Can You Be a K-pop idol/star WITHOUT Being ASIAN?!?! 0.o | MisterPopoTV TAG (My Answer and Thoughts)

So a lot people are on debate about this topic. Some people think it can happen and some think it can't......

CAN YOU BE A K-POP IDOL/STAR WITHOUT BEING ASIAN?!?! 



This question has been hovering in the K-pop world for sometime but was recently brought to attention by Misterpopo of PopoTV on YouTube. He asked this question and he said the comment section went wild with half the people saying "No" and half saying "Yes". He also tagged it for everyone to share their opinions about the topic and this blog post is my response to the question. But before I get into my answer I want discuss the matter at hand.


YES! NO! YES! NO! YESSSSS!!! NOOOO!!! A lot people have their own opinions about this topic. Some say you can do it and that it is possible; while others say there is no chance in hell, its impossible, so why bother? I have seen the reasons why people would think either way about this subject ( I have also written an essay about it for a project in my English class; if you want a better explanation go CLICK HERE!).



There a many reasons why some people say you can't be a K-pop idol if you aren't Asian but these are the main reasons many have stated.

• K-pop is an "ASIAN" genre of music. If anyone other than Asians were singing it, it wouldn't "feel" right. 
• Koreans aren't as open minded to the idea as the western industry is.
• If they REALLY wanted to be idols than they can be one in their own industry. They would probably have a better chance. 

1. Simply because they aren't Asian is the main reason why they cannot be K-pop idols. It's called "K"-pop (as in Korean Pop) for a reason. Its only meant for Asians and if a Non-Asian were in a group than it wouldn't be K-pop anymore. 

               

In this video both friends discuss their feelings on whether a Non-Asian can be a K-pop idol. Both had different feelings on the matter. One thought that it could be possible while the other thought it couldn't because it wouldn't "feel" like K-pop anymore. I can understand why they might feel this way. K-pop has been only done by Asians. It was a genre created by Asians and was originally for Asians.

[MY RESPONSE]: They say it should only be an "Asian thing" when really it should only be a "Korean" thing, right? I mean, K-pop was created by KOREAN people and only had Korean idols initially. But, overtime started accepting other Asians to participate because it wasn't just Koreans that liked K-pop; Chinese people started liking K-pop and so did Japanese and Thai, etc... K-pop started getting attention not just in Korea but in other parts of Asian as well. To move and venture out to these different markets they started adding people from these countries to become K-pop idols so that they could appeal to a different audience. Where would idols like Nickhun of 2pm, Lay, Kris, Luhan & Tao of EXO, Jia & Fei of MissA, Jackson Mark & Bambam of GOT7, Henry & Zhoumi of SUJU, Amber & Victoria of F(x) come from? None of them are Korean (ethnicity or nationally wise) BUT, they are currently some of the most famous K-pop idols out right now.   Korean music is called Korean music NOT because of the people that sing it BUT because of the LANGUAGE they sing it in. J-pop is called J-pop because it is sung in Japanese, C-pop is called C-pop because it's sung in Chinese. It's not the person that makes it K-pop it is the language it's sung in. No matter who sings it, if it's still sung in Korean it is STILL considered K-pop.

Some people watch and listen to K-pop just to simply look at Asians, its like a like "fetish". So when someone of Non-Asian descent comes along trying to break through the K-pop music industry that's where all the hate comes from. They don't want someone coming in and ruining their fantasy. That one Non-Asian would destroy the very reason they got into K-pop in the first place. But, if that were the case, then people would just listen to country music when they want to see White people. Hip-pop/R&B when they want to see Black people. Rock when they want to see Emo and Goth kids, and Classical when they want to see old people. But, they also forget the fact that there are Black country singers, there are White rappers and R&B singers. Preppy kids like to bang their heads to Linkin Park and Nirvana just as much as the Emo and Goth kids do; and there are young people EVERY DAY being recognized for their talents in the art of classical music. You can't just hold certain people to a certain genre because in the end people are people the only thing that differentiates us is our appearance (race, genes, etc...)





   2.  Korea is a homogeneous place and a lot of them tend to be racist. They won't accept someone of         Non-Asians descent.  They just aren't ready for something like that.


In Korea, 96% of the population is Korean and the rest of the 4 % are foreigners. Half of that is made up of Chinese people that live in South Korea. So that leaves the other 2% to Non-Asian foreigners and HALF of that percent goes to the US soldiers stationed there. That leaves 1% to Non-Asians that are there to teach or just live. So yes, Korea in a whole is not a very diverse place and it is rare (especially in the more rural areas of South Korea) for Korean people to come across an experience to meet a Non-Asian foreigner.

BUT...just because they don't know much about other cultures doesn't mean they don't want to or that they aren't curious. Check out this video! This man's name is Uncle JJ or at least that's what he goes by on his YouTube channel. He is a modern Korean man and in this video he discusses the topic of Non-Koreans (Asians) becoming K-pop stars.






