Korean Pop Music has become a global sensation with the rising popularity of bands such as BTS, BLACK PINK, and TWICE. Garnering millions of fans worldwide, these K-pop idols (singers) are enlisted as role models for their fans who aspire to grow up and be like them.
Since most K-pop fans are women, they look up to female idols such as IU, JENNIE, Karina etc to be their role models. While looking at women in K-pop, it is interesting to note that the majority of them look similar in terms of weight, how they carry themselves and how they act. While they appear to look happy and in love with their jobs, many fans speculate that it’s just an act. Diving deep into the treatment of women in the Korean music industry, there are several reasons why fans might be concerned.
As a trainee, idols are required to pack up their bags and move to the company-assigned dorms away from family, friends etc. It is imperative to note that most of these trainees are children and pre-teens forced to be separated from their families to achieve their dreams. After moving to the dorms, these children are subjected to several hours of non-stop training each day until they make their debut. While training, they are forced to maintain a strict diet and weight. Sana from Twice revelled in a live stream that all members would get severely scolded if their weight increased and were forced to sneak in food so that they would not have to face the repercussions. Aside from the training and diets, all idols get weekly evaluations to see how much they have improved and if they are fit to debut. These evaluations have proven to be extremely stressful, as sometimes several trainees have been eliminated or never debuted even after years spent training. The overall mental ton of the trainee life has left several idols feeling depressed, and suicidal and caused them to have EDs.
Unfortunately in most circumstances for female idols, things tend to get worse after their debut. As a trainee, they are subject to criticism from their trainers and judges but as idols in the public eye, they face reproval from everyone. Netizens and media outlets tend to be harsher while discussing female idols compared to male idols. Several female idols have been called pick-me girls, criticised for the way they eat, called rude and even slut shammed if they end up getting into dating scandals. What many people tend to forget while reprimanding these idols, is that their every move is decided by their PR teams and companies. Idols have revealed that they are given a specific role before debuting that they are forced to adhere to in public. Yet ignoring those facts, the tabloids seem determined to ruin the reputation of female idols in the public eye.
Female idols are also forced to wear extremely short skirts and revealing clothes on stage and for award show events. Not having the choice to pick their clothes, several female idols are seen to look extremely uncomfortable in the clothes they are forced to wear on stage affecting their performance and being criticised for it. There have been several award shows in winter, where female idols seem to be freezing in the cold yet wearing a mini skirt with no coat.
Scandals that would barely seem to affect male idols such as being labelled as a playboy would destroy the reputation of female idols. These scandals are also the root of why there are very few successful relationships in the industry. Couples which were exposed by Dispatch all seem to break up in a span of a few months due to the severe repercussions and death threats from fans. As dating itself is such a huge scandal, many idols have to give up their dreams of starting a family and having kids.
As mentioned earlier, most of these trainees are pre-teens and debut at a very young age. This is because for female idols there seems to be a specific time limit till they are considered young, hot and popular. Once they reach a certain age, when they are considered old such as in their mid to late 30’s people tend to forget about them and move on to the younger, newer groups. Female K-pop idols seem to be modelled to attract the traditional male gaze, therefore their skinny bodies, short clothes, sexual music videos and behaviour are similar and why younger female idols are debuted.
With that in mind, the harsher treatment of women in the K-pop industry goes centuries back to how women are treated and pitted against each other in general. The ongoing rise of K-pop is finally beginning to shed light on the disparity between male and female idols, and the inhumane treatment of women in the Korean Pop Industry.
Comments