Two years ago, for my Anthropology of Music class, I watched a video titled “The World's First Non-Korean K-Pop Group” (https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43px7g/the-worlds-first-nonkorean-k-pop-group). This video documents the story and background of EXP Edition, a group of four non-Korean men – Koki Tomlinson, Frankie DaPonte, Hunter Kohl, and Šime Košta – who brand themselves as a K-Pop group. EXP Edition was formed in 2015 by a Korean woman named Bora Kim who was interested in studying what makes K-Pop K-Pop as part of an art project at Columbia University. EXP Edition has faced harsh criticism from K-Pop fans, many of whom are not Korean, and has even received death threats. Their critics argue that EXP Edition appropriates Korean culture. However, EXP Edition believes that they appreciate Korean culture by acknowledging that they are not Korean but still learning the language and adhering to norms in Korean society.
When I first heard about EXP Edition, I was confused. I thought that seeing white people singing and dancing like K-Pop artists was strange to watch. Even though K-Pop is becoming more popular around the world, Korea is still a small country and has its own unique culture. There is also not much diversity in Korea. However, after learning more about EXP Edition, I appreciated that they lived in Korea, knew the Korean language and culture well, and were making an effort to assimilate. This reflects their respect for and commitment to the culture. My concern actually came from the fact that most of the criticism against EXP Edition came from non-Korean K-Pop fans. Some of them felt the need to protect K-Pop from non-Koreans, even though they themselves freely enjoy listening to K-Pop music. It was as if they were claiming their possession over K-Pop and defending it from non-Koreans. The most confusing part was that many of EXP Edition’s fans are Korean, who were fine with EXP Edition’s ethnicities.
One of the critics shown in the video denied that his dislike of EXP Edition had anything to do with race. Rather, he felt that the group was untalented, cringy, and fake. However, he contradicted himself by later saying, “No white people in my kpop!!!” This leads me to believe that some people are so angry at EXP Edition because they are white. This confuses me, because there are K-Pop idols who are not Korean, but they are Asian. For example, Jackson Wang in Got7 is from Hong Kong, but this does not create as much controversy as EXP Edition.
One of my favorite lines from the video is, “There’s nothing traditionally Korean in K-Pop.” I think a perfect example of this is Dynamite by BTS. This is BTS’ first song sung entirely in English. Personally, I don’t think any part of it sound “Korean” or even like a K-Pop song. To me, it just sounds like a pop song. The only thing “Korean” that I hear in the song is the members’ slight Korean accents. However, I would not say this makes the song “K-Pop.” If this were the case, then it would also be that EXP Edition’s American accents make them an American pop group, not a K-Pop group.
Overall, I do not believe that EXP Edition is appropriating Korean culture. This topic brings up many questions regarding appropriation, appreciation, globalization, and ownership. Ultimately, I believe it is best to let the people who identify with the culture in question judge whether or not an act is appropriation or appreciation.
Comments
Hey Eden, thanks for sharing! It was interesting to me that the origins of the non-Korean kpop group were for a study and that they became popular worldwide albeit due to controversy. I also do feel gatekeeping is a problem because I feel like to a certain extent it hinders the sharing and appreciation of the culture and undermines the desire of those who want to explore cultures that they are interested in. I am hopeful for the prospects of Korea now especially as Kpop continues to become more widespread and popular and helps people to be more interested and learn more about Korean culture as a whole!
Hey Han! I enjoyed reading your cultural post about the non-Korean Kpop group. I think it is so cool that K-pop is becoming so popular worldwide. I did not know that there were non-Korean Kpop groups being formed and it is so cool that K-pop is gaining so much traction so quickly. I hope that K-pop continues to be shared because it is definitely a part of Korean culture that the world should know.
I agree with your take on this as K-Pop seems to be an amalgamation of many cultures and that may be part of the reason it is so prevalent in the 21st century media. Gatekeeping groups or individuals because of something like race or skin color in extremely close-minded and is a disservice to the effort that the industry has made to be more inclusive and easier to consume.
I've often definitely heard that there's inherently traditional traditional about Kpop. This, I believe to be quite true. To my knowledge, BTS was heavily criticized for their lyrics containing topics that other Korean artists tend to shy away from, including bullying, self-acceptance, and mental health. However, one of my favorite songs of theirs 'pied piper' addresses the problem of most kpop fanbase -- the obsessive nature. I thought it was such a shocking topic to hear from a group that was only starting to gain some attention at the time.