Bondage of Standard: Interaction between K-pop Culture and Male Gaze

Abstract

In the context of contemporary social entertainment prosperity, Korean pop culture, known as K-pop, subtly and gradually influences young people and the world due to its globalization and attraction to a large number of young viewers. However, because of the restrictions of artistic expression in the past, which created a patriarchal social system, and the glutton of pursuing fans finance, the male gaze is still present in typical manifestations of Korean entertainment culture such as music videos, song lyrics, and television dramas, and has an undetectable effect on womens self-awareness and perception of beauty standard. Contacting interviews and going through case studies, the paper analyzes the embodiment of the male gaze in Korean popular culture and its influence on women and concludes that established under aesthetic hegemony and following the male gaze, K-pop culture gradually undermined womens self-awareness and conclusion that their pursuit of diverse beauty due to its popularity and expansion.