MY RESPONSE: In this video he states that he thinks it would be GREAT if Non-Asians became K-pop idols. To him it would give Korea more diversity.
        Some people say that Korea isn’t ready for a Non-Asian to be in the K-pop scene right now. But when the first Non-Korean was added into the picture people would have probably said the same thing. In fact when Hangeng, the first Chinese K-pop idol, debuted with Super Junior in Korea he wore a mask in all the live performances so Koreans wouldn’t know that he was Chinese descent. Once Korea found out they had to do some warming up to the idea but after a while it wasn’t much of an issue anymore and now they have Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Malaysian members and Korea has accepted the idea of them so why wouldn’t they be ready for the idea of a Non-Asian? Some people would say the reason why is because Korea is a very homogeneous society. Most of time (especially with the older generation in the countryside) they would live their entire lives and would have never seen anyone outside their ethnicity. With the younger generation that is not the case because more students are exposed to different ethnicities in their schools because their English teachers are, most of the time, Non-Asians all together. Most of the hate would come from the older generation who don’t know a lot about other cultures and have never had the chance to experience them because of Korea’s lack of diversity in their society. I have a Korean friend and she is from Korea but she came to America with her husband because of his occupation, they will be going back in the summer. She is an older (probably middle-aged) lady with children of her own and I use to help her with her English. One day I was singing and dancing for her and she asked me if I knew what K-pop was and I told her I did. She said I should audition for one of companies in Korea because I could become an idol if I was talented enough. When I heard this it surprised me because I didn't expect to hear that especially from someone of her generation. When I went to Beijing last year I came across many Koreans and they also thought the same way as my friend. They told me I should audition and became a K-pop idol, they didn't see why I shouldn't. 

This is a video that I posted on my blog a while ago. It is of an African American woman who lives in South Korea. In this video she was telling her story about how she was scouted by a trainer at a famous K-pop academy. At these K-pop academies they train aspiring hopefuls who want to become idols one day. They train them in singing, dancing, acting, instrumentals, modeling, etc... and they also host auditions with scouts from Korean entertainment companies like JYP, YG, SM, FNC, TS, Starship, CUBE, Jellyfish, etc... looking for new trainees to become the next big K-pop idols. And this women is telling her story about how a trainer from this company wanted to train her because she thought she could make it big in Korea and become a singer in South Korea.

I think most of the hate comes from people that AREN'T Korean or even  Asian AT ALL and probably have NEVER been to a Asian country because if I were Asian I would feel pretty offended that people are calling me racist and close minded and MY OWN COUNTRY close minded and racist. How would you know if you've NEVER been there or have NEVER interacted with the locals?!?!?! There are racist close minded people EVERYWHERE!!!! BUT because someone doesn't like you because of your skin color/race etc... That alone shouldn't stop ANYONE from doing what   they want to do! Just because I few people don't like you doesn't mean the others won't.

This is a comment I saw that I thought suited this topic well. Its pretty much self-explanatory. 
   




      3. If they really wanted to be idols, than they would try to make it in their own country. If you                 really wanted to do something than you do it anywhere. They would have a better chance. 

The Korean music industry is really hard for even Koreans to get into. A Non-Asian would have a slim to none chance of ever getting in.



MY RESPONSE: Well all I can say is, if you think like this than tell all these K-pop idols stop to trying to break into other markets because they won't succeed they should just stay where they are and try to make it and should just stay an “Asian thing”. Korean entertainment companies are constantly producing idol groups with goals, specifically, to enter the American market. For every K-pop idol group that debuts in every interview when they are asked “What are their main future long-term goals as K-pop idols?” Every one of them says to become GLOBAL international stars; they can’t do that if they only promote in Asia. The three main companies in Korea such as, JYP entertainment, SM entertainment and YG entertainment are constantly trying to promote their groups in America. CL getting ready for her solo debut in the States. ALL YG artist come over here and promote. SM tried to send Boa and SNSD. JYP has been trying to for YEARS to bring in the States. To them breaking in the other outside markets gives them opportunities to make more money and what company would ever turn down an offer to make more money??? 

Okay now, that I have knocked out some of the biggest excuses (reasons)  people make for not auditioning this is my answer....







MY ANWSER:

Q: Can you be a K-pop idol/star WITHOUT being ASIAN?

A: YES! I believe you can be a K-pop idol/star WITHOUT being Asian.

But at the end of the day all of these opinions don't matter. Whether someone says "Yes you can do it" or "No you can't" shouldn't influence your thoughts or actions of the matter. If YOU think you can do it then DO IT! Don't let the opinions of others make or break whether you decide to do something or not; because at the end of the day YOU are the one in control of your life, YOU make your own decisions and NO ONE can stop you from doing so. Do you want to live life with regret and constant wonder of  "what could've been or what should've been"? It is the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015, stop worrying about your race and JUST DO IT! GO FOR IT! "The first mistake you make is if you don't try" (my mother).




"Life may not always be want you want it to be BUT, it's up to YOU to take what you deserve"                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                         -(David So).


I hope this post helped A LOT of people and I hope that 2015 is the year of more change and more progress. With all this being said I'll see you guys later! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! ^_^