Prejudices Surrounding Idols, Fandom, and BTS
Prior to BTS, the only knowledge I had of the K-Pop industry were the prejudices surrounding its practices. Subconsciously, I added to that prejudice by believing what I heard without educating myself on the subject.
Prejudices towards the K-Pop industry and Idols
During their Grammy Museum interview, Suga of BTS shared his opinion on how K-Pop can be understood:
To understand K-pop, there is music, videos, clothes, makeup as well. All of these things come together as a visual and auditory package which might be what sets it apart from previous standards of music. Therefore, rather than understanding K-Pop as one genre, I think it’s easier to understand it as an integration of different cultural content.
From an outside perspective, the main thing I was wary of was the immense control agencies had over their artists. All K-pop stars were expected to present the perfect façade. They must appear to be supremely talented, gorgeous, and single — a star must be portrayed as accessible to fans. To maintain this illusion, idols are often banned from dating, at least at the start of their careers. It is also expected of idols to perform ‘fan service.’ Unlike the original term’s meaning originating from Manga, “fan service” in the K-Pop industry refers to artists acting in a manner that is affectionate and focused specially for their fans.
Additionally, I noticed standards which took the form of intense schedules, diets, and control over their personal lives. Euodias, a British girl who experienced life as a trainee shares that “trainees would wake up at 5am to get in some extra dance practice before school started. When the school day ended, we would return to the company to be trained in singing and dancing. Trainees would stay up practising until 11pm or later. We had a strict curfew to make sure we’d be back in the dorms before they locked up. There was no such thing as weekends or holidays.”
Lee Jong-im, pop culture expert and author of Idol Trainees’ Sweat and Tears backs this up, saying that a typical day for idol trainees she’s met involved practising late into the night. This made me wonder if the industry was churning out robots from their giant warehouses.
My doubts regarding the ‘typical’ perception of idols tie in with RM’s struggle with his identity as an idol. Prior to BTS, he was known as underground rapper ‘Runch Randa.’ In MNet’s 4 Things Show, he said that “one-eyed people cannot see the truth of being an idol,” In RM and Suga’s joint interview where they were infamously confronted by a fellow underground rapper, they were called out for “jumping ship” from the underground scene to become mainstream. The rapper said that most K-pop singers are “pretty boys or girls” who are “slaves”, and “making money off music and an image they didn’t create themselves.” Though questioning why your colleague decided to take a different route is understandable, to attack their gender identity and sexuality because they now perform with make-up is what sparked the valid backlash.
Even within the music industry, prejudice against K-pop exists. IDOL CHIEF conducted interviews with UK ARMYs, asking them about their views on the prejudice BTS faces as idols. One fan believes that the reason why Western artists feel threatened by BTS’ success is because they were changing the way the Western industry looks at itself. The energy and commitment BTS brings to the stage is undeniable. Bryan Rolli wrote an article entitled ‘BTS Didn’t ‘Cheat’ Their Way To №1 On The Hot 100. They Just Beat Other Artists At Their Own Game’. In this article, he does a comparison between BTS and other popular artists, pointing out that the combination of BTS sincerely putting their music out there and fans wanting to support them contributes to the success of the band. Additionally, BTS keeps earning the title of “first Korean act” for many significant awards, which introduces new (or to some, threatening) competition to the Western industry. As Rolli wrote in another article, “It’s fine to dislike an artist’s music, but to deny the cultural significance of an artist — especially one that just spoke at the UN General Assembly — just because you dislike them is a fool’s errand.”
K-pop is often perceived as a formula. There is an assumption that these artists are given readily composed songs, fixed choreographies to master, and are expected to stick to routines without having a say. Undeniably for some, this may be true.
This made me think further: Did I take issue with the system, or was I against the performer? Setting the system aside, it is undeniable that these stars are talented and extremely hardworking. Their work ethic and the effort they invest as trainees to get a shot at debuting is admirable.
Though I still doubt the industry’s ways, the system is separate from the artist. As of 2017, South Korea’s leading talent management agencies have been ordered by the country’s Fair Trade Commission to stop forcing unfair contracts on their trainees. The dark side of any industry will remain behind closed doors if they are not called out to adopt more humane principles.
Stereotypes about the Idol fanbase
Discovering BTS reminded me of the joys of being a fan. I streamed my favourite artists’ music, watched interviews, analysed lyrics, and belted out their songs.
Though being a genuine fan is not wrong, I was still conscious of how I was seen. Suga shared that idol fans are often perceived unfairly by others, “They are often belittled for being idol fans,” he said. “But they’re actually really extraordinary people. Honestly, it’s not easy to do such things just because you like someone.”
A stereotype about ARMYs is that most of us are “screaming teenage girls”. According to data from ticket sales, it was revealed that 3/4 of fans looking for tickets are female. Though it is undeniable that a majority are female, they are not BTS’ sole audience. YouTubers ‘Twins Talk K-pop — TTK’ interviewed ARMYs who are parents themselves.
The ARMY Dads were in their 50’s-60’s. All of them had diverse music tastes, yet connected through BTS. Some started listening to BTS because of their daughters, some through friends’ recommendation. I related particularly to one dad who listened to BTS and enjoyed their sound, which then sparked his interest to research lyric translations. He shared, “I found out they wrote their own lyrics, and it was profound for young boys.” Learning about BTS is a journey: from curiosity, liking their style, discovering meanings. Before you know it, you’ve fallen into a rabbit hole.
Other than music, why were they drawn to BTS? One Dad shared: “They are what they portray. They really are genuine in what they say. They come across as really good, nice people.”
The ARMY Moms were between 33–64 years old. When they were asked what it was like being a part of ARMY, a Mom said that it felt like a community. They shared how being part of ARMY allowed them to make friends worldwide and develop deeper friendships. This reminded me of RM’s speech at a Rose Bowl concert:
Wherever you’re from, whatever you speak, however old you are tonight, we are one. We speak the same thing, we speak the same voice, we speak the same language. This is what we call a communion.
BTS and Halsey collaborated on Boy With Luv, and she shared on her experience with ARMY:
ARMY’s are great. They’re so awesome. But they are so poorly represented in culture as these fangirls who are crazy and mindless. They’re the opposite: they’re intelligent, funny, tasteful, charitable. They wanted to say thank you to me for something, and they organised something charitable in my name. A part of me was like ‘why isn’t everyone’s fans doing this?’ What a better place this world would be!
Why BTS?
BTS debuted from a small label. They faced hardships from receiving hate, needing to share limited resources, living together in one room, and facing baseless accusations, to sacrificing their youth in exchange for intense schedules and restricted diets. They started from bare bones, and gradually rose to the top.
BTS are also actively involved in making their own music. They are unafraid to speak out on what matters to young people. They have written socially conscious songs, shared on the pressures of success, being involved in charity work and movements such as the ‘Love Myself’ campaign, and continue to show their personality and provide comfort for many.
It is no wonder that their music and their authenticity travels across borders.
