K-pop is once again reckoning with accusations of cultural appropriation, this time with Kiss of Life — a rising girl group known for its hip-hop influences — coming under fire for allegedly mimicking Black culture. The group's actions have been criticized as offensive and lacking respect or understanding.

This is hardly the industry’s first rodeo with such allegations. Cultural insensitivity has long been a recurring theme in K-pop, a genre that has been heavily borrowing from African American culture without proper credit or recognition.


As the industry has grown more diverse than ever — in not only its fan base but also its artists — persistent cultural insensitivity within the scene is drawing intensified scrutiny.

Given its apparent ambitions for global expansion, repeated missteps raise one constant question from both fans and critics alike: Will K-pop ever learn?

Same old controversies, same old apologies

Kiss of Life, managed by S2 Entertainment, found itself in hot water after a recent livestream on April 2 celebrating Julie’s birthday was themed around “old-school hip hop vibes.”

The four members donned hairstyles and outfits heavily associated with Black culture, including cornrows and gold chains. Belle, a Seattle-born Korean American, was jokingly referred to as “Lil Taco Belle,” while the members mimicked mannerisms commonly associated with stereotypical portrayals of African American rappers — which was widely criticized online as “cosplaying Black culture” for entertainment.

Belle's Bubble message prior to the livestream attempted to hype up fans, saying, “Promise you won’t leave the fandom after watching it.” The comment appeared to be somewhat aware of potential backlash, further fueling outrage among international fans.

Despite S2 Entertainment’s statement issued on April 3 and handwritten apologies from the members posted on Sunday, the backlash only intensified on social media.

The continued outrage is partially due to the members' vague apologies failing to directly address the racial and cultural communities affected.

"We realize now that our content was culturally insensitive and take full responsibility for our actions and can only promise to do better," the members wrote in their apology, continuing, "We've spent the past few days learning and reflecting on how our actions have disappointed many of you," without properly mentioning the Black community.

Fatou, a Belgian-Senegalese rapper of girl group Blackswan, weighed in by saying, “If u wanna apologize to us black people, make sure you address us,” on her X post on Sunday.

History repeats itself

K-pop is no stranger to accusations of cultural appropriation, with some of its biggest names, such as BTS, Blackpink, NCT and StrayKids, embroiled in similar controversies in the past.

RM of BTS acknowledged in his 2015 interview with Hiphopplaya that his shouting of "Westside till I die" in the B-side track "If I rule the world" released in 2013 was "wrong" for failing to respect West Coast hip-hop and its history. More recently, J-Hope was accused of appropriating the Black aesthetic with his hairstyle resembling dreadlocks in his music video for "Chicken Noodle Soup" in 2019.

Blackpink, on the other hand, had to remove images of Hindi deities in its 2020 music video for "How You Like That," facing backlash from Indian fans for using a sacred object as a mere prop. Lisa also apologized in 2019 during an online meet and greet with a fan for wearing braids in her music video for "Money."

“As K-pop music has been heavily influenced and inspired by hip-hop and R&B, [artists] are inclined to adopt elements of those styles as well, often only on a surface level without a deeper understanding of the cultures they’re drawing from,” noted Lee Gyu-tag, a professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea.

“With K-pop’s rise from a mainly subcultural phenomenon to mainstream fame, increased scrutiny is only natural.”

Lessons not learned

Despite the rigorous training that artists endure, which covers the multiple facets of their lives, cultural appropriation — and other insensitivities involving ethnicity and cultural diversity — remains a recurring issue in K-pop.

While a broader lack of awareness within the still largely homogenous Korean society obviously plays a fundamental role, K-pop, despite its goals to drop the K and become a truly global form of music, may still have a way to go in developing awareness around global cultural issues.

Experts suggest that K-pop, as an industry, is at a crossroads — where agencies and artists’ self-awareness of their position in the market has yet to catch up with their global platform and increasingly diverse audience.

“K-pop which began as an alternative subculture and has been expanding its reach from there, garnered huge support from Latin and African American fans, as well as those from the LGBTQ community,” noted Kim Do-heon, a pop culture critic, pointing out that the industry still lacks the necessary self-awareness needed to engage with its core audience, often showing the same indifference seen in mainstream artists from the past.

Kim Heon-sik, another K-pop critic, also pointed out shifting dynamics in the industry. The greater artistic and personal autonomy of idols has become a new selling point — especially for Western audiences — but also a potential risk in the era of social media, where lines between artists and fans are increasingly blurred.

“Agencies in the past had tighter control over what artists say, acting as a gatekeeper of sorts,” noted Kim. “But ever since the success of BTS and the rise in popularity of self-produced content, it became more common for artists to directly communicate with their fans.”

While traditional micromanaging by companies is often perceived negatively, appropriate oversight could have prevented missteps like the recent controversy if exercised properly, Kim suggested.

K-pop's future going forward

Though one issue may seem small, the incident resonates larger in an industry seeking to make major leaps overseas, especially in the Latin American regions.

Education on diversity and media literacy is crucial going forward, Kim Do-heon noted, given Korea’s relatively limited exposure to cultural diversity alongside the overwhelming flood of online content that leads individuals to imitate what they see without a deeper understanding of context.

“Though I am not entirely convinced if training alone can solve this kind of problem, especially considering the complexity of the matter,” Kim said. “If agencies simply move on thinking, ‘Let’s not do it next time,’ nothing will change.”

Lee of George Mason University Korea stressed that K-pop should focus on reinventing and interpreting pop culture through its distinct Korean identity instead of blindly copying other cultures.

"I believe K-pop should be able to incorporate originality in its presentation and interpretation of music, rather than merely imitating what has already been done in genres like hip-hop or R&B," Lee said.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]