K-pop girl groups ditch their Lolita looks and join ‘corset-free movement’ in South Korea
- Dreamcatcher danced barefoot, Mamamoo performed in sweatshirts and sneakers, Loona shot a video in trouser suits
- Some observers dismiss this as ‘marketable feminism’, but others see the start of meaningful change in the music industry, and fans have responded positively
By Park Jin-hai
During a recent live television concert, the members of K-pop girl group Dreamcatcher threw away their high heels between songs and danced barefoot as they performed their song Chase Me.
On another show in March, girl group Mamamoo took to the stage wearing sweatshirts and sneakers during a performance of their song Waggy, while the music video for girl group Loona’s new song Butterfly shows members wearing trouser suits and includes women of other races and different body shapes and styles.
K-pop girl groups were previously seen as almost all identical, but they now appear to be thinking outside the box and trying to create their own styles. They are joining the “corset-free movement” of young women in South Korea who are challenging long-held beauty ideals, and abandoning the signature styles that once dominated K-pop – revealing clothes, high heels, thick make-up and Lolita-like school uniforms.
Seventeen-year-old K-pop fan Kim Bo-mi said she started following Dreamcatcher after watching the clip showing the members dumping their high heels on stage. “Many girl groups wanting to look pretty have trouble wearing high heels when performing on stage. When I saw Dreamcatcher comfortably performing with no heels, I was happy to see that idols have started changing,” she said.