actually korea is becoming more restrictive, anti-foreign, and traditional now compared to the past. before nobody blinked at the thought of a group made up of entirely biracial idols, or a group made up entirely of transwomen. the reception GP999 got in Korea should tell you how hard they are embracing their "minjok" (chauvinistic ethnic pride)
I don’t agree with it at all. I know a lot of people who had massive problems in Korea with racism and discrimination years ago (2000-2010s). Korea (South) was much worse in the past for foreigners. Nowadays, you have a lot of Exchange programs by big universities and international cooperations from there. Also, the local people are not ignoring foreigners (like in Japan where it is really hard to make Japanese friends) and a lot more things like job descriptions or certain services are more open towards English speaking foreigners. It’s just that on the internet the loudest ones are not always the majority. Korea is much more open than before and that‘s a fact. Just stating that before a trans kpop group could have existed, is such a ridiculous claim. I don’t even want to get into that.
Keep in mind:
Idol entertainment section =\= Korea. As someone who has lived there, I know the difference and idol fandoms are usually filled with either young kids or teenagers or with keyboard warriors. The normal working adult does not write the comments that you see on pann or translated on pannchoa. So GP999 is not representative at all. Plus, the tensions between SK, China and Japan have been a thing for decades. So that’s not a good example
