Fanboy & Fangirl Discuss Non-Asians in Korean Music Videos
2:53 PM
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BoA,
CN Blue,
GD TOP,
H.O.T.,
Music Video,
Non-Asian
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12
comments
Fangirl:
As I was watching the CN Blue teaser for "First Step" yesterday, I was prompted to tweet the following:
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?
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?
I can see where fangirl is coming from here. You do have to wonder whether sometimes they cast the non-Asians for the sake of having non-Asians in the music video. No other reason, just so people will say, "hey, there's a white person in here". Honestly, if it's just a person in the background with no significance, why purposely cast a non-Asian? It could be that the casting was coincidental, but I find that unlikely.
On the other hand, when a non-Asian plays a central role in the MV, then we have to consider the image the character projects. People will stereotype the non-Asian character, whether consciously or unconsciously, based on what role they have in the MV.
As far as I'm aware, "High High" was shot at an actual party that was taking place, so the people we see dancing around were actually there, not actors. But people who don't know that are just going to get the whole "white people love to party" image, right?
Overall, I can't say that the appearance of non-Asians bothers me, but I do question the motives and original intention behind their appearance in Kpop videos.
I had the same feeling as the fangirl for the High High MV. I was thinking, "why are there so many white girls?" I'm Asian but I have been living in the US for 10 years so my viewpoint is pretty much as open as any other American.
As I heard from others, High High seemed to be an attempt to make KPop more global, and I agree that was the intention. But to me it was too over-the-top, felt like they were putting too much effort into doing that instead of focusing on the MV itself. The MV just felt like they filmed a party, which I guess is the feeling of the song, as for a song like that it's difficult to have substance lol.
I might have been rambling but that's how I feel XD
Thanks for the comments, kaorupanda and shibbifanb.
The "High High" music video was indeed shot at a real party, so many of the people shown dancing around were just there for the party and not hired actors. Many but not all - for instance, the women shown with TOP around the 30 second mark are all actresses.
According to fan accounts, the percentage of attendees who were foreigners was high, but they were still very much in the minority. This indicates whoever edited the MV purposely selected footage of white women.
I can understand if they were trying to give a more "global" feel to the music video, but then why was it that only foreign women made it past the cutting room floor? Weren't there any foreign men at the party too? It does make me wonder...
Yeah I saw on allkpop they invited people to an actual party for High High. IMO foreign women are there to stress that GD and TOP's playboy vibe they were trying to give off for that album, as their cover featured the Playboy, so having foreign men doesn't really contribute to that aspect of the album.
Asians still think of foreigners as exotic so I wouldn't be surprised if the MV editor purposefully focused more on the minority of foreigners.
Hi guys! Julili from YAM magazine!
I really need to rss feed you guys! I keep forgetting to check you blog when I think you have one of the best kpop blogs out there!
The topic you bring up is a very interesting one. I for one don't think so much about non-Asians in Asian mv's but then again, I might be too occupied with the eye-candy!
Hmm... that's an interesting point to think about. I do believe that the editor did that to have a more global appeal.
Thanks, Julili! That's so great that you think that highly about our blog. We're working hard to build a reputation for it. :)
@daredb
I shall see to promote you guys! You really need ppl to read your stuff, so much better then other of the more popular kpop blogs *cough*
Really? That's awesome. MrCKDexter and I hope it starts to take off. Our Twitter followers are lending their kind words right now, but we hope to read from others.
So I just now found this blog, linked from Daredb's YT channel, which I also found just tonight. I'm really, really enjoying both sites. This blog is very well written, imho. I'll agree that it's quite a bit better than other Kpop blogs. Now I'll have to add ANOTHER kpop blog to my daily visit list. Jeez! :)
I'm actually not sure what I think about the whole deal w/ non-Asians in Kpop vidoes. When it first came out, I had started watching the CN Blue mv you referenced and I really cringed when the black security guard showed up and automatically stopped watching it. Since I'm black, it was an immediate turn off. Probably not a good idea, CN Blue...
I've also noticed it in GD and T.O.P's video for Knock Out and that also jumped out at me. It feels gratuitous to me, especially since they weren't all that attractive. It's like they were trying to say, "I can get all this!"
Alrighty then... if that's the case they should've gone for better looking girls in general.
Just my random thoughts! Keep up the great work, guys...
nice post! and thanks for the mention :) I'm sorry i'm only just replying - i have thought about this a LOT since i saw this post. I can't post my entire comment here, unfortunately, - it's too big! so i've turned it into a new blog post, lol. check it out here:
http://mixtapesandlinernotes.blogspot.com/2011/04/non-asians-in-korean-music-videos.html
This is something I noticed right away when I began watching Asian music videos. It isn't just Korean music videos. Japanese Rock was my introduction to the use of non-Asian characters.
I understand the thought that it is an attempt to seem more global, but I don't think that's the case. From my perspective, that is an ethnocentric reaction (I'm white) or a whim of western culture self-importance (I'm American). So I tried to ignore that.
Personally, I believe non-Asian characters are used in Asian media/music videos because it is 'safe'. You can give them any attribute, positive or negative, and it will be accepted because that character is 'other' and not familiar to the viewer. So a non-Asian can be hyper-sexual, violent, belligerent, exotic, traitorous, glamorous, or any other extreme of human identity and it doesn't reflect on the viewer, because it's foreign. It separates the Asian audience from potentially shocking or arousing behavior, because that's how 'they' behave... not us.
My 2cents.
Keep up the blog! The dialogues you guys get going are so fun. Cheers!
i think sniffles is right. that's basically what happens in mainstream american media with ethnic minorities as well. (and when those groups are like, "Hey! That's offensive!" mainstream goes, "huh? THEY don't like it?") lol
the other half of it is appearances sake. i've gotten VIP seats to fashion week, into one of Rain's afterparties, into closed autograph sessions/fan club meetings in Seoul for that exact reason.