Naegaz in Paris: How Black Culture Created K-pop

In 2015, I stumbled across a YouTube video that would inadvertently alter my consumption of pop music for years to come. After randomly browsing videos for hours, the YouTube algorithm directed me to a new trending song: “Hello B*tches” by South Korean rapper CL. I was instantly hooked and found myself immersed in a new genre I never heard of before; I would later discover that this genre was called K-pop. At the time, I paid no mind to the blatant cultural appropriation of Black culture in CL’s music video. It didn’t bother me that non-Black backup dancers wore cornrows and Bantu knots or that they utilized African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), I just passively consumed.  

After my coincidental introduction, I quickly became a super fan. I dedicated an absurd amount of time and money to streaming songs, watching videos, buying merch, and attending concerts. Despite my love for the genre, my fandom, and my favorite groups; I felt as if I didn’t belong in the K-pop community. My views as a Black fan juxtapose the roots of the genre. Black culture has been integral to the development of K-pop, just as it has almost every modern genre. As CEO of Bighit Entertainment, home to BTS, stated “Black music is the base. Even when doing many genres like house, urban, and PBR&B; there’s no changing the fact that it is Black music.” I go as far as to say that there would be no K-pop, as we know it, without Black people. 

To analyze the influence of Black culture, it’s important to know the history of the first “K-pop group” in existence: Seo Taiji and Boys.

Seo Taiji and Boys consisted of three friends; Seo Taiji, Yang Hyun-suk, and Lee Juno. The group experimented with different genres and created a fusion of Western and Korean music, setting up K-Pop and making the genre what it is today. 

Seo Taiji and Boys found influence in Rap and other Black music styles to lay the groundwork for the new genre. The group mixed aspects of Hip-Hop, RNB, EDM, Jazz, and Rock into their albums and even used more than one genre in one song. The utilization of Black culture didn’t stop there. The group pioneered a new look to Korean music as well. This new look was inspired by Black culture, from Seo Taiji’s fashion choices and performance styles, to their beats, and even their call for youth rebellion. Seo Taiji and Boy’s political and rebellious songs created a new Korean youth culture that so closely mirrored Black youth culture and experience in the U.S.

Seo Taiji and Boys radically shaped K-pop to be what it is today. Even after the group disbanded, their influence remained. Groupmate Yang Hyun Suk later established YG Entertainment which houses infamous K-pop groups like Blackpink, Bigbang, 2NE1, Epik High, CL, and more. The group’s impact on Korean Music would not have been possible without the Black artists they look up to and listen to. SM group H.O.T applied Seo Taiji and Boy’s appropriated style with a new “formula” making them the first official K-pop group inspiring the rest to follow. 

Rap music is not the only element of Black Culture that can be found in K-pop. K-pop beats, lyrics, fashion, hairstyles, performances, music videos, choreography, and more can be linked back to Black culture and innovation. Black Culture has been imperative in the fostering and growth of K-pop music in Korea and abroad. 

The utilization of Black culture in K-pop has allowed me, a Black fan, to relate to it even more. Black K-pop fans have been pivotal to the success of the genre and industry in the United States. In her video essay with the New York Times, Nicole Fineman stated that “A significant amount of K-pop fans are Black.” 

“I see a lot of cultural connection in K-pop to Hip-hop,” said one Black K-pop fan to Fineman. “I see it as a crossover, see it as a blend. They have used a lot of our music and have been influenced by a lot of our artists. It’s wonderful.” 

Black fans also show their appreciation and presence in the fandom on Twitter with hashtags. Many Black fans participate in #Blackout where they upload photos of their Idols and themselves in similar outfits, backgrounds, or hairstyles. Black Army (BTS Fans) celebrate #BlackoutBTS on the 15th of every calendar month.

One fan tweeted, “#BlackOutBTS is made for the fans who get the most silenced within the army: Black people. We get constantly ridiculed, ignored, attacked, and disrespected within the army and we as a cohesive unit are sick of it”.

Black people aren’t just consuming K-pop; some are going as far as debuting as K-pop idols themselves. In 2015, Alex Reid a Black American from Texas made history as being the first non-Asian K-pop idol. Reid debuted with K-pop group RaNia under DR Music. Yet, Black K-pop idols still face a lot of backlash and racism from the industry and fans. 

“Being a black woman in a K-pop group was hard,” Reid told her followers on Reddit. Reid faced a lot of racism and eventually left RaNia. Fans on Twitter thought Reid was getting mistreated due to her race, but Reid has stated it was for other reasons. 

Reid paved the way for other Black K-pop idols like Senegalese rapper/singer Fatou Samba. Samba, who is also signed to DR Music, joined the K-pop scene in 2020 after debuting with the girl group Blackswan. Singers Lee Michelle and Yoon Mi-rae (Natasha Shanta Reid), who are both half-Black, have also made a name for themselves in the genre. 

