ATEEZ Affected By Cultural Appropriation Issues, Talking Agency

ATEEZ (Twitter @ATEEZofficial)

JAKARTA - K-pop group ATEEZ will soon make a comeback entitled ZERO: FEVER Part 1. However, they have not yet released the music video, they have to face a number of protests. The teaser, which was uploaded on July 14, is considered cultural appropriation because of the hairstyle used by Hongjoong.

[🎬] ATEEZ - Title # 2 Instrumental Teaser ⠀ ALBUM RELEASE 2020. 7. 29 6PM ⠀ # FEVER_Part_1 #ATEEZ # 에이 티즈 pic.twitter.com/hgkHuD7tTu

- ATEEZ (에이 티즈) (@ATEEZofficial) July 13, 2020

It didn't take long, KQ Entertainment as the agency immediately raised their voices regarding this issue. They apologized and thanked fans for mentioning this issue. KQ thinks this style is adapted to the concept of the song without touching certain people.

“From now on, we, KQ Entertainment will try our best to review and check the historical, characteristic, and cultural background in the production process. We will not raise unsuitable issues. "

They also plan to change their hairstyles during their recent promotions and comeback. KQ will pay attention to cultural, historical, and racial issues so that something like this will not happen again.

K-pop music that adopts western culture is seen in the concept they use for their comeback. Unfortunately, cultural deprivation / abuse is seen when the dominant uses minority cultures.

The hairstyle Hongjoong wears is cornrows or braids in which the hair is narrowed to form a geometric pattern on the scalp.

Cornrows are part of the history of African culture where this hairstyle was worn by women in 3000 BC (BC). Not only Africa, cornrows also became a part of black culture in the '70s. This hairstyle is widely used by black musicians such as Nina Simone and Stevie Wonder.

In the K-pop industry, cornrows are often used by idols, including BLACKPINK's Lisa for Kill This Love, Kai EXO for Ko Ko Bop, J-Hope BTS for Chicken Noodle Soup, and BIGBANG's Taeyang for Ringa Linga, Block B's Zico. for Nilili Mambo and many more.

Some say this usage is their way of appreciating the culture. But often the line between appreciation and abuse looks thin.

With an agency response like this, hopefully the K-pop industry will become more aware of the use of cultures from other countries. Fans also expect that both idols and agencies will be more sensitive to issues like this. What do you think?

Meanwhile, ATEEZ will release the album ZERO: FEVER Part 1 with the main song INCEPTION / THANXXX on July 29, 2020 at 6 pm South Korean time.