Recently, Korean singer G-Dragon (leader of Big Bang) participated in the Kpop concert "K-SPARK" held in Macau (China). G-Dragon's stages have always attracted attention for his fashion style, but this time his outfit has caused great controversy.
The T-shirt G-Dragon wore printed with words said to imply racial discrimination against black people on his back, along with images considered culturally inappropriate.
After G-Dragon's performance images and videos spread on platforms, a wave of criticism from Korean and international audiences quickly erupted.
Some international fans left comments protesting on the male singer's social media account, asking him to take an official position; there were even comments calling G-Dragon an "international shame".
Finally, under public pressure, the management company Galaxy Corporation apologized on behalf of the Big Bang leader.
The company wrote: "We sincerely apologize for the fact that the artist's costume contains phrases that are socially and culturally inappropriate.
Through this incident, we once again clearly realize the importance of cultural sensitivity and responsible censorship.
We will comprehensively review and improve the internal inspection process, including the shaping part, to operate with more cautious standards in the future.
However, the noise has not subsided when netizens discovered that G-Dragon used to wear a similar shirt many years ago. Audiences believe that it is impossible to completely blame the stylist, but G-Dragon himself must also bear some responsibility.
The male singer born in 1988 is known as the "fashion icon" of Kpop with a strong and distinct personal style. Therefore, G-Dragon's every fashion choice is often considered "symbolic and trending", meaning he also has a part of responsibility for his personal image in front of the public.
The controversy took place in the context that G-Dragon was competing fiercely with artists such as BTS and Cha Eun Woo in the poll of "40 most influential stars" (Power celebrity 40) in Korea by Forbes Korea magazine.
The vote organized by Forbes Korea is taking place on the global Kpop platform Mnet Plus. According to initial voting data, G-Dragon and BTS are leading in a close race.
As of April 28 - the 9th day of the poll, G-Dragon led with 47.4% of the votes, followed by BTS with 46.2%, Cha Eun Woo ranked behind, forming a highly competitive top 3 situation.
The "Power celebrity 40" ranking is based on many factors such as annual income from television, advertising, digital music and concerts; along with the level of appearance on social networks and news; as well as the voting results of fans... this index becomes a symbolic measure of influence in the cultural industry.
Currently, there are about 70 nominees, including singers, actors, athletes and program hosts. The voting starts on April 20 and will end on May 10.
