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Sexualization and Sexual Exploitation in K-pop

In 2010, lawmakers ordered and inquiry into why Korean girl groups wore such “revealing clothes” and danced with “suggestive moves and lyrics.” This sparked a debate at the National Assembly because the inquiry was targeted towards groups with many members that are underage or debuted when they were underaged. In 2014, there was a bill passed by the Korean National Assembly to protect young K-pop stars from sexualization because Korea’s entertainment business is infamously unregulated. This bill made it “illegal to coerce minors into wearing revealing stage costumes or dancing sexually suggestive choreography routines.” Infringement on this law will result in a recommendation of correction from the cultural ministry and failure to adhere to the law will yield a fine of roughly $10,000.

Sexualization of K-pop stars, especially underaged ones, have become a concern to the Korean government. The Fair Trade Commission issued guidelines to stop the sexualization of underaged K-pop stars. In addition, they announced guidelines to ensure reasonable working conditions for these K-pop stars.

Girl groups, in particular, are often more sexualized than boy groups, especially in a patriarchal like South Korea. Women are more objectified, hence why when they are more visible in media, they are more vulnerable to overt sexualization.

Korean pop stars in the past has hinted towards the darker side of the K-pop industry where stars become sexually involved with wealthy donors to the Korean entertainment industry. In 2016, two brokers were arrested on charges of arranging prostitution deals between Korean female entertainers and clients abroad. This investigation into this prostitution deal exposed a well-known singer who received around 35 million won for providing sexual relations to a Korean-American businessman and an unnamed member of a K-pop girl group.

In addition, there are often career repercussions for those who come out as victims of sexual assault in South Korea since it is not commonly vocalized. Those who do come out with their allegations put everything on the line because coming out with allegation disrupts the status quo within Korean society of not conveying contempt. These victims undergo damage to their reputation at work and within their respective communities. Furthermore, the South Korean government was under fire for inadequately conducting investigations in response to the overflow of sexual violence and harassment. The state has a lack of government-sponsored counseling and legal assistance that would help these victims.