The Cultural Appropriation Of The Native American And Southern Asian Cultures In K-Pop

K-Pop has become a global phenomenon all over the world. The Korean Wave has swept the world by storm, appealing to people from different cultures. Because of this K-Pop has become a cultural exchange. K-Pop uses influence from a lot of different cultures. So, it is important for K-Pop companies and idols to think about how their actions make fans feel. Unfortunately, sometimes they get it wrong and upset their fans.

In our previous article, we mentioned how K-Pop sometimes misrepresents black culture. Many K-Pop fans from other cultures have felt that their culture was appropriated, as well.

Southern Asian K-Pop fans often point out cultural appropriation from idols during comeback stages or on variety shows. Southern Asia includes the countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.

Another group that experiences cultural appropriation is Native American people. They are part of the indigenous people living across the globe. According to the United Nations, there are more than 476 million indigenous people living in 90 countries. They represent 5,000 cultures and speