but even slowed down, through illegal pathways with just a bit of time the result will be the same. I think that at a certain point so many will have been influenced by hallyu in China that there will be no real point of restrictions. Instead, the gov't will have to adapt not to lose power.

To me it is obvious that fans are willing to travel for pop culture, and the region has much to offer. Sure, I can see how allowing K-pop acts to perform or more games to be released in China could boost South Korean influence..

For a long time hallyu has been banned from China, despite the millions of Chinese fans who make frequent "K-pop tourism" trips to South Korea anyway. But I don't believe the ban works effectively on stopping the entrance of hallyu into China.

let's take China for an example. As a large nation with equally large markets that Korean companies target, they hold a lot of power, and are very well aware of it.

One such impacted "industry" is pop culture. Korea, with the help of globalisation, is constantly increasing their influence on pop culture all over the world, most noticeably on their neighbors.

Politics play a role in absolutely everything, especially big industries that import and export product, whether it be intellectual or physical.

so they don't partake in viewing idols with that same mindset, making it unnecessary for companies to continue on the same path as they did before blatantly objectifying the female idols.

in Korean opinions on what is ok but also the global audiences'. Even if we toss this aside the women are still the ones most often participating in fandoms and that same objectification of female idols has taught the female fans that they are not the subjects in these situations, ...

The next and seemingly more plausible factor that comes to mind is the fandom. The fans whose reactions dictate many aspects of the industry. First, globalisation brings in the perspective of fans unfamiliar with the "culture" of K-pop, triggering heated discussions online that are based not only...

the change in portrayal.

NewJeans’ label ADOR responds to criticism of “sexual” lyrics in ‘Cookie’ with extensive statement NewJeans' label ADOR has released a lengthy statement addressing the controversy surrounding the lyrics of the single 'Cookie'.

that doesn't mean they don't cleverly conceal it though. Not only in the context of music VIDEOS, lyrics get criticised too. Like for example the criticism NewJeans' "Cookie" received. Members' ages were brought up in this case as well, nodding toward the nodding towards that possible factor in ...

First, it could be argued that the debut age of female idols has gradually lowered to where 15 years of age could be considered as almost too old to debut. For obvious reasons companies cannot take the same concepts and approaches to the music videos of these groups.

If we look at K-pop girl group videos now and compare them to girl group videos in the past, it is quickly noticeable just how much less openly sexualised the idols are. I can speculate a couple of reasons why this would be the case.

"clever" rebellion, fuelling the path change to more freedom, not at a low cost, however. Usually it is the first case, especially when the fans are young and impressionable, so this is just one way to make future women compliant just how the military service does with men.

seeing how these "role models" are treated and what the consequences are, many girls who truly idolise them could get the message that they will definitely face severe backlash if even the celebrities do. But there also may be fans whose reaction to these situations would be more inclined towards...

it's not just seemingly "feminist" actions that are prevented by shutting female idols' mouths. It seems that the same method can be used to shut them up before they cause a ruckus or worsen a situation (subjectively)

this could be considered defamation but since it's against a woman many don't blink an eye (excluding orbits of course who pulled off a mass boycott at the start of this series of events between group members and the company)

Chuu breaks silence after removal from Loona, denies any 'shameful acts' Three days after she was ousted from Loona, Chuu has opened up for the first time about her ongoing dispute with BlockBerry Creative and denied committing &

the usual reaction of the public towards these types of accusations toward women don't just fuel individuals, but sometimes also companies. Take Chuu and BlockBerry Creative for an example. It wasn't enough that she won in court and got to go free. www.koreaherald.com/article/3010...

of course there are male idols who have been accused of similar "crimes" but it never seems to reach the same severe reaction point. Irene's situation was a case of workplace ethics and professionalism but even so she just apologised and kept quiet without trying to explain her side of the story.

many others did come forward with positive work experiences but that did not change what had already happened and Irene's online presence disappeared for a significant amount of time.

Unpacking Red Velvet Member Irene’s “Gapjil” Controversy The K-pop artist has been called out for allegedly mistreating a fashion editor during a photoshoot.

For example, Irene's "'gapjil' scandal", where she was accused of mistreating and verbally abusing a staff member who complained about it online leaving her name out but it was soon confirmed to be her by the apology she issued. hypebae.com/2020/10/red-...

Before even considering any possibly "feminist" messaging they might send, we should consider how differently their actions are viewed even within the workplace during production of content.

Korean celebrities are figures people look up to, whether they want it or not they are always someone's role model. Women are usually more strictly watched for possibly influencing young fans, so they have to make sure their simple mindless actions aren't misinterpreted.

they are being purposefully disrespectful because they do not fit the Western definition of "masculinity". But then why feel almost threatened by those who DO fit this definition? It's a complicated mindset I wish I could dissect and understand someday.

blatantly disregarding their nationality which is a whole different issue in itself. From my observation these are usually male family members who do this and it's almost always without explainable cause. These are the "soft masculinity" representatives they're talking about. It's almost as if...

As much as it annoys me when someone assumes I like BTS based off of the newfound knowledge that I enjoy following K-pop groups, there is almost always the same amount of people who will then proceed to refer to any male idols as "those Chinese boys" not only attacking their masculinity but also...

i've noticed that international k-pop fans and koreans share a similar view on this. none have issues with the masculinity in k-pop. it's usually the non-fans; the "outsiders", the friends and families of k-pop fans. That's who is usually making "jokes" about the idols that fans tend to like.

More "masculine" K-pop acts immediately face the challenge of breaking the gender/racial norms when viewed by Western audiences. They don't fit the stereotype - this is much harder to accept than the funny character of Psy.

The Western media didn't seem to be embracing him not in spite of what could be referred to as clownish acts and self-mockery, rather they were embracing him BECAUSE he seemed to be playing the role of a minstrel.

Briefly looking at Psy, he was the first Asian pop star to truly break into the U.S. mainstream (Park 2015, 196). Although his image-goofy, non-threatening and sexless-fit neatly into long-standing Western stereotypes of emasculated Asian men (Ibid., 197).