List of K-pop music videos banned by South Korean television networks
The following is a non-exhaustive list of K-pop videos that have been banned by one or more South Korean television networks, for reasons such as suggestive or offensive lyrics and imagery.
K-pop is a genre of modern pop music that originates from South Korea. It is characterized by a wide variety of audiovisual elements, and K-pop singles will typically include a music video and a dance routine. There is a history of media censorship and conservatism in South Korea, and as a result, many risque or explicit K-pop songs or videos have been banned by South Korean broadcasting stations. Other reasons for banning include having Japanese lyrics, negatively influencing youth, or the use of brand names.
KBS, MBC, and SBS are the three largest broadcasting and television networks, and they account for the vast majority of banned K-pop videos. As of September 2012, these networks had banned over 1,300 K-pop songs in the past three years alone.[1] This list only includes titular k-pop songs that have an accompanying music video, but many K-pop songs that were not title tracks have been banned as well.
List of banned K-pop videos from KBS, SBS, and MBC
Song Title | Artist | Reason | Banned By |
---|---|---|---|
"Gentleman" | PSY | Showing destruction of public property. when Psy kicked the cone, he also had a laughing look on his face. [2] | KBS |
"Catallena" | Orange Caramel | "Devaluing human life" by having the members be wrapped in yass plastic packages, and dressed as Sushi.[3] | KBS |
"Turn It Up" | T.O.P. | Indirect advertisement.[4] | MBC |
"Joker" | Dal Shabet | Title is similar to crude Korean word for male genitalia, as well as explicit dance moves.[5] | KBS |
"Marionette" | Stellar | Explicit dance moves like the "Butt Rub" was too disgusting.[6] | KBS |
"Uh-ee" | Crayon Pop | Use of a Japanese word.[7] | KBS |
"Island" | WINNER | Homosexual imagery.[8] | KBS |
"Love Don't Hurt" | Shannon | Imagery of nudity, tattoos, and smoking. which made it an 18+ rating. [9] | KBS |
"Dreaming i" | F.CUZ | Rebellious plot that could be a negative influence for teenagers[10] | KBS |
"I Remember" | Bang Yong Guk | Scenes containing shooting and other violence.[11] | KBS |
"Beep" | Park Ji Yoon | Excessive ending credit roll.[12] | KBS |
"Pass Me By" | Brown Eyed Soul | Use of trademark or brand names.[12] | KBS |
"I'll Call Ya" | M.O.A. | Poor video quality.[12] | KBS |
"Shower Later" | Gary | Mature, provocative content, curses, and inappropriate expressions.[13] | KBS, MBC, SBS |
"Bad Girls" | Lee Hyori | Problematic scenes including a student using a slingshot and a teacher who sexually assaults the students.[14] | KBS |
"Angel" | Hoya | Lyrics depicts sexual intercourse between a man and a woman.[15] | KBS |
"Instagram" | DEAN | Use of the Instagram brand name.[16] | KBS |
"DDD" | EXID | Cursing, derogatory terms, and indecent language in lyrics.[17] | KBS |
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" | Lee Hyori | Depiction of traffic violations—driving without a seatbelt on, dancing on top of buses and on roads.[18] | KBS |
"How Dare You" | SISTAR | Pole dance move and belittling lyrics like "Why you play these games?".[19] | KBS |
"Freeze!" | Block B | Lyrics describing unwholesome dating methods. It was banned twice after the lyrics were edited.[20] | KBS |
"Paradise Lost" | Gain | Provocative dance moves.[21] | KBS, MBC, SBS |
"Lotto" | EXO | Title is a brand name.[22] | KBS, MBC |
"Cherry Bomb" | NCT 127 | Violent lyrics, thinking they said the S word. Banned again after reconsideration.[23] | KBS |
"Fxxk It" | Big Bang | Inappropriate lyrics, including slang. title is the F word.[24] | KBS |
"Udon" | Kang Min Kyung & Son Dong Woon | Use of a Japanese word for the title, which is a type of noodle soup served in sushi restaurants.[25] | KBS |
"Rocket Girl" | Stellar | Violence and sexually suggestive content by shooting dudes with laser guns.[26] | KBS |
"We Like to Party" | Big Bang | Indirect advertisement and profanity.[27] | KBS |
"One More" | FIESTAR | Lyrics alluding to sexual activity with three people.[28] | MBC |
"Fly" | Jessica | Use of brand names.[29] | KBS |
"Full House" | MOBB | Use of brand name, derogatory remarks, and mention of drunk driving.[30] | KBS |
"Body" | Minho | Use of brand name.[30] | KBS |
"HOLUP!" | Bobby | Cursing, derogatory terms, Japanese lyrics, uses of brand names, and alcohol abuse.[30] | KBS |
"January" | Beenzino | Reference to Facebook.[31] | KBS |
"Dope" | BTS | Vulgar lyrics and its a type of drug.[32] | KBS |
"Oh NaNa" | K.A.R.D. | Mention of Instagram and odd dance moves.[33] | KBS |
"See U Later" | "Blackpink" | cussing, innuendos, and graphic content. KBS declined this song for its very vulgar lyrics and graphic content by taking wheels off a KIA SUV | KBS |
"Mommae" | "Jay Park" | explicit content and cussing in ugly duck's rap lines | KBS |
"Boombayah" | "Blackpink" | inappropriate lyrics in Lisa's English rap line, alcohol reference, and inappropriate dance moves. | KBS |
"Boyz With Fun" | "BTS" | Chinese phrase sounds like a swear in Korean. KBS did not accept swears on TV. | KBS, SBS, MBC |
Aftermath of bans
Revising
