Should diversity matter for Western groups from kpop companies?

Hybe has allready enough "diversity" after they bought that company that has artists like Lil Yachti and co.

too much focus on diversity or focusing for equal diversity have negative effect for marketing
it shows some evidence already on some Hollywood remake or disney remakes

hopefully Hallyu should not put focus on diversity
it better focus on what make Hallyu
the reason it got popular

at the 1st place ...

i think what makes k-pop is the korean/asian but mostly korean idols

if not it's just people dancing rhythmically & singing with the k-pop tag which (in my opinion) would make no sense

well if they are planning american kpop groups than why not? people hate foreign idols anyway, but there's only like 3 foreign idols in kpop groups right now so i don't see a problem with more, it's not like all of kpop is going to be overruled by foreign idols, it's not that big of a deal.

I prefer only east asians, otherwise it would feel like any other western group

Kpop is like ballet

kpop groups are about uniformity and how well they fit with each other, not inclusiveness

If kpop audience truly wanted inclusiveness, the many groups who tried it before wouldn't have failed

Quote from Michael-6

too much focus on diversity or focusing for equal diversity have negative effect for marketing
it shows some evidence already on some Hollywood remake or disney remakes

hopefully Hallyu should not put focus on diversity
it better focus on what make Hallyu
the reason it got popular

at the 1st place ...

Exactly this. This is why we don't listen to western fans and the bs woke agenda. We love diversity but only when it matters. We are not going to token in people just for the hell of it. That's why so many western acts and even companies fail they hire people for their race or gender NOT for what their abilities and qualifications are, stop doing that. We don't do that here in Korea, we don't care what you are aslong as you have the credentials and can show you know what you are doing? You are hired on the spot!

If they want to call themselves a global girl group, then absolutely it should have western women and non Asians, but XG decided that didn’t have to be. So I guess it’s ok not to. Now since they set the precedent. Personally I really want to see it.

Now if a kpop group wasn’t intending to market outside of Asia, I don’t see the need to have any non Asian members…don’t really care for Blackswan.

I think a more appropriate question is how diverse do things need to be where is hard to categorise it as Kpop?

If your main target audience is for example America then there's a high expectation of fully English songs. If you're not singing in Korea then it's not really Korean pop. Or if there's a lot of non Korean members and maybe the Korean members are dual nationals who may have not been to Korea then again t's not really Korean pop either.

The whole point of Kpop is Korglish lyrics sung to boyband music with syncro dance. As long as they can speak the language, it dont matter what color they are.

I hope any groups HYBE/JYPE/SM are planning for America are not K-POP groups.

I want diversity, but like I said, I see no point in debuting KPOP groups in the US?

Especially when Korean groups can promote here like any other group. If they are going to promote American groups, then they should follow the NiziU formula. Train them in the KPOP system but make the trainees sing in the local language and look like the population they are targeting.

It'd be stupid to me for them to target America and make them primarily sing in Korean. If they plan to promote in Korea, then I guess they can sing in Korean, but if you are going to be promoting in the US, then what's the point of having them sing in Korean?

Quote from godkingteshub

They are audition locals to promote them in their local market (America), obviously there will be a global emphasis to a degree, but they won't be targeting Korea, hence they don't necessarily need to know Korean

Yeah, if that's the case, I don't see the need for them to be Asian specific.

Unless the whole purpose is to extend Asian representation in the West, then I suppose it's not so weird if they aren't diverse then.

This question is like HILARIOUS because kpop is literally just western pop groups but in korean.

I would say if you’re debuting as a Korean Pop group being able to hold the Korean identity is kinda important.

If you are, however, debuting a pop group in the west, what race should “the west” look like?

If it’s a western group. Diversity is a must. No excuse. If it’s not I hope western fans drag them for racism. I will be the first one dragging them.

all genres that succeed globally experience ethnic diversity whether deliberately or not. Rock and roll, jazz and blues are all African-American styles that at first were excluded by American whites and then later adopted. Hip hop even now has regional styles for LatAm, Korean, UK, Spanish backgrounds. Afrobeat is getting culture-vultured by American pop.

The existential crisis that KPop faces is what it will look/sound like when (when, not If) it goes global in the same way.

- Does the Kpop sound just get absorbed into the pop machine?

- Do different countries recruit their native Korean-speaking trainees?

- Does the West just adopt the Kpop model but refuse to acknowledge its roots?

There are so many ways this could go down tbh. But companies will try do it their way and I'm not convinced that a manicured corporate approach will work.

If they're a western group, they're by definition not a Kpop group. Therefore no one should care how many Asians versus non-Asians are included in the group. Frankly I think any purposeful focus on a group's ethnic make-up is stupid. You want to create a western group? Okay, then hire the applicants from that country who are best suited for the job. If that happens to result in an ethnically diverse group, fine. If it doesn't, that's also fine.

Quote from LCJK

If it’s a western group. Diversity is a must. No excuse. If it’s not I hope western fans drag them for racism. I will be the first one dragging them.

You see this? This is exactly what we're NOT going to do. The entertainment business isn't an advertisement for affirmative action. May the best entertainers flourish, no matter their skin color.

As proven over and over, an all Asian group will not succeed in the west especially one without a fandom to carry them. A western group made by a Korean label or any label is supposedly aimed towards a western audience and thus it should reflect that. Which means a “ diverse “ group with mainly white or black members and a few other POC (maybe). Look at any western GG or BG in the past, all were mainly white and/ or black, little to no Asians. Honestly IMO, skin color shouldn’t matter and the groups should focus more on talent, skills, personality, and attractiveness inside and out. Something that both western and eastern groups don’t focus on.