Regulation and Censorship in Korean Pop Music

Despite the generally light-hearted nature of Korean pop music, behind the upbeat tunes and colorful music videos lies a complicated, stringent network of regulation and censorship. In 2008, the Korea Communications Commission was established in order to regulate the content of movies and television in Korea. Unlike the Federal Communications Commission of the US, the KCC is a subordinate agency under Korea’s executive government. Not only does the KCC make guidelines for what is and is not acceptable to show on public television, it has also taken steps in recent years to begin implementing stricter control over internet forums and limiting anti-government sentiments online, making it an unpopular organization.

The cover of the album in which HyunA's song "Bubble Pop" debuted in.

            A well-known case of the KCC using its power in a way some consider inappropriate or excessive is the banning of promotions for HyunA’s popular song “Bubble Pop.” Cube Entertainment, the agency responsible for the production of the song, was forced to end promotions and cancel performances due to the signature dance and revealing outfits being deemed “too sexually suggestive” and “obscene” by the KCC. The producers opted to simply cancel remaining performances rather than draft a whole new dance for HyunA in order to preserve the quality and standards of the work. A Cube entertainment representative explained that “it was too short of a notice [to change the choreography]” and that “considering how the dance itself is a major element of her performance, there would have been no point to altering it.” The organization added insult to injury when it decided that a cover of the song performed by male dancers was acceptable to show on public television.

            Because of the KCC’s stringent policies on “outfits that show excessive skin” and “scenes that are overly sexually suggestive,” dancers, producers, songwriters, and designers are severely limited in their creative liberty. One of the biggest criticisms of the KCC’s judgment of explicit content is that it has never provided specific guidelines for what can be considered inappropriate. One music official stated, "There is no clear criteria or guideline in determining if something is obscene or not. If HyunA's hip dance is a problem, then why is KARA's [a similar all-female singing and dancing group] butt dance okay?" It can easily be suspected that the KCC's decisions of what to censor is founded on favoritism, personal taste, or even possibly corruption, because of the freedom and subjectivity it operates with. The KCC has been entrusted with the very dangerous power of deciding what songs and artists are allowed to be successful, so the general population is very cautions of its decisions and intentions. 

HyunA's controversial "Bubble Pop" video with full choreography and the original costumes that the KCC found objectionable.

The music video for KARA's song "Mr.," in which a similarly risque dance is performed and yet the song and video were not criticized by the KCC.

Citations

"allkpop." allkpop. (2011): n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.allkpop.com/2011/08/hyuna-abruptly-concludes-bubble-pop-promotions>.

"allkpop." allkpop. (2011): n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.allkpop.com/2011/08/double-standards-in-k-pop-exposed-once-again-through-bubble-pop>.

"allkpop." allkpop. (2011): n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.allkpop.com/2011/08/hyunas-bubble-pop-banning-is-a-hot-topic-for-debate>.

"allkpop." allkpop. (2012): n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.allkpop.com/2012/09/kocsc-calls-for-stricter-regulations-on-slang-use-idol-outfits-and-suggestive-choreography>.

"Sisa Journal." Sisa Journal. (2008): n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.sisapress.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=45322>.