K-pop idols and politics: does former AOA member Kwon Mina’s Instagram criticism of President Moon Jae-in mark an end to Korea’s decades-old taboo?
- Unlike in Hollywood, where actors slamming politicians might be the norm, in Korea it has ended K-pop and K-drama stars’ careers
- But now Kwon Mina is openly worrying over Covid-19 vaccines and singer JK Kim Dong-wook mocked the Korean government over corruption and property investment
Unlike in Hollywood where actors often feel free to criticise or mock politicians, the atmosphere in the Korean entertainment scene has always been quite different.
For celebrities, commenting on people in power has been a long-held taboo. Several celebrities found their careers coming to abrupt and unexpected ends after criticising politicians. Watching stars pay the price for their politically motivated comments became a warning for others to keep their mouths shut.
But lately, some entertainers have begun to challenge that decades-old taboo by sharing their candid opinions about political affairs.
Kwon Mina, a former member of K-pop girl band AOA, blamed President Moon Jae-in for skyrocketing housing prices in the greater Seoul area.
“Housing prices are rising … President Moon played a part in this. I wonder if Korea is heading in the right direction,” she said during a recent Instagram live. She then expressed worries about the safety of Covid-19 vaccines. “I need to get the shot, but I’m scared because there were several people who suffered after getting vaccinated. I will get it once the president is inoculated.”
After facing backlash from the president’s supporters, she added, “I know making political statements is dangerous. But before you see me as a public figure, I’m also a member of the Korean public.”
Singer JK Kim Dong-wook, whose career was cut short after he made a series of critical remarks about the incumbent administration on social media, opened fire again, this time at unspecified corrupt officials from the state-owned Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) accused of having used inside information about urban development plans to invest in property.
“So for you guys, purchasing property was just like eating the snack matdongsan,” he wrote. (The word for property in Korean, dongsan, and the name of the crunchy peanut biscuit, matdongsan, sound similar.)
“Have you guys ever thought of sharing the delicious snack with other citizens?” he said, mocking the government with the hashtag #MatdongsanParty and #MastersofPropertySpeculation.
I know making political statements is dangerous. But before you see me as a public figure, I’m also a member of the Korean public
Experts say more stars will venture to walk the tightrope by making comments critical of the government as there seems to be less systematic retaliation that can arise from their remarks, meaning less risk to their careers than during past regimes.
Culture critic Ha Jae-keun pointed out that in the past, stars were discouraged from speaking out publicly due to strict censorship under authoritarian rule when political retaliation was actively practised.
“It hasn’t been long since Korea achieved democratisation. Seeing the political statements made under dictatorships subsequently being subject to retaliation made the topic taboo in the industry. Even after authoritarian regimes ended, that sentiment became fixed almost like a custom. Within such an environment, an artist making any kind of political comment immediately stood out and was taken very sensitively by the public,” Ha said.
Besides political repression, culture critic Jung Duk-hyun suggested another reason that motivated celebrities not to talk about politics: “They know the risky nature of speaking out as public figures. If they reveal their political leanings, which are bound to be divisive, it could possibly ostracise some of their fans.
“But compared to the past, as more entertainers are more openly calling for social justice and becoming politically active with no clearly enforced forms of government censorship, the general public is becoming more accepting toward those with different views, Jung added.
However, even in the absence of a controlling government, Ha cautioned that many stars may still feel pressured not to express their opinions due to more hardcore supporters of politicians. If stars speak negatively about certain politicians, he said, they could come under attack by extremists.
