Okay. Yesterday, I saw a post on some website titled 'Why I Hate 2NE1'. The post has since been deleted, so I didn't actually get to read what was inside, but I know there was a comment with something along the lines of '
Oh, SNSD are plastic aswell. You're just ignorant and I can't believe there are people like you around here.' Obviously, there was some type of argument going on -- and maybe people are ignorant, but sometimes they have nowhere to get their information from, so it's not really their fault. Because of this, I will post some of my thoughts. You may agree with them, you may not, but it's my opinion, and that's what this website is for, right?
1. Plastic Surgery
I don't know how to explain, but I guess you could call this a 'sensitive' topic... to international fans. Plastic surgery is extremely common in Korea; it has some of the best plastic surgeons. There are ads for plastic surgery in subways, on TV, the internet. I think what some people fail to understand is that plastic surgery is not necessarily
bad. If someone has an extreme self-conscious point, or they're unhappy with the way they look to the point of depression, or if they just want to get something done because
they want it, or if they're getting a medical issue fixed, well? Are you going to tell them to not do what they're doing and stay depressed for longer? Are you going to tell them to shut up about their medical issue and suffer in silence? I've seen k-netizens criticise one person for getting plastic surgery and saying it didn't do anything beneficial, then praise another who did the same thing because they 'became prettier' -- the beauty standards in Korea are extremely high, if you couldn't tell. Of course, when people familiar with the kpop world think about plastic surgery, they might think of
Park Bom. I love Bom, but it seems like she really does/did have an addiction to plastic surgery. Nobody knows if it's because of society's standards or because she just wanted to get it done -- nobody knows, but why are they so mean? Because everyone is hypocritical.
Everyone. Maybe your least favourite idol did have plastic surgery. Maybe your most favourite idol had plastic surgery, too. Why does it matter? Does it really change who they are as a person? I don't think so.
2. Image
I'm guessing you have heard the term 'protect their image' before, right? Or maybe something like 'Block B don't care about their image' (which is completely true, in a good way), but I'm talking about the way they're styled and all. How much their hair is dyed and cut, the clothes they wear (in performances and stuff like that), their weight. A lot of idols are put on terrible diets where they can hardly eat anything. I've seen someone who went into a tiny bout of depression because they weren't allowed to change the way they looked, which was really sad to watch because there was no way to help. So, next time you make fun of the way someone looks, remember that it probably wasn't their choice to look that way. Unless you're
Min from
Miss A - she's been changing her hair to whatever lately, haha. Another thing, with the other meaning of an 'image', some groups have to work really hard to keep this image unharmed - look at
EXO right now, for example. Because of Kris' leave, they have to work an extreme amount to ensure their good reputation stays alive and so that people don't comment that they're 'going downhill', which they're doing pretty good at. God, being an idol sounds hard.
3. 'Too cute', 'too sexy'
Once again, this is something that is not their choice, usually. A little quote from someone I know who has the scoop on the industry goes like this: "
No one is an actual artist in kpop. They're all merely performers... except maybe YG." And I completely agree. Songs are virtually sent out of a song-producing factory, given to the group that's been decided who will have it; the group learns the song, records the song, learns the choreography, practices 24/7 for 3 months or 3 years, and eventually performs it on stage. Although there are many cases in which the artist does actually produce and compose their own music, this is what happens for a majority of the groups out there, since there are, like, 5000 these days. The companies and producers and whoever else also use strategies and tactics for marketing - if they realise that the trend is sexiness, of course more sexy stuff is going to come out, because it's what makes money for them. People have to keep up with the times, you know. But then there are people who complain about
Girl's Day's Something being too sexy, for example, and then watch the music video 50 times in one sitting. I see you, fool. Stop complaining.
4. They are humans too, they make mistakes
Before these modern times where idols are actually allowed to have real SNS like Instagram and Twitter, I feel like they were extremely dehumanised. People looked up to idols like they were of this definition: '
an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship' rather than this one: '
a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered.' Nobody could talk to them (that often, at least), people couldn't see them that often, people couldn't understand their true thoughts and what's going on in their mind - idols are trained on how to answer questions in interviews, how to act, how to look. It's still true to some extent that nobody knows idols' true thoughts - of course things are always hidden from the general public, because they are
real people and don't want to share everything that's going on in their lives because, let me repeat just once more, they are
real people. Just like the lyrics in
Rap Monster's recent song 'Unpack Your Bags' say: 'And I gotta smile, you know why? 'Cause I'm an idol', idols cannot show emotions other than happiness or something of the sort while in the view of others. If they do, they risk ruining their reputation as a person and being criticised. You may remember the incident of
Hyorin looking bored/annoyed at a fansign - she was criticised for it. When
Sunny was looking bored/annoyed/angry/rude when 2NE1 won a music show award, she was criticised for it. Maybe they were tired? Injured? Not feeling well? It's not easy to always look happy, but many people comment "this is the job she is getting paid for, she could at least smile'. If I had a full-time job which required me to work for most of every day and get little sleep, I probably wouldn't care what people think of me.
5. OTPs
I know, I know, pairings are fun. Shipping is fun. Everything's fun, until it gets to be too much. You can write your PG or NC-17 fics without worry - other people will read them, other people will enjoy them. You can draw your PG or NC-17 fanart without worry - again, other people will see them, other people will enjoy them. For the love of g.o.d, don't try to show these to the actual members that are involved. This makes things awkward for everyone concerned. Take
Youngjae and
Daehyun from
B.A.P, for example. I'm not such a hardcore fan, but I know that something happened between them because they got sick of people pairing them together. Remember when Youngjae said that Daehyun wasn't his best friend? The saddest moment of life...
6. "Engrish"
The term 'Engrish' in itself is already offensive to some people. Even though some artists may not speak English very well, they are just trying to do their job and they really do try hard to pronounce the words right even if the words or the grammar is wrong. If you speak English and don't speak Korean, don't make fun of the way idols speak/sing English; they are trying their hardest. Remember when people were making fun of
Himchan because of the way he pronounced 'roof' in 'The roof is on fire"? He
re-recorded the freaking part since he was teased so much because of one word. He doesn't even
attempt to say it when B.A.P sing Hurricane at their concerts - he lets the fans sing it for him, and bows to thank them afterwards. I don't know about you, but I think that is damn sad.
I'm sure I have so much more to say, but it's late now. These are just some of my thoughts. Hope you enjoyed reading them whether you agree or not. Comment if you have a reason I should change any of my opinions, and I'll see.
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