When you think of Kpop, you think of the energetic music, the vibrant music videos, and the adorned idols. But did you know that Kpop became popular due to the South Korean government?

In the late ‘90s, South Korea was dealing with a major decline in the economy as they were heavily impacted by the Asian financial crisis, especially with the U.S.’ heavy “involvement” (imperialism) in the country and with how the Korean war never officially ended. In order to rehabilitate the country’s image and build influence, Kim Dae-Jung, the president at the time, decided to focus on an industry that could be built quickly with little infrastructure investment— Kpop. The government heavily invested and created a specific department in the Ministry of Culture devoted to Kpop. Now with Kpop being listened to and adored internationally (this global influence is known as Hallyu or the Korean Wave) the industry is bigger and more political than ever. 

What I really wanted to focus on with that in mind is sexuality in South Korea and how Kpop fits into that. While non-heterosexual/same-sex relations are not banned in the country, it is banned in the military (which is compulsory for all men due to the Korean war) and same-sex marriage is not legal. Despite that, you will often find same-sex Kpop idols regularly play-act romance* and have that image pushed by their labels and major (TV) networks. This contradiction is not a mere accident. Though major labels discourage idols from coming out and being open about their sexuality because it would hurt their career, they are encouraged to engage in “skinship” (to touch each other in public). Though fans would diminish at the news of their idols coming out or being in actual relationships, they love “shipping”, which is the culture among fans to imagine intimate relationships between their favorite celebrities (I know One Direction fans understand this). 

*Now just a disclaimer: my point is not focused on the individual idols as they are heavily controlled and censored by their respective labels, and since media/entertainment is politicized the government does have a major say in what goes.

Before social media, celebrities didn’t really share their lives so fans got creative. Fans often created romance between same-sex stars because fans didn’t think they were worthy of their idols themselves and the taboo of the same-sex romance made them “taboo”. The government took advantage of that as they saw how it riled up fans, and used that to their advantage to push popularity and sales. Now using homoerotic appeal in a homophobic country for political power and capital gain is already problematic, but now that more idols are finding the courage to speak up and be open about their sexuality, they are put into a hypocrital dilemma.

For example let’s take a look at an idol by the name of Holland, who quit his label because they would not let him debut as a gay artist. The label said it would be bad for his image, as a few other artists have been told the same thing, but it had been a dealbreaker for him. His sexuality is what caused him to be badly bullied over in school and he had his heart set on being open about it to the public. So he debuted as an independent artist and released a music video for his song “Neverland” that displayed a gay relationship. Holland was able to attract a lot of positive attention overseas, but in South Korea the reaction was either nonexistent or negative. Holland was even told by the music video producer that if he showed any same-sex relations, they would have to flag the video as 19 years old+. So he went ahead and did it, making sure to ask people to consider why there’s no age flag for a heterosexual couple but there is one for a same-sex couple. He said that he finds it sad that stars are urged to act homoerotic and do things like kiss each other just for entertainment, but is completely shunned when it’s genuine.

Holland is one of many celebrities in Korea who are outcasted due to their sexuality, but the defiance of industry norms has been growing. Though the rise of Kpop was for the interests of the South Korean government, celebrities are finding ways to aim it at Korean issues as well. Idols being able to stay afloat while coming out, being public about their sexuality, and or showing support for the LGBTQ+ community is all due to the globalization of Kpop. Though there are major changes that still need to be made in Korea, I wonder how the international support can garner a further push for equality?