Truth be told, I don’t know much about (G)I-DLE. Like how to properly say their group’s name. I recognize the rapper, who has featured in other songs and is apparently a very good songwriter and producer, producing some of the group’s tracks herself, and know that there was another member who quit the group after a scandal broke that she bullied some of her classmates. Other than that, though, I don’t really follow this group. Or “stan” them, as we would say in the Kpop community.
The bullying scandal is nothing new in the world of Korean celebrities. Many a celebrity have been accused of bullying in their middle and high school days, and it often ends with either a teary-eyed apology letter or stone-faced denial. There’s also something to be said about the cyber-bullying that tends to occur once the scandal breaks, not of the victim in question but of the alleged bully themselves, sometimes leading to a person’s departure from a group or being dropped from a sponsorship. (What is to be said, however, I’m not sure. Obviously bullying is bad but sometimes the vitriol that comes after the scandal seems worse than the alleged bullying. Let’s hold people accountable for their actions, but also acknowledge that people can grow and learn.)
Bullying is a big deal in Korea and I admit I don’t know much about it, teaching at a hagwon rather than a public school. I’ve dealt with some minor bullying, such as a boy calling his classmate an idiot for getting vocabulary test answers wrong, but nothing of the nature that is being called to attention by people who grew up with celebrities. This is a good article that briefly discusses the topic.
But back to the video!
The English in this video is not that great (“sometimes we swear without cigarettes”?), but holy moly, did they just drop an English curse word in the chorus?! Yes they did! You can even hear it in the uncensored version. Not only did they switch it up with a concept change, but they went all out and didn’t just change their hair colors and call it a day. (Here’s another song for you.)
I can dig it.
Koffee & Kpop 