Why I Like My K-Pop Styled With Sugar, Spice And Everything Nice [Opinion]

The first K-Pop tune that made me rape the loop button was SHINee's "Replay." It was very catchy. The beat was infectious. The lyrics were cute. I will not let anyone argue with me when I say that it is perhaps one of the best tracks from SHINee or from K-Pop music in general.

But I'm not here to discuss SHINee per se.

Listening to "Replay" alone was not enough. It didn't take long before I realized that I was ceaselessly watching one K-Pop video after another. The thing I love the most about K-pop music videos is the insane dancing, cute storylines about puppy love, and the overall heartwarming innocence that tickles you to the bones.

In terms of style, K-Pop was very conservative and very targeted to a younger audience. I always saw pops of color everywhere that it almost seemed like music videos were one pop art display. It was all bubblegum pop and there was hardly any room for obscenity and sexuality. Broadcasting networks and the Korean Communications Commission were quick to pick out anything that would make it awkward for you to watch it with your parents or younger siblings. They still are now, but a bit more... open to paradigm shifts.

In recent years, there have been a growing number of K-Pop videos showing sexually suggestive content. Heck, there are a lot of stars going for that sexy, alluring concept nowadays. While I thought it was cool when HyunA and GaIn tried to break out of the cutesy girl group trend, the recent influx of more sexed-up concepts is just too much to bear.

Since I'm a girl, Taeyang's glorious abs and Kyuhyun's hip thrusts make me go manic in an instant. While I enjoy these subtle sexy moments-the kind that's enough to tickle your senses and nothing more-I find that it is more tasteful when it was just enough to tease instead of just putting it all out there. It is more enjoyable when they didn't mean for it to be sexy instead of just really going for it.

I'm not at all against K-pop getting changing its look and feel since it is all part of its growth as one giant industry on its way to worldwide domination. I even gave YouTube "thumbs-up" to some videos for their creatively weaving stories involving sexuality and other R-19 themes.

Nevertheless, It's nice to look back at times when a shirtless Jaejoong was sexy enough to make you shyly look away for a while and then come back for more. I think it's nice to look back at those fine moments of innocent reverie, of having young boys innocently sing, "Noona, you're so pretty."

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Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not reflect the ideas of KpopStarz.

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