Racism and Stereotypes

If you are going to use other cultures in your own music or concepts the least you can do is educate yourselves on the basics of the respectful culture. Not only is it extremely ignorant and racist, it is also offensive to stick by the stereotype of a culture and perform absurd actions through that other culture.

It is time we learn that Indians are not only people associated with curry, turbans, the overrated snake charmer dance and dots on their foreheads. As a country of 1.2 billion people, we are full of rich culture and religion that you should know of and respect as a basis. If you are going to use Indian music or culture in your concepts, it is ur duty as an artist to educate yourself about that culture and not only foolishly go by the stereotypes. From 4minutes "Volume up Indian ver" to recent group "Oh my girl's" racist remarks about the Indian culture though their comeback and many more racist stereotypes by numerous KPOP idols, ignorance is present.

And not only the Indian culture, but shameless associations with the black culture such as dreads, twerking, style, etc. should not be tolerated. Many idols have taken the black culture as a joke that they can shamelessly replicate and use for entertainment, but that should not be tolerated. Remarks about dark skin are not funny and should not be taken as a joke either. The concept of only white skin is beautiful is not to be tolerated, because all skin types are beautiful in their own places.

I have seen numerous examples of body and skin shaming by many idols. In a country that is number one for their plastic surgery, it is also crucial to know that beauty doesn't always lie on the outside, and you need to know that you should be proud of everything about you, dark skin and flaws and all. It is time as an industry for you to educate yourself about other cultures to not only accept the world as it truly is but also to respect other international fans from cultures that you are blatantly ripping off from.

I feel very unfortunate to have to write this message but as a women from another culture being forced to see this happening, I had to take a stand. And not only should you educate yourself to other cultures in order to not be racist and ignorant, it is also something you should do to bring KPOP forward in order to make it more worldwide, because as long as we have racist production groups and idols that go by disgusting stereotypes, KPOP will not be able to become something all cultures cherish. As someone that has loved KPOP for many years and is head over heels in love with many idols, I am in no way provoking anyone, as this is just a message of awareness. Thank you.

Back to Top ↑

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
topbomlover1 #1
Yeah, it makes me reaaaally uncomfortable when an idol jokes about someone's "dark" skin or when they impersonate the black culture by acting all thug-like. Is that what they really think? They need to realise that it's not an excuse to say it's their culture and instead they should be respectful and understand that those remarks are actually very rude.
PrincessVivi #2
Okay I'm looking at these comments are there are people defending racism by kpop groups???

It's 2016. Korean entertainment companies are seeking to expand their markets to all around the globe, as seen by CL's release of a Spanish version of "Hello es", the show "Amazing India", KCON in Abu Dhabi, Paris, the U.S., etc. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GLOBALIZE WITHOUT BEING AWARE OF THE CULTURES YOU'RE GOING TO???? It's absolutely ridiculous and these companies can't use the excuse of ignorance in their countries!!! Because they are LITERALLY trying to gain traction in the same foreign countries that they are mocking!! I honestly cannot believe some of you LOL how are y'all defending racism???? Damn.
MissMinew #3
But ... How about we teach them when we encounter these ignorant remarks instead of just assuming that they're bad people who haven't done their research? It's actually not that easy to get a feel of a culture unless you're in direct contact with someone who can tell you about it - something I doubt a lot of kidols are.
I agree with what you've said, but ... I just feel like the way to tell people is to teach them when they do something instead of shaming them for not knowing in the first place ;;
rabidfangirl #4
While I ABSOLUTELY agree with what you said I just feel the need to point out that it is not entirely the fault of the groups or companies or Korea for that matter . Most Asian countries are still very closed minded and are still holding on to beliefs that came from many years ago when tanned skin implied lower class such as farmers. And many are not fully culturally aware so yes while they misrepresent many cultures and make rude comments they really don't mean to cause harm to anyone. I personally have experience with this in my own family, both my parents were born in Asian countries and my father and my grandmother used to make intolerable racist comments and were closed minded about beauty standards (such as the naturally tanned skin and slightly smaller eyes of pretty much every one we saw)but after coming to the U.S my father became more informed and more sensitive about other cultures an over the years his views have become more and more open. When I ask him about these things he simply says that when he was living in the Philippines he was taught that the things he said were okay because no one thought much about it. Many Asian countries still have a lot of growing to do and are beginning to change their ways slowly but surely. so I do believe that one day, soon hopefully, we won't have to hear and see the things we hear today regarding other cultures.
PrincessVivi #5
YES YES YES I SECOND ALL OF THIS I LOVE YOU
Back to Top ↑