I used to listen to a Brazilian podcast on Spotify. It talks about K-Pop and cultural issues related to it. This week, I was listening again to one of the most important episodes, in my opinion. It talks about Yellow Fever and how Koreans are sexualized because of the Hallyu. K-Pop idols have to be perfect for their audience. Perfect face, body, skills, and behavior. Some of them have to get plastic surgeries or extreme diets to fit in this pattern. Because they are 'perfect,' their fans might create the illusion that they are the perfect ideal men/woman to fall in love with. Inside the K-Pop, they have something called "Fan Service," things the idols do or say to please their fans. Things such as skinship with other idols and never assuming if they have a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with someone are common types of fan service. Also, another kind of fan service is telling people that their fans are all they need or even that they are their boyfriend/girlfriend, and it really affects the way the fandom understands their relationship with the idol.
A reasonable part of the Korean dramas also focuses on male characters that fit into a prince's way of behaving. All the series' romantic atmosphere creates the ideal of a "right-man" for the viewers. These people can sometimes interpret the characters' personalities and behavior as common Korean man's ones. This Oppa ideal is the idea that any Korean man will be the same as the ones from the dramas. Some K-Drama fans, then, seek these kinds of connections in real life and, sometimes, look for famous Koreans or even ordinary Koreans in their countries to start a relationship. Again, Koreans are not seen as individuals, but as an object that represents the ideal of perfection.
One of the most well-known cases of Yellow Fever is Oli London, a British man who decided to do surgery and identify as Korean. He had already been in South Korea and, because of that, he pretends he knows how to speak Korean although his pronunciation is pretty bad, and he knows just random basic sentences. He sometimes makes videos trying to teach other people how to speak Korean even correcting native speakers' pronunciation. He is obsessed with Park Jimin, from the K-Pop boy group BTS, and he made a bunch of surgeries to try to look like him. Now, he really believes they look alike. He now identifies as a trans-national person, a term that he invented to try to justify his attempts to "become Korean."
I decided to bring this discussion here because it is essential to understand that being a fan is not a justification to generalize and idealize Korean people. Having respect for other cultures happens when you understand and appreciate their diversity, being also aware that you are a foreigner. As a foreigner, you can love the culture, speak Korean and even live there, but you will never be a Korean person. By drawing this line, I believe it is possible for fans to step back and do not fell into Yellow Fever's stereotypes. This is a deep topic that needs pages to de discussed, but I hope this brief reflection would help!
Comments
Hi Beatriz, I found this topic very interesting to discuss! I definitely agree with you that hallyu is idealizing Korean men in some sense and generalizing them as one kind of man. It is also a little bit shocking for me to know the case of Oli London, which made me realize how bad can it go.
Hi Beatriz, I think it was an eye-opening podcast that touches on issues that aren't really mentioned in normal culture. Yellow fever is definitely a thing and with the growing trend of Hallyu it definitely makes sense to be more about things like potential cultural problems that occur like with Oli London
Beatriz,
I thought it was very insightful when you talked about the notion of the "right-man" in which this Oppa idea pushes perfection upon many Korean men and expects them to be the same as the ones they find in the Korean dramas. I also think that Hallyu has many positive outcomes, but unintentional negative outcomes when it comes to beauty standards and the idea of perfection. Because Hallyu forces upon this perfect figure on K-pop idols, the entire society of Korea has welcomed these unreachable and impractical body images.
Hi Beatriz! I found your post on Yellow Fever very interesting. I also agree with you on how K-pop idols have the pressure to look perfect and act in ways to always make their fans happy, even if it makes them uncomfortable. A lot of people could misinterpret these K-dramas and K-pop idols behaviors, and think that it applies to every Korean person. I have never heard of Oli London, but I was so surprised that someone would go to extreme lengths just to become Korean. I agree with you that there is a line between appreciating the language and culture and appropriating it,