Often, the entertainment company that owns the banned song will try to revise the song and have it reevaluated by the broadcasting company. They may edit the music video and delete the controversial scenes and re-release the new video. Other times, they may alter the explicit dance moves or change a song's lyrics so that the song may still be performed on music shows, such as Music Bank. In the case of EXO's "Lotto," which was banned due to the title being a brand name, the group sang the word "louder" instead of "lotto" while performing the song live. This revision allowed the song to be performed on KBS and MBC music shows.[22]
Although K-pop songs and videos are often banned by KBS, is it less often for MBC or SBS to place a ban. Some groups are content to promote themselves on networks other than KBS and do not make any changes to their original material. In regards to PSY's "Gentlemen," a spokesperson for YG Entertainment said they had no plans to submit a different version of their video, and they followed the decision made by KBS.[34]
When 12 out of 18 songs of Cheetah's album was deemed unfit for broadcast by KBS and five by SBS, the agency stated that they did not plan on making any changes to the lyrics in order to "keep the original intentions and meanings of the song."[35]
See also
References
- ^ KpopStarz (2014-04-30). "What It Takes To Get A Song Banned From Broadcast Stations In Korea". KpopStarz. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
- ^ "South Korean TV Network Bans Psy's 'Gentleman' Music Video".
- ^ "KBS Rules That Orange Caramel's "Catellena" MV Has Scene That "Disregards Human Life" | Soompi". www.soompi.com. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
- ^ "[News] MBC banned TOP's Turn it up". Daily K Pop News. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
- ^ "Dal Shabet: Why Was K-Pop Group's New Music Video 'Joker' Banned? [Video]". The Inquisitr. 2015-04-25. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
- ^ "엉덩이로 방아 찧고 돌린 '스텔라' 19禁 판정…"쉿! 케이블에선 다 보여줄게"" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-03-26.
- ^ Gale, Alastair (2014-04-03). "Crayon Pop's 'Uh-ee' Banned for Shiny Japanese Word". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
- ^ "KBS bans WINNER's 'Island' due to "homosexuality" imagery". SBS PopAsia. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
- ^ "Shannon's MV for 'Love Don't Hurt' deemed unfit for broadcast due to nudity, tattoos, and smoking". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
- ^ "F.CUZ's "Dreaming i" MV deemed unfit for broadcast". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
- ^ "Bang Yong Guk's "I Remember" MV deemed unfit for broadcast". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
- ^ a b c "Park Ji Yoon, Brown Eyed Soul, and M.O.A's MVs deemed unfit for broadcast by KBS". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
- ^ "Gary's 'Shower Later' deemed unsuitable for broadcast by SBS". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
- ^ "KBS deems Lee Hyori's "Bad Girls" MV inappropriate for broadcast". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "Hoya's 'Angel' deemed unfit for KBS broadcast". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "DEAN's 'Instagram' deemed unfit for KBS broadcast". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "EXID's comeback title track deemed unfit for KBS broadcast". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "Lee Hyori's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang MV gets banned". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "SISTAR's "How Dare You" fails KBS review". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "Block B's "Freeze!" gets banned for the second time without an explanation". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "Gain Goes In on New 'Hawwah' EP, Religion and South Korea's Conservative Music Industry". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ a b "EXO Changes Title Track "Lotto" For KBS And MBC Promotions | Soompi". www.soompi.com. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "NCT127 '체리밤' KBS 재심의서 또 부적격 판정". 다음 연예 (in Korean). 2017-06-21. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "KBS bans Big Bang's 'Fxxk It' for 'inappropriate' lyrics". Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "Kang Minkyung, Dongwoon's 'Udon' single deemed 'unfit' for broadcast". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "KBS bans Stellar's debut MV, "Rocket Girl", for violence and sexually suggestive content". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "BIGBANG release "We Like 2 Party" music video". SBS PopAsia. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "FIESTAR's "One More" Banned by MBC for Threesome References | Soompi". www.soompi.com. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "Jessica's new song 'Fly' banned on KBS". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ a b c "KBS bans all of MOBB's songs except for 'Hit Me'". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "HyunA, Fei, Heize, and Beenzino's new tracks banned by KBS". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "Six of BTS's songs from new album deemed unfit for broadcast". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "DSP 측 "K.A.R.D '오나나', 재녹음 후 다시 KBS 심의 신청"". 비즈엔터. 2016-12-08. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ Kwaak, Jeyup S. (2013-04-18). "South Korean TV Network Bans Psy's Video". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "12 songs in Cheetah's new album deemed unfit for KBS + agency says no changes will be made in lyrics". allkpop. Retrieved 2018-05-09.