Fangirl:
As I was watching the CN Blue teaser for "
First Step" yesterday, I was prompted to
tweet the following:
I think having non-Asian people appear in Korean MVs will only stop being awkward when there are non-Asian people in the bands too...
Coming from a non-Asian background and a country that is multicultural, the appearance of non-Asians in Korean music videos is often an awkward affair for me. The actors are never more than ornamental.
I'm having a hard time putting my finger on exactly what bugs me about this. After all, aren't background actors and extras "ornamental" in every music video?
Fanboy:
Living in America, all my life I have always been exposed to multiple races. With that, I've exposed myself to become more accustomed to seeing ethnicity more often. Actually, I often find myself thinking some idols are white. But now that I think about it, I think K-Pop is trying to do that on purpose, because on stage, some of the artists are made up looking sort of Western sometimes to me in their facial features. (Oh, but not the attire. Just the face...)
So what I'm getting at, I believe that since I come from an area that prides itself on a multicultural background and that I am used to witnessing multiple races at once, seeing non-Asians in K-Pop MVs almost goes unnoticeable to me. And frankly, I'm not bothered by it. I don't think it's forced. On the contrary, natives of the Eastern side of the world might not be in the same boat. When they see a foreigner, they see a foreigner. That's why they're like, "Woah! A white chick!"
I have noticed that YG is starting implement non-Asians in their MVs more lately. I attribute this to possibly since they (and the rest of world) are becoming more global. As we all know, K-Pop is gaining immense popularity outside of Korea and reaching places like where I am: Texas! (That's a big deal). Thank you, Internet!
But as Fangirl pointed out, most of the non-Asians in MVs are pretty much objects. The only Asian MV that I can think of where a non-Asian played a central role was
BoA's "Quincy". There was creepy white guy that stuck out like a sore thumb in that MV. Then again, no Asian parents would ever name their child Quincy, so there you go, Wonderbread served a purpose.
All in all, I think we as a world are becoming more connected thanks to the Internet. As our cultures start to seep into each other, I believe we will all become more accustomed to anomalies such as multicultural MVs. I honestly don't know how long this sort of transformation will take, but it's happening as we speak. The change is inevitable.
Fangirl:
So I took some time to think about why non-Asians appearing in Korean music videos bothers me. I think it's my tendency to over-analyze. When a foreigner is cast when it is obviously easier to cast a Korean, my mind automatically wonders "
Why?"
Take H.O.T.'s "
Candy", for instance. In the music video, the five (rather primary-colored) boys of H.O.T. attempt to charm a white woman with their cute singing antics. I automatically begin to wonder about the implications. Why is the actress white? Because white women are thought be harder to woo? Because white women are more desirable?
How about the black security guard in CN Blue's teaser? Does the fact that he is black make him seem "tougher"? And so when the CN Blue boys dispatch him with pepper spray, that makes them especially badass?
I had the same reaction when watching GD & TOP's "
High High" music video. My first gut reaction upon seeing all the white people was "Yay, white people can join the K-pop party too! Woo-hoo!" But as I continued watching, I couldn't help thinking, "What's with all the white chicks? Are there cultural implications here?" (
Mixtapes and Linernotes explores this issue more in depth than I could in this post - recommended reading!
EDIT: Response from Mixtapes and Linernotes
here)
I'm curious how are readers feel about this issue. What do you think when you see non-Asians in Korean music videos?
