Should Chinese K-pop stars bow? Culture clash hots up, sparked by China-Korea Olympics controversies
- Contentious decisions at the Beijing Olympics have prompted fierce debate between Korean and Chinese internet users – which has spilled over into K-pop
- Chinese members of pop groups are being slated for not bowing like their Korean counterparts, but some experts argue fans should ‘respect cultural differences’
By Dong Sun-hwa
Anti-China sentiment triggered by recent Winter Olympics controversies has spilled over to K-pop, with internet users quarrelling over whether Chinese K-pop stars should bow like Koreans even though both cultures have different customs.
They criticised the SM Entertainment star for celebrating an “undeserved victory”, claiming that the Chinese skaters ranked first despite missing the controversial exchange during the race.
They started to share a photo of Ningning standing when other Aespa members were sending New Year’s greetings while on their knees to their fans in 2021. The photo – a screen capture from a video on Aespa’s official YouTube channel – went viral, and social media users began posting photos of other Chinese K-pop singers, such as Seventeen’s Jun and The8, who were also noticed for not bowing in the past.
“They should leave Korea if they do not want to respect our culture,” reads one comment.
In Korea, bowing is used as a respectful greeting during the new year, as well as to elders and people who are more senior.
In China, however, it is an expression of loyalty and worship, so Chinese people reportedly bow only to the heavens, earth and their parents. Hence, a wave of Chinese social media users are showing their support to Chinese K-pop singers, praising them for following their own cultural practices.
Instead of bowing, she did a Chinese-style greeting, but this still provoked numerous Koreans’ frustration. Following the fuss, her management company Yue Hua Entertainment announced that Wang would temporarily put a hold on her musical activities in Korea and stay in China for the time being.
“Under normal circumstances, the incident involving Ningning and Wang Yiren might not have been a big deal,” Lee Gyu-tag, a professor of cultural anthropology at George Mason University Korea, said.
“Koreans’ negative sentiment toward China is adding fuel to the fire, but they should not force Chinese K-pop stars to conform to all Korean customs and slam them for not doing so, unless these singers undermine crucial Korean values.”
The professor underlined that Koreans should also put themselves in others’ shoes.
“For instance, Koreans would also be offended if people in the US asked Korean singers to act more like Americans because that is their primary market,” he said. “Thus, I think we should respect cultural differences instead of going overboard.”
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“We cannot ask foreign K-pop stars to abandon their identity, just because they are active in Korea,” the professor added.
On February 2, the Korea Music Content Association issued a statement, saying: “We respect different opinions about the controversy, but we need to remember that the role of music and K-pop is to connect people of diverse backgrounds regardless of their nationalities, races or religions.”
