Source:
https://scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3051389/how-female-k-pop-idols-suffer-gender-inequality-and-are
Lifestyle/ Entertainment

How female K-pop idols suffer gender inequality and are held to different standards: ‘It’s totally unfair’

  • Former K-pop idol Way from Crayon Pop says there are stricter standards and more limitations for female idols than male ones
  • Incidents involving girl groups Lovelyz and AOA, and Tiffany Young of Girls’ Generation, highlight how K-pop females are treated harsher than males
Former K-pop idol Way from Crayon Pop is now a YouTube creator for her channel “Wayland”.

K-pop singer Way, a former member of girl group Crayon Pop, remembers being confused when her agency once called her and other members of the group to discuss the revelation of a relationship between two K-pop idols.

According to Way, the Chrome Entertainment agency said the career of the female celebrity was virtually over now that the relationship had been made public. The agency warned them not to get involved in any romantic relationships if they valued their careers.

“I didn’t understand why the company was saying that only the girl’s career had ended when the relationship involved two people,” Way tells the Post. (A spokesperson for Chrome Entertainment said they were not aware of the conversation).

In South Korea, the issue of gender inequality – also known as “men’s gender authority” by feminists – has been making headlines in both domestic and international news coverage of the country.

Mijoo from girl group Lovelyz read out sexual and predatory comments being made about herself during a live-stream, a video of which went viral.
Mijoo from girl group Lovelyz read out sexual and predatory comments being made about herself during a live-stream, a video of which went viral.

Gender authority can take many forms. In South Korea, one of the most obvious examples can be seen within the K-pop industry, where observers say girl groups are criticised more harshly than their male counterparts for the same behaviour.

In February last year, a video of Mijoo, a member of girl group Lovelyz, reading sexual and predatory comments being made about herself during a live-stream spread like wildfire online in South Korea. “Show us your breasts,” read one comment.

In the background, viewers heard another member of the group quietly swearing about the comments off camera. After the video went viral, Lovelyz members received fierce criticism and were told that their image as a girl group had been damaged.

Lovelyz’s agency, Woollim Entertainment, released a public apology, but the drama continued as media outlets swooped in to report on the controversy.

K-pop girl group Lovelyz.
K-pop girl group Lovelyz.

Meanwhile, a viral compilation video showing different male idols swearing – including Sunggyu from Infinite – resulted in no backlash or coverage by media outlets. (Though the male idols’ swearing was not directed at fans – like the Lovelyz video depicts – the crux of the criticism toward the girl group was at the swearing itself, not who it was aimed at. “They were acting like an innocent group. This is a huge turn off,” one comment read.)

“The public treats female celebrities more harshly because Korean society has a very male-dominated structure and a culture that discriminates against women,” says Kim Sujeong, a communication science professor at Chungnam National University. “People demand that female K-pop idols are kind, submissive and mature. Then they get irked when idols do not fit the norm.”

Way is no longer involved in the K-pop industry, but says that when she was an idol, she felt intense pressure to conform to public expectations of how a female idol should act.

“My agency told me to speak more like a girl group member and talk in a cuter way in a higher tone, because the public doesn’t like it when girls speak bluntly and freely as I do,” Way says.

Tiffany Young was harshly criticised for uploading an image of the Rising Sun Flag on her Instagram.
Tiffany Young was harshly criticised for uploading an image of the Rising Sun Flag on her Instagram.

Meanwhile, Tiffany Young of Girls’ Generation received harsh criticism in 2016 when she uploaded an Instagram story that included an image of the Rising Sun Flag, the wartime flag of the Imperial Japanese Army which many Koreans associate with memories of violence. Although Young shared a handwritten apology almost immediately after posting the photo, public anger did not subside and she was removed from the reality show Sister’s Slam Dunk.

The timing of the post – made on Korea’s Independence Day – added fuel to the flames. But some felt the criticism of Young was disproportionate, especially considering her immediate efforts to repair the damage.

Oh Ji-eun, a Korean singer-songwriter, fired back at Sister’s Slam Dunk’s decision to remove Tiffany from the show, tweeting: “I think this situation has gone this far only because Tiffany is a young woman … Don’t you think situations like this happen way too frequently when they are about young women?”

Tiffany Young’s Instagram post containing an image of Japan’s Rising Sun Flag.
Tiffany Young’s Instagram post containing an image of Japan’s Rising Sun Flag.

Oh was referring to an incident on a Korean reality show involving Seolhyun and Jimin of girl group AOA, who did not recognise a portrait of An Jung-geun, a famed Korean activist under Japanese rule. Many critics and media outlets raged over their ignorance of history, and the two K-pop idols shed tears while apologising at a comeback showcase.

Some keen K-pop observers noted that criticism of an idol’s lack of historical knowledge depended on their gender. They noted how differently the media and public reacted when P.O of boy band Block B was asked to name the place founded by Bak Hyeokgeose, a founding monarch of Silla, one of Korea’s Three Kingdoms. Although most middle-school students would be able to answer the question, P.O answered “China”, and the public stayed quiet.

The way people rage and threaten female idols who show even the smallest sign of being feminists shows how [what people expect of women] is blatantly different Kim Sujeong, communication science professor, Chungnam National University

According to Kim, the amount of criticism targeted at P.O was small compared with the response that the AOA members received.

“If it is not about gender and people just want idols to have a greater social consciousness, shouldn’t people welcome female idols who have an awareness of gender equality?” Kim asks. “But the public doesn’t do that.”

Feminism has been widely demonised in South Korea and women who express feminist viewpoints often face consequences, such as getting fired from their jobs. In 2016, voice actress Kim Jayeon was fired by game company Nexon after tweeting a picture of herself wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Girls do not need a prince”. The shirt was produced by feminist group Megalia4, an online community that many gamers have referred to as an “anti-man group”.

Park Yee-un, also known as Yeeun of the South Korean girl group Wonder Girls, sparked outrage and was accused of being a feminist after she posted a review of the movie Kim Ji Young: Born 1982, a film adapted from the 2016 book of the same name credited with launching the conversation about gender inequality in South Korea. One online comment read: “What kind of discrimination have you experienced in your life?” Another celebrity, Irene of Red Velvet, was also attacked for revealing she had read the book.

Meanwhile, Son Na-eun of girl group Apink came under fire when she uploaded a now-deleted Instagram post of herself with a phone case that had the slogan “Girls can do anything” on it.

“The way people rage and threaten female idols who show even the smallest sign of being feminists shows how [what people expect of women] is blatantly different,” Kim says.

Way, now a YouTube creator for her channel “Wayland”, said that some of her friends who are also former K-pop idols are happy in their new careers now that they are free from having to live up to harsh public expectations.

“There are stricter standards and more limitations for female idols than male idols, and it’s totally unfair,” Way says. “They say that society has changed a lot, but we still have a long way to go.”