2017. This video was mainly targeting her male audience. This was the main “reason why she showed so much skin and switched to a “sexier” approach in her choreography” (D’Angelo). This music video draws more attention to HyunA’s and other female dancers’ bodies rather than the music or the performance itself. There are lots of close shots of HyunA’s boobs and butts, and full of sexual innuendos such as dropping her panties to the ground more than once and pulling down her shirt to show her cleavage intentionally. In addition, every time when HyunA and the accompanying female dancers are dancing together, HyunA flares up her long jacket so that the camera could focus on her butt and white panties when they are doing hip rolls. 

This music video is not the only example of the sexualization of the K-pop industry, and HyunA is also not the only female artist who is oppressed by this culture. Basically, every South Korean female artist, especially idols (k-pop girl groups), cannot escape the male gaze and be sexualized because South Korea is a patriarchal society. It is so pathetic and sarcastic that in the 21st century, women have to please men to keep their jobs and to succeed. Should we still support this oppressed and unreasonable culture? I think the answer is a big NO.

Reference

D’Angelo, B. (n.d.). The Shocking Reality of K-pop: Sexualization. Available at: https://britinidangelo.wordpress.com/the-shocking-reality-of-k-pop-sexualization/ [Accessed 4 Dec. 2023].

Getty Images (2022). Girls’ Generation Performs Onstage during the Tencent K-pop Live Music at WAPOP Hall in Seoul, South Korea on August 31, 2015. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/12/1122480955/girls-generation-forever-1-anniversary-into-the-new-world [Accessed 4 Dec. 2023].

Mulvey, L. (2006). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. In: M.G. Durham and D.M. Kellner, eds., Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks.Steezy Culture (2022). The Top 10 K-Pop Girl Groups in 2022 plus the Most Followed and Richest of the K-Pop Girls. Available at: https://www.steezy.co/posts/top-10-k-pop-girl-groups-in-2022 [Accessed 4 Dec. 2023].

Steezy Culture (2022). The Top 10 K-Pop Girl Groups in 2022 plus the Most Followed and Richest of the K-Pop Girls. Available at: https://www.steezy.co/posts/top-10-k-pop-girl-groups-in-2022 [Accessed 4 Dec. 2023].