Sexualization and sexual exploitation in K-pop refers to elements of sexualization and sexual exploitation in K-pop (Korean pop), which was once seen as a conservative music industry. This is in part due to 21st century globalization, with Korean entertainment and record label companies intending to market their idols abroad.
Femininity is often defined by a suppressed doll state conforming to Lolita ideals. These ideals consist of a slim figure, long legs and a perfect face. Korean masculinity requires a soft or cosmopolitan masculinity. That males are expected to be strong and virile, but also possess soft features such as a sweet personality and a cute face. The manifestation of sexualization is represented in every part of the idol republic, but is most commonly found among modern music videos, which have become increasingly sexualized over the last decade.
K-pop was first inspired by the Japanese idol system during the 1990s and eventually morphed into a global phenomenon over a twenty-year time frame. Male and female idols do follow some normative feminine and masculine traits, respectively, as defined by the South Korean patriarchal system and in conjunction with a globally desired façade. Female idols are often objectified more than male idols.
Historical context
The advent of modern K-pop arguably started in 1992, the genre gained significant foothold by 1996 during the industrialization of K-pop, matured through the mid 2000s, and flourished by 2010. Though beauty is an ever-present ideal for Korean popular culture, these time periods represent shifts in beauty norms and K-pop ideals. The early 1990s brought a young, individualistic cuteness to the scene with stocky builds and chubby faces, following the Korean beauty norms of the 1980s.
Following the 1980s Japanese idol system, idol groups were generated in the late 1990s with innocence and sunny dispositions. During this time a review committee censored all Korean music and music videos for sexual and explicit content. The committee was disbanded in June 1996. After an economic crisis in 1997 and success of K-pop outside South Korea, the innocence morphed into a more romantic and hipper image in the early 2000s. This presented the first major signs of sexualization.
This transformation was aided by the increased use of music videos. By the mid-2000s, a new generation of K-pop was born, sex became prevalent in K-pop and idol-worshiping adolescents came into being. Within a decade, maturation of K-pop driven by hyper-popularized music videos, propelled idols into a visual medium, thus transforming K-pop into the modern beauty standard of low body fat, well-toned muscles, and perfected body features.
Globalization
The late 2000s brought K-pop into its modern era and introduced it to the international stage with the Korean wave in Asia. The early 2010s bolstered K-pop to an international powerhouse with the global Korean wave. K-pop has always been influenced by Japanese and western musical styles; however, many link its international success to the globalization caused by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout period (during the 1997 South Korean economic crash) in South Korea's neo-liberalization.
Post-IMF South Korea incorporated more westernized (specifically, Americanized) culture into their exported products in order to prosper in international sales, thus pressing the popular music industry to become more westernized. Integration of westernization has now also brought the hyper-sexualization of products, especially in the popular music scene. Not only was the music itself altered to enhance exportability, but given the modern age of the music video, the performer was also altered.
Combining this with Korea's male-dominated society, one that currently ranks the near the bottom of the Global Gender Gap list for modernized societies (presenting the largest gender wage and working condition gaps), produces an overtly sexualized popular music market. Additionally, the proliferation of K-pop allows for South Korea to enter and even dominate the global "cultural war," a concept tied to a battle for attention between the globalized cultures in the modern era. Thus, the government of South Korea encourages the use of K-pop to promote global recognition.