Blackpink’s Lisa and Cravity’s Allen Ma among K-pop stars starting to talk about the dangers of racism and cultural appropriation

Largely ignored by K-pop in the past, such issues are being increasingly voiced out by the industry’s stars, often after being called out themselves

P1Harmony’s Keeho says he’s taken it upon himself to educate the group’s other members because he grew up in a more diverse community than they did

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Blackpink’s Lisa apologised for wearing a braided hairstyle during an online call with a fan. Photo: YG Entertainment

Published: 4:15am, 19 Oct 2021Updated: 10:00am, 27 Oct 2021

During a recent online call with a fan, Blackpink member Lisa apologised for wearing a braided hairstyle that some fans said was culturally insensitive and derived from hairstyles over which black individuals across the world have faced racism and hate.

Lisa is one of several K-pop stars over the past few years vocally addressing concerns from predominantly overseas fans of appropriation in the South Korean entertainment industry, after many years of artists and entertainers largely ignoring the issue.

K-pop has a history of drawing on other cultures and ethnic identities, especially black culture, and of stars wearing culturally distinct garb or using religiously sensitive trappings for decoration. Lisa’s conversation with the fan was a rare example of an artist directly addressing something many perceive to be wrong.

Some fan call-outs of K-pop stars are addressed quietly to minimise public attention. Last year, for instance, Blackpink were accused of exploiting Indian culture and religion when they featured a figurine of a deity in one of their music videos. No formal apology was ever provided, but the video was edited to remove the statue.

Apologies do sometimes happen. Mamamoo and Stray Kids, for instance, have publicly apologised for appearing in blackface, and Ateez, like Lisa, have apologised for wearing braided hairstyles that are seen as appropriative.

In September, Allen Ma, a Taiwanese-American member of the group Cravity, apologised for not being careful with his words after he told Buzzfeed he thought that K-pop “appreciates, not appropriates, many different cultures”, which prompted a backlash from fans for his apparent dismissal of the issue.

The apologies from Lisa, Ma and others have typically followed fans asking their favourite stars to better educate themselves.