Some Symbolic Meanings Existing in K-Pop

Some Symbolic Meanings Existing in K-Pop

Actually, K-Pop has some stereotypes that are not very good. The stereotypes are plastic surgery, sexy clothes (specifically for girl bands), a miniskirt (specifically for girl bands), men who are like women (using make up), and men who dance (a dance is identical to a woman). Another the stereotype is related to LGBT issues. Some of these stereotypes make parents nervous. However, teenagers still like K-Pop. Because they like some symbolic meanings that exist in K-Pop. The symbolic meanings are as follows.

Struggle.
Many K-Pop artists pursue a rigorous selection process in order to enter into an artist management. Some of them begin the selection process at age 13. After passing the selection, they must stay in a dormitory. They then follow a trainee program while still attending school. They sometimes work odd jobs to finance their lives in the dormitory (especially if their financial condition is no longer covered by their parents). They follow the trainee program for 6-7 years. After that, they make a debut as a member of of boy band / girl band or a solo singer. They later gain a popularity. Although they are popular, they still undergo training. They hone their vocal skills, dance, acting as well. Besides that, they compose songs. They do the efforts in order to became a qualified idol. As a very good idol, they rarely sing lypsinc. A symbolic meaning of a process from the selection to becoming a famous idol is a struggle.

Do not sell personal life.
During the process, they almost hid their personal lives. Their private lives are controlled by the artist management. Their love life is covered by that artist management. If their love relationship is revealed, it will provide a confirmation about the romantic life to public in South Korea. On the other hand, the public hate private scandals.

Teach good ethics.
There are leader and maknae titles in boy band / girl band. Leader is of head of a group. Maknae is a name for the youngest group member. In addition, all group members respect senior. Senior is an idol who make a debut first. Furthermore, all group members respect "their elder siblings". This behavior is seen in terms of hyung (a call from a man to "his elder brother"), oppa (a call from a woman to "her elder brother"), unnie (a call from a woman to "her elder sister"), and nonna (a call from a man to "his elder sister"). The calls remain, even though they have joined the same group for years. An idol also still uses these calls, even though he is more famous than his seniors. A symbolic meaning of the terms are to teach good ethics.

Prioritizing education.
A lot of K-Pop artists have a good educational history. Some of them are masters and doctors. They take master's and doctoral degrees when their careers are shining. They are G-Dragon "BIG BANG", Sim Changmin "TVXQ", Kyuhyun "Super Junior", Xiumin "EXO", Jonghyun "SHInee", Key "SHInee", and other idols. A symbolic meaning of the educational history is to prioritize education.

Apply discipline.
Idols must adhere to the training schedule, even though they are admired by people. They have to stay in the dorm provided by the management, abide by contracts not to commit scandals, conceptualize appearance, and go on a diet as well. Still, they must comply with management rules in terms of appearance on stage, reality shows, and meet-and-greets. Moreover, their parents should obey a management rule. The rule is not to be involved in idols' career. As a result, they become exclusive. However, they're required to close to their fans at concerts and meet-and-greets. A symbolic meaning of the submission is to apply discipline.

This article is sourced from my writing on https://id.quora.com/Apa-saja-makna-simbolik-yang-ada-pada-K-pop/answer/Danar-Dumadi-Pratomo