Bust Magazine on “Bagel Girls” (베이글녀)
(Sources: left, right)
It’s a short article, with much that is already familiar to regular readers. But thanks to Grace Duggan of Bust Magazine for asking for my contribution, and I especially liked her insightful point about the artificial dichotomy the term imposes on young women. Indeed, if you extend it to behavior also, then that dichotomy pretty much describes the way they’re presented by the entire Korean media really:
Sexualizing young women for having childlike features sets off all kinds of alarms, regardless of whether or not they are over 18. The “bagel girl” label does more than infantilize women. It compartmentalizes them by applying two irreconcilable ideals: looking like a baby and a full-grown woman at the same time.
Read here for the rest, and here and here for some wider context. Also, here is my post about the “X-line” referred to in the article.
On a positive note, I was happy to read that actor and model Shin Se-kyung (신세경) at least rejects the term. But I’m not entirely convinced: just that single picture above, for instance, shows that she’s quite comfortable presenting herself as innocent-yet-sexy when it suits her. I’m unfamiliar with her career beyond noticing her numerous commercials and magazine photoshoots in passing though, so if people that do know her find that she’s, say, deliberately shedding her childlike image as she ages, then I’d be happy to change my mind!
Should the Sexualization of Teens in K-Pop be Banned?
(15 year-old f(x) band member Sulli {최설리} in February 2010 Oh! Boy Magazine; source)
In short, “yes, but…”(!), as I explain in this opinion piece I recently penned for the Korea Herald. It’s pretty faithful to the original, for which I’m grateful, but unfortunately two crucial sentences on boy-bands got edited out at the beginning of paragraph 4. It should read:
This is why this discussion is overwhelmingly about girls. However, owners of boy-bands too have been affected by the ensuing pressure to make them stand out from their competitors. Add in Korea’s notoriously high levels of illegal downloading, ensuring that profits in the Korean music industry are overwhelmingly from concerts and commercial endorsements (and which explains why 75% of Korean commercials feature celebrities), then courting controversy with ever more provocative performances is a no-brainer really.
Still, only 800 words long even with those inserted, at best the article only gives an introduction to some of the issues involved really. For any interested new readers and old readers that haven’t already then, please read my post Reading the Lolita Effect in Korea, Part 2: The role of K-pop and the Korean media in sexual socialization and the formation of body image for a much more comprehensive discussion of those, and for the many caveats I would have liked to have added to the generalizations in the article!^^
Sprechen sie Deutsch?
(Source)
If so, then let me direct you to an interview I gave last week for Deutschlandradio, on the economic factors behind the sexualization of minors in K-pop (I’m on at about 3:05).
Meanwhile, English speakers never fear(!), for I should have a newspaper article on the same subject coming out either this week or the next. And Part 2 of my translation of the “What did Depraved Oppas do to Girls’ Generation” article will be up tomorrow.
Update – With special thanks to Curtis for translating it, here is the short article that accompanied the radio report:
Economic Factors: Girlbands
Report by Malte Kollenberg and Fabian Kretschmer
(Girl- and boybands are an important part of the economy in South Korea. Source: plynoi)
South Korean boy- and girlbands are also internationally successful. A general music- and dance-style concept is created and from this concept a look is agreed upon. To acheive this look, the young band members go under the knife ever more frequently.
Pop music in South Korea is a major economic factor for the country. In 2009 the industry earned 30 million dollars, and according to government statistics, this number doubled in 2010. The most important market is the country itself, but Japan and the USA are also markets of interest. Korea’s largest record label, S.M. Entertainment, currently tours around the world with different bands in a Global-Audition-Tour.
Lavish Choreography
Girl- and boybands who present lavish choreography in large shows are typical for K-Pop – for example, the 13-member boyband Super Junior and Wondergirls. As is usual in the international music market, the bands are cast, and the musical style and looks of the artists are decided by the record label. Plastic surgery is generally accepted by South Korean society and is a standard in K-pop. From this arise greatly deliberated and perfectly coordinated images.
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