Diversity in Kpop Part 1: Where the Black Women At?

Now you guys didn't think I named by blog 'MBLAQKPOP' just to be witty, did you? Well you're going to be disappointed then because this time I'm going to....*drumroll*... talk about diversity -or the lack thereof- in Kpop. Gasp! Yet another black person pulling the racism card, right? Wrong.

SHINee's "Dream Girl"

Despite the misleading title of this post (I just wanted to be witty this time) I'm not talking about why there are no black women in Kpop. I'm talking about why there are no dark women. Why is it that the darkest skin tone I've ever seen on an MV is a light tan, the kind that makes you wonder if it's just a shadow. The funniest thing about all this is that when I point this out, I'm met with comments like: it's Korean pop, of course they're going to adhere to Korean standards. And to that I say fine, since it's Korean, I want to see Koreans. Yet why oh why do I see white woman after white woman featured on every other Kpop group?

 Now my problem with this is two-fold. As a black woman, of course I want to see people who look like me involved in something I enjoy. Everyone does; it's human nature. At the same time I have to ask: are those videos even representative of the Korean population itself?

I'll be the first to admit I'm no expert on Korea -hell, I've never even been there before- but, even looking at pictures of Korean stars before debut, there's a clear difference in skin tone before and after debut. Assuming most Koreans look like the pre-debut photos, you gotta wonder how Korean boys and girls feel watching those videos. It's one thing to see people who don't look like you, but it's another to see people who went out of their way to stop looking like you.

SNSD's Tiffany (same name!) post (left) and pre-debut.

But let me stop pushing my thoughts into other people; it's a very different culture and I won't pretend I know well enough to tell the world about it. And I'm not asking for every music video to have a token black/middle eastern/hispanic person (because then you might end up with cultural appropriation a la Miley Cyrus's "We Can't Stop"). I just think that the Korean music industry needs to start taking ethnic diversity into consideration beyond the occasional white girl or buff black security guard. As much as Korean is pushing the Hallyu movement to spread Korean culture throughout the world, it won't get much further without some back and forth. And if Kpop is to remain one of the forerunners of the movement, we're gonna have to see some changes.

Don't think it's all bad, though! This link is an example of how some kpop idols seem to loooooove them some black people. And the love flows both ways (mostly) <3

xoxo Twisted

Today's question: How do you feel about diversity in kpop? Any changes to recommend?