Although both US-UK stars and Kpop Idols are public figures, it seems that US-UK artists
have more freedom in doing things than Kpop idols. These are 5 things that celebrities
in the West can do freely but Kpop idols will immediately be condemned if they dare to do:
1. Smoking/Vaping
We are probably not too unfamiliar with the photos of Katy Perry smoking a cigarette, even
in front of her children. Sometimes, we see Miley Cyrus casually smoking while performing on stage.
We also know that Snoop Dogg or Justin Bieber are both genuine cigarette and vape addicts.
While these stars are rarely criticized for that, it’s not the same with Kpop idols.
Smoking doesn’t seem to be a seriously bad behavior, but with Asian culture in general and
with the Kpop entertainment world in particular, this can greatly affect an idol's pure image.
If a Kpop idol is caught smoking or vaping, he can lose his whole career.
The most recent case to mention BTS’s V being spotted smoking behind the scenes of the Grammys.
After the award ceremony ended, V became the focus of controversy when a photo of him and a
staff member enjoying cigarettes right outside the theater was spread on social media. In the photo,
V and the staff member were passionately "emitting smoke" without knowing that they had been
photographed. This caused the online community to stir up, divided into many points of views. A lot
of people criticized V, some defended him, others stayed neutral and were worried for his throat.
However, the number of people who disagree with V's actions is overwhelmingly high,
they said that the image of V smoking really shocked them,
because so far, V has always built the image of a sweet and warm-hearted boy.
And the biggest reason why netizens were so discontent about this is that they believed
idols smoking would set a bad example for fans, especially young ones. According to some,
Kpop fans are mostly teenagers and V should be aware of this as a public figure.
This is not the first time a K-pop artist has caused controversy for smoking.
Many other idols like Soojin and Kim Garam have been miserable because
photos captured them smoking were spread out.
Taemin and Onew were also spotted smoking by paparazzi and then received fierce criticism
from netizens who said they have a strong prejudice against Kpop idols who smoke.
2. Partying at clubs
In the West, going to a bar or club is a casual thing
and it is easy to catch some US-UK stars immersed in crazy dances at nightclubs.
Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez have many times gathered at night bars,
Zayn Malik even had an argument and almost got into a fight at a bar, Justin Timberlake was
seen bringing a strange girl to the bar, but they are still hot singers with million-view songs.
In contrast, in the world of Kpop idol, partying in bars is strictly prohibited because it would
cause problems that seriously affect the idol’s reputation. BLACKPINK once shared
that all YG Entertainment rookies are banned from visiting bars. Park Jin Young also mentioned that
all artists and staff of the company who are found to be at a bar will be fired immediately.
It's not surprising that Kpop companies consider partying in bars seriously because in fact,
there are many idols who have received severe criticism when they are spotted going to clubs.
The most criticized are the 97-liners including BTS’s Jungkook, Seventeen’s Mingyu, ASTRO’s Cha
EunWoo and NCT’s Jaehyun, who got into big trouble when they were seen having fun at a bar in Itaewon
and especially during the time of social distancing.
Upon that incident, netizens expressed their deep disappointment and even asked some shows to remove
scenes related to the above idols or revoke Jungkook's Cultural Merit medal. They believed
the fact that these idols went to bars where girls dressed half-naked and dancers dressed in nothing
was unacceptable because their actions were said to set a bad example for young fans.
Before the case of the 97-liners, Kpop fans also witnessed big controversies related to clubs
like Kara Park Gyuri's visit to a gay bar, or the shocking scandal of Burning Sun. Therefore,
in the eyes of the Korean public, partying in clubs in a positive way or not, is still taboo.
3. Doing plastic surgery
In Korea, perhaps the story of plastic surgery is no longer something too strange.
In fact, Kpop idols sometimes still use some measures to make themselves more beautiful
and facial contours more harmonious. However, with the public's high expectations for the
natural beauty of idols, they are often scrutinized for plastic surgery and when
it is discovered that they have something done, they immediately become the subject of dissection.
