How female K-pop idols suffer gender inequality and are held to different standards: ‘It’s totally unfair’
- Former K-pop idol Way from Crayon Pop says there are stricter standards and more limitations for female idols than male ones
- Incidents involving girl groups Lovelyz and AOA, and Tiffany Young of Girls’ Generation, highlight how K-pop females are treated harsher than males
K-pop singer Way, a former member of girl group Crayon Pop, remembers being confused when her agency once called her and other members of the group to discuss the revelation of a relationship between two K-pop idols.
“I didn’t understand why the company was saying that only the girl’s career had ended when the relationship involved two people,” Way tells the Post. (A spokesperson for Chrome Entertainment said they were not aware of the conversation).
In South Korea, the issue of gender inequality – also known as “men’s gender authority” by feminists – has been making headlines in both domestic and international news coverage of the country.
Gender authority can take many forms. In South Korea, one of the most obvious examples can be seen within the K-pop industry, where observers say girl groups are criticised more harshly than their male counterparts for the same behaviour.