The mistreatment of Black K-pop idols is not the only backlash the industry has received. The K-pop industry and idols alike have come under extreme scrutiny from the Black community and allies over the misuse of Black culture and cultural appropriation.

Numerous K-pop idols have been called out for their use of the N-word, Blackface, and cultural appropriation of Black hairstyles. There is likely not one K-pop idol out there who hasn’t been on the receiving side of Black outrage. Blackpink artist Lisa apologized for cultural appropriation after wearing box braids in her “Money” music video, BigBang’s G-Dragon and Girl Group MAMAMoo angered international fans by doing Blackface, NCT Jaehyun and Aespa’s Giselle went under controversy for mouthing the N-word and BTS’ Namjoon was called out for claiming his special talent was speaking in “Black English.”

Cultural Appropriation is also seen in K-pop with the mistreatment of Black producers in the industry. In 2000 SM Entertainment, a Korean agency that houses many famous K-pop groups went under fire for plagiarizing the work of singer-songwriter Micah Powell. Powell visited an SM writing workshop and wrote the song “Devil” which later debuted as SMs’ group Super Junior’s track with no credit given to Powell. After coming forward with his story Powell was given only 200 dollars as compensation by the agency. Powell’s story also mirrors that of Tiffany Red. Red was paid only 66 dollars after producing a hit song for SM’s group NCT Dream. 

Despite outrage from the Black community and allies, the misuse and belittlement of Black culture is still a prominent thing in K-pop. K-pop idols are constantly being called out for Blackface, wearing Black hairstyles, and saying the n-word but still face no consequences.  

Unlike dating or drugs scandals, cultural appropriation has never been able to hurt a K-pop idol’s career, and some claim it benefits their international success even more. With outrage from Black and international fans comes more clicks and streams for groups. K-pop idols hardly ever make apology statements and when they do, their agencies restricts them from being published. For example, K-pop Star Henry apologized for utilizing Black hairstyles but the video was later taken down by his managers. 

Although Kpop idols’ careers have never been jeopardized due to cultural appropriation or racism towards the Black community, more and more Black fans and international fans are taking action. Some fans boycott groups while others leave fandoms completely. In October of 2020, International and Black K-pop fans called for a boycott of NCT album Resonance (2020). This boycott trended on Twitter during the debut of the album. 

Even though fans called for a boycott, neither SM nor NCT put out a statement to address their fans’ grievances. The boycott was not successful, as the album did well on the charts. 

The tensions between Black K-pop fans and K-pop agencies, non-Black fans, and idols hit a catalyst in the Summer of 2020 after the unjust killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department. Although K-pop fans were praised for flooding the #WhiteLivesMatter and #BlueLivesMatter and Dallas Police Department’s website with K-pop fan cams, Black K-pop fans were reported and doxxed on Twitter, called racial slurs, and harassed by fellow fans for calling on K-pop artist to speak out on #BlackLivesMatter. 

The events that unfolded that summer forced me to take a step back from K-pop and “stan Twitter.” I felt I could no longer care about an industry or a fandom that did not care about me. The silence of the industry and the people who profit off the creations of the people in harm’s way was deafening. In the weeks following George Floyd’s murder I, similarly to other Black K-pop fans, was harassed on Twitter and WeVerse (an artist-to-fan mobile app) for trying to spread awareness on #BlackLivesMatter. I now no longer consider myself a K-pop fan, just a person who is a fan of K-pop.

As the debate around cultural appropriation becomes more heated fans are calling for idols and agency to transition from appropriation to appreciation. 

There are many ways agencies can practice cultural appreciation. One key way agencies and Kpop idols can appreciate Black culture is by hiring more Black staff and paying them well. Black producers, stylists, PR agents, and more can help K-pop agencies build stronger ties with the Black community. Hiring more Black stylists can allow for outfits and hairstyles to be double-checked for respectability before the artist goes out or films. Black PR agents can communicate with Black or international fans when problematic situations arise. Agencies should also boost the Black staff who are already there. Paying them more, giving them more credit, and boosting their other work can all be impactful to their staff. 

Along with these options, education can help bridge the gap between Black people and Koreans. For example, one viral youtube video from 2020 featured K-pop trainees learning about cultural appropriation. Similar to this, K-pop group BTS learned about Black Music directly from Black content creators and artists in their show American Hustle Life. 

The connection between K-pop and Black culture is strong and inter-generational. Just like many genres, Black people have been critical of the development and the foundations of K-pop. As new K-pop groups form and more fans join the genre, it is important that we understand the history of Black culture in K-pop. 

Article by Saida Dahir

Design by Jovanny Martinez