Both use plastic surgery to retain beauty, but while Britney Spears proudly said that she had
her own plastic surgeon, Park Bom was criticized for being addicted to plastic surgery. Netizens
believed that her face had suffered too many surgeries so it lost balance and became crooked.
Every time Park Bom appears, people seem to pay more attention to her visuals than her talent.
Another case is Apink's Namjoo who shocked fans when she appeared with a very different
appearance at an event. Since then, netizens have constantly criticized her for abusing cutlery
and becoming a failure of plastic surgery. They believed that unlike her previous pretty visual,
now her facial features became stiff, and her nose also looked ugly.
Besides Namjoo, in the recent one or two years, Chungha's appearance has often been a hot topic.
Compared to the time of debut, netizens saw that her face has drastically changed,
especially her lips which seem to have been injected with too much filler
and her chin was made to be so sharp that it now looks like a half-moon shape.
Chungha often received unnecessary advice from netizens telling her to
stop sinking deep into plastic surgery before it was too late.
Meanwhile, Paris Hilton's sexy lips injected with filler have never received such criticism.
Even Jung Chaeyeon, who was praised a lot for her angelic visual,
was criticized many times after admitting to having plastic surgery.
Many fans expressed disappointment because they did not expect the fragile beauty they adored
was the product of plastic surgery. Since then, whenever there is an article praising
Chaeyeon's beauty, there are a bunch of nasty comments about her appearance popping up.
4. Dating
“If Taylor Swift was a South Korean artist, she would be in deep trouble” - This is
the opening sentence of the article “Can K-Pop stars have personal lives?
Their labels aren't so sure" on CNN by author James Griffiths.
Taylor Swift attracted great attention for a series of hit songs,
and also for her short-lived romance with a dozen boyfriends.
However, she doesn’t seem to suffer too much criticism for that.
However, Korean idols do not have this privilege. Unlike their colleagues on the other side of the
world, Kpop idols are often banned by their management companies from revealing their
personal life. "No dating" is a part of the contract terms between artists and companies,
and the public also rarely wants idols to have romantic relationships.
Once the love story of idols is revealed, their careers will be severely affected
and their relationships will also be shattered. A typical case is when HyunA and E'Dawn publicly
dated, netizens and even fans of the two, fiercely criticized and laughed at their “madness”
leading to CUBE's expulsion of the couple from the company.
Or when Zico (Block B) and Seolhyun (AOA) announced their breakup after dating for
6 months with the reason that they "can't stand that much pressure from the public",
people can imagine how severe netizens reacted to the fact that the two were dating.
5. Getting married
There is a paradox that if US-UK singers get married, they will be warmly congratulated.
For example, Justin Bieber was not very loved for his series of serious scandals,
but since he married Hailey Bieber, he has gained more sympathy and support from netizens.
However, things are in total contrast with Kpop idols who will receive a lot
of harsh criticism if they do not handle their marriage and childbearing “wisely”.
Typically, Sungmin was once a famous member of Super Junior,
but in 2014, he severely “broke fans' hearts” when suddenly announcing his marriage.
The male idol's actions at that time were said to be irresponsible when he decided
to get married while the group's concert and promotion activities were taking place.
The wave of boycott reached its peak with the hashtag #SungminOut being all over Twitter when
fans discovered that he also gave fans’ gifts to his girlfriend, skipping concerts in the middle,
and being negligent in the promotion activities with Super Junior to prepare for the wedding.
Later, Sungmin's career could not develop as before due to the anger of Kpop fans.
There is a sad truth that when idols want to get married, if they don't do
a good job of psychological preparation for fans as well as showing responsibility with
the group's image, then they should deserve condemnation and criticism.
So, why do you think Kpop idols get more criticism for doing
these so-called taboo things than US-UK artists?
Are they worthy of such fierce criticisms? Feel free to share your thoughts with us. Also, don’t
forget to like and subscribe to BebossTV for more interesting Kpop content. Thank you for watching!