Music Boys Live in Absolute Queerness

The Koreans never cease to amaze me. Just when I think that the men of their pop music can’t get any gayer, they manage to outdo themselves with a rainbow of flying colors.

MBLAQ

I am anxiously waiting for these little peaches to be topped (no pun intended) in the “faggy” department. What could possibly be next? My prediction is a boy band clad in glittery unitards who twirl butt plugs as they sing and dance. It’s kind of the only possible scenario.

It’s important to emphasize that I am in absolutely no way complaining. I love MBLAQ in too many ways to count. Mir and Joon are slowly becoming the loves of my life and their music video actually makes me blush.

Mir of MBLAQ

I can’t help but be reminded as I write this of a very recent event in the K-Pop world in which Jaebeom, a member & leader of boyband 2PM, was kicked out of his group and sent back to his home in America for referring to Koreans as “gay” in several myspace comments from 2005. It’s pretty harsh to punish someone so severely for something they had said as a child roughly four years earlier.

Jaebeom of 2PM

Was he really in the wrong? Are Koreans not a little gay? The members of MBLAQ, in addition to a myriad of other flamboyant pop stars, tell a different story and I have remained pretty appalled by this controversy. No country is without its obvious gayness. The best thing to do is just lay back and accept it (again, no pun intended).

I’ve decided that I enjoy interviewing people on subjects I am passionate about, so I went straight to the source for this one:

Korean Power Princess

Meet Hayeon Kim. She is one of my best friends and she also just happens to be Korean. She is profoundly Korean, in fact, and is a prominent figure back in Seoul. She is friends with many important people and is known in some circles as The Iron-Livered Princess of Cheongdam. I believe that she will have some valuable insights on this subject.

Hello Hayeon. Why do you think so many male Korean pop stars are so effeminate? Is this a relatively new thing in the K-Pop world or has it been happening for some time?

Koreans have this thing for pretty boys, especially little girl looking ones. We consider them as general term of handsome guys. And I guess it’s been forever. I’ve never seen any boy bands without a single girly boy. I also think it’s necessary to have some sort of feminine quality for a guy. It’s not just about Koreans, in general.
Actually in Korea now, Ubersexual is in trend. You can easily find the definition on the Internet and I’m too lazy to explain it. Anyway, one great example is this boy band 2PM. They have pretty nice rockin body and their dance moves are strong and sexy (not in a faggy way). But at the same time they do kind of heavy eye make up. It is necessary to have gay quality to be successful as a Korean hot guy. It’s in our blood I guess.
So what I wanted to say is Koreans are open to any kinds of guys and we see guys in different way. In America or any other countries, having eyeliners in your drawer for a guy is extremely faggy. But we don’t give a shit if it’s trendy.

How many of them do you think might actually be homosexual? Feel free to name names.

I cannot even imagine how many gay guys are out there. Before I went to some gay clubs in Korea this summer, I didn’t even know we have that many gay guys in Korea. I heard so many rumors about who’s gay and who’s not but I can’t tell which one is real. I know this one gay guy in Korea, we’ve been friends for long time. Actually he just came out like a month ago and he is in entertainment business, so he told me some names. But at the same time because I don’t trust him at all, I’m still wondering about the truth. I know two actual gay guys in boy bands. They are in different bands and I think they’ve been dating for a while since they were in middle school or high school. I thought that was the sweetest thing ever and at the same time how they talk to each other grossed me out. The point is if you really try to watch Korean boy bands with suspicious minds, you can tell who is gay. What I really want to say is at least one guy in a band has some sort of gay quality. At least a little bit of possibility.

Were you offended by Jaebeom’s comments about the Korean people from 2005? Do you think Koreans are gay?

As a Korean, I also felt upset about Jay’s comments at first. But it was understandable. It’s like blaming your mom or dad when you feel tired of being around them. He was young and moody. Those days were his first time in Korea and he is actually American. It is pretty understandable. I felt lonely, sick and tired when I first came to Chicago without my family or old friends. I couldn’t speak in English that well, school works were exhausting and it was hard to start everything over. Jay was in same position, I guess.
I don’t think Korea’s gay. Korea can be awesome, great country if you can handle yourself. What we have to do is be careful of what we say even when you’re young and stupid and nobody. We need to shut the fuck up and smile to everyone. That’s a Korean thing.

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