Shame Pain & Fame The Dark Side Of K-Pop

Bright and irresistible, K-pop provides the beat to South Korea’s youth culture. But behind the perfect smiles and dance routines are tales of sexism and abuse, writes Crystal Tai

- Crystal Tai

Goo Hara’s tear-stained face was swollen with grief when she took to Instagram Live in October 2019. In the live-stream, an emotional Goo – a former member of girl group Kara – held her hands in a prayer symbol as she spoke for three minutes to her “sister”, fellow K-pop star Sulli, a former member of the popular girl group f(x). The 25-year-old had taken her own life in her apartment the day before.

While not addressing the circumstance’s surrounding Sulli’s death, Goo instead said goodbye to her friend for the last time. “Live well up there and do everything that you wanted to do,” she said, as thousands of fans watched her pain unfold in real time. “I will live hard and work hard for you.”

Yet a little more than a month later, Goo, 28, was found dead in her home. She, too, had died by suicide.

... For many young Koreans, K-pop is a desirable career choice – a lucrative and exciting opportunity to be a part of the pop behemoth that has become South Korea’s best-known cultural export. It’s an industry worth $7.5 billion, and its popularity now extends beyond Asia, with members achieving a level of global success unprecedented in music history. The phenomenally popular boy band BTS had the third best selling album of 2020 (behind Taylor Swift and The Weeknd), and last year Blackpink became the best-selling K-pop girl group in history. But something is very wrong inside K-pop, and it points to a deeper malaise throughout South Korea.