Kpop, millions of people are watching you, do better please.

I'm a K-pop fan. I've decided to no longer be ashamed of my interests, there are no "guilty pleasures" for me. I got into it about three years ago, stumbling upon it in a forum and decided to check it out. I do not regret my decision. I got interested into South Korean culture through K-pop, a passageway to South Korean media, food, language, relationship dynamics, I found it all interesting. There is a huge problem in K-pop though... they heavily exercise in cultural appropriation. South Korean media in general needs to be addressed, I've watched shows and had to be subject to blackface and"black jokes"/ anti-blackness. I've seen k-pop stars "dress up" as a stereotypical black, Mexican and Desi people. It's never funny. When Psy became a worldwide phenomena K-pop didn't only receive attention the entire country did. So, you'd think there'd have been changes right... nope not a thing changed. The K-pop fans aren't much better, their anti-blackness and apologetic behavior towards anything offensive is off-putting, annoying and racist. Check out this blog to really grasp how horrible k-pop stars and their fans can be.

The internet is great, it opens people to new cultures and can be awesome for cultural exchange if done correctly. There is one big South Korean entertainment company that is the holy ground for all thing appropriative. YG Entertainment prides itself on being a "hip-hop and rap" label, I'll admit they are home to my favorite groups; however, the extent to which they do problematic things is endless.
Example A:

What is this?? This a screenshot from CL's video "The Baddest Female" The people here are wearing clothing usually attributed towards black or Latin@ gang culture to look "cool." Yes, let's trivialize something as serious as gangs to make yourself seem "different" in a largely hegemonic society.

Example B:

This is a screenshot of Dara from 2NE1( a part of YG, CL's also in this group)  in the Fire (Space Ver.) MV where she's appropriating Desi culture by wearing a bindi and Sari. She's the member that's the blank canvas for cultural appropriation in this group, the sheer amount of things they've "dressed her up" as is ridiculous.

K-pop racist apologists argue that they have no idea what they're doing is wrong, which is utter bull. They aren't stupid and to suggest there isn't a single person in South Korea who is knowledgable about cultural appreciation vs. cultural appropriation is ridiculous. In YG Ent. there are Korean-American employees that should know enough to recognize what they're doing is wrong.

It's understandable they're behavior is a product of white dominated media that stems from Western depictions of other cultures. What South Korean media has failed to realize is just as you're open to other cultures, those same cultures are open to you, watching what you're doing. I recognize we have music artists that appropriate in our country too, the people that are often affected by it here speak out. They don't have that same liberty in South Korea, unless the immigrants or "foreigners" that live do, which I haven't heard happens often or at all. The Internet has helped direct millions of people to South Korean culture, just as it's being exposed for it's charms people are being exposed to it's faults.