We all know that K-pop is very heavy on the image, especially with the concepts, eyeliner, and general lack of clothing. I know that some ardent fans will argue that music in K-Pop is not just focused on drugs, sex, and money. They claim that it’s a lot more innocent. What world do you live in? If Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality didn’t exist, the lyrics of K-Pop songs would definitely be different. Would it be as blatant as songs in the West? Most likely not, but that does not mean that K-pop is always about innocent first loves. I can easily list off ten songs from male and female groups with blatant sexual themes. In fact I can list them right now, and in no particular order.
Female
  1. Dr. Feel Good – Rania
  2. Bubble Pop – HyunA
  3. Change – HyunA
  4. Abracadabra – Brown Eyed Girls
  5. Sixth Sense – Brown Eyed Girls
  6. Bo Peep – T-Ara
  7. Bang – After School
  8. Push Push – Sistar
  9. Chity Chitty Bang Bang – Lee Hyori
  10. Pop Pop Pop – Rania

Male
  1. Back 2 U – 2PM
  2. Love Song – Rain
  3. I’m Coming – Rain
  4. Hip Song – Rain
  5. Before U Go – TVXQ
  6. Breakdown – Kim Hyun Joong
  7. Love Ya – SS501
  8. Paradise – INFINITE
  9. Oh Yeah – MBLAQ
  10. Intoxication – Junsu

That took me two minutes to come up with and there are so many more I could list.  Am I appalled by the provocative dance moves and hip thrusts? No. But I am irritated by the claim that K-pop is ‘innocent’.

As I pointed out earlier, Korea has the MOGEF to ban songs willy nilly for suggested themes, so the lyrics are not all about sex and drugs. The closest thing we have in America is the FCC, and we just can’t cuss in our songs– other than that it’s free game. Could you imagine a MOGEF banning songs in America? Libertarians would flip a shit. In K-Pop the lyrics tend to get not as scandalous as some western songs, but the image is very heavy on the sex appeal– because it sells. Asian cultures are all on modesty and innocence, but then you have pelvic dances, booty shorts, and chocolate abs. So why isn’t Rain and his glorious body rolls banned?

The reason I came up with is this. In K-pop, everyone dons a persona on stage. They become performers and their true personality is shed. 2PM for example, has a very heavy focus on the sex appeal of their members, Taecyeon is a total beast on stage ripping shirts off like there’s no tomorrow. But if you see his behind the stage shots and interviews he’s a dork, an adorable dork, but a dork nonetheless. Because K-pop celebrities are constantly on T.V. especially during their promotional periods, they can prove to the Korean viewers that they aren’t what their concepts deem. These celebrities dance sexily but they themselves “aren’t” like that. You don’t get that kind of T.V. presence if you’re an artist in America. You do a couple of interviews on late night, and that’s it. In Korea they are constantly doing variety and talk shows in which they can prove that while they’re sexy beasts on stage, that is not who they are in real life.