Lets Talk about K-pop : Because there is no difference between Culture Unawareness and Culture Fetishism
January 06, 2014
And how both demoralizing and idealizing a culture makes you look like an ignorant douche bag.
What I really find ironic about racism toward black people in Korea is that many people, most of them idols are pretty much continuously emulating black culture and its influence in both the entertainment and fashion industry. Korean singers and dancers want to sing like black people, dance like black people, make songs and music the same way as black people do, dress like black people and yet there is still so much racism against black people.
It’s like saying you like everything about a person, but just not them.
Granted, they say the racism is coming from an older generation, but blaming your elders about being cultural insensitive it’s always the easy way out. It may be partially true, but it’s not the only racism that is out there in Korea; not when idols are constantly teased because they have a darker skin tone, not when tanned people are called ‘outdoor sports “victims” ’, not when 99% of the skin care products Korea sells have ‘whitening’ properties.
Guess what? She is not that fair skinned.
That is not coming from the stereotypical racist senior citizens, that is coming from young people who are worried about getting too dark because of sports, from young women wanting to get a shade lighter, from teens that criticize their favorite member because he/she is ‘dark’.
I love Korea, I think is a beautiful country and I’m studying really hard not only its language but its history, food and influences but these things truly makes me wonder; Is K-pop (and Korea along with their inhabitants) really prepared for being as global and massive as they want to be, or they will sink under the pressure of a world who will not condone this type of behavior?
