Those "dark side of K-pop" videos/threads/articles...

1st Official Post
  • AllKill VIP
    • Official Post

    While it's great to be genuinely concerned for the well-being of idols, I also think there's a lot of sensationalist and orientalist shenanigans going on when some anti-K-pop person makes content criticizing the industry and overgeneralizing all idols as puppets who aren't involved in the creative process. They often equate the Burning Sun scandal to the entirety of K-pop and make it seem like it's an everyday occurrence.


    1. G-Dragon, Soyeon, T.O.P., the 3RACHA line of Stray Kids, and BTS (most notably RM, Suga, and J-Hope) are heavily involved in the creative process of their music. They're involved in writing, production, and choreography.


    2. Absolutely every respectable person in the K-pop industry despises and denounces the Burning Sun scandal and those who are responsible.


    The only decent point that I'll give them credit for is that it's a bit questionable for young teenagers to become trainees, sacrificing so much, just for a chance to debut.


    Other than that, K-pop is improving. At least mental health is somewhat acknowledged now. Idols are starting to open up about it and companies are being more supportive.


    I don't know. Maybe I'm wording this weirdly, but I just feel the fake concern is kinda sketchy given how they single out K-pop so much. It's okay not to like it. Just move on instead of pretending to care and doing all this fake virtue signaling.

    the problem is they take 2nd gen life and apply it to modern kpop


    AND the take nugu groups as a cast over the entire industry, as if the lower industry of all music industries isnt fucked

    Quote from superyeah

    The only decent point that I'll give them credit for is that it's a bit questionable for young teenagers to become trainees, sacrificing so much, just for a chance to debut.

    Sure but it's not any worse than young ballet dancers or gymnasts who go through excruciating training to reach top physical performance. Idols' training hasn't such a toll on their growth and body. But they're more exposed to public scrutiny so they definitely to be protected in some capacity.

  • AllKill VIP
    • Official Post
    Quote from penguinsgg

    the problem is they take 2nd gen life and apply it to modern kpop


    AND the take nugu groups as a cast over the entire industry, as if the lower industry of all music industries isnt fucked

    Exactly! I forgot to mention this. The points they bring up are really outdated and they ignore the fact that K-pop today is so different from how it was 10 years ago. There's so much more going on now and the game has improved.


    There's bound to be a number of smaller agencies/companies that mistreat their trainees and idols, but that's the case in every industry in the world. Those are borderline scam companies that aren't in it for the right reasons. They don't represent the overall state of K-pop.

    Quote from superyeah

    Exactly! I forgot to mention this. The points they bring up are really outdated and they ignore the fact that K-pop today is so different from how it was 10 years ago. There's so much more going on now and the game has improved.


    There's bound to be a number of smaller agencies/companies that mistreat their trainees and idols, but that's the case in every industry in the world. Those are borderline scam companies that aren't in it for the right reasons. They don't represent the overall state of K-pop.

    they always bring up the old slave contracts iv noticed

    I think criticism is valid and we should denounce abuses and exploitation. However, some of these articles/posts/podcasts do come up as holier than thou and try to diminish others like treating Kpop artists like they have no agency at all or fans like they are automatons.


    Sometimes these "critics" may go too far and invoke old stereotypes and accuse Koreans of being complicit of these practices and ignore that the public aren't really OK with these and there are regulations. I really dislike the dehumanization of the whole society when they try to present their arguments.


    There are some shitty things in Kpop that are unique to it, but this is true everywhere. There are unique shitty things in everything from Hollywood, anime, and sports. However, I don't find it particularly worse than other entertainment industries. It's about the same level of shitness. Sadly it seems to be the nature of the beast. Over the course of human history, it's always the young who gets the short end of the stick.


    The fandom is on the young side and social media engagements don't paint them in a great light, but at the same time, there is no need to be condescending. Young fans aren't as oblivious as some paint them to be. They are the first in line when shit things come to light.


    Usually these "critics" generalize too much. Kpop isn't a simple industry. Its problems are complex. Dunno if they are fishing for response or it's fake concern or whatever. They are pretty lazy and possibly in bad faith as well.

    • Official Post

    Honestly the "dark side" of kpop is the same dark side as the western entertainment scene. If you put the same microscope over Hollywood or the UK/US music scene you'd find many of the same issues. Back when BTS was blowing up and media got into a kick about reporting on the dark side of kpop there was a lot of focus on the strict contracts and Jonghyun while glossing over the fact that Disney contracts are just as if not more controlling and the Western music scene has so many artists who have died young that they can coin the phrase "The 27 Club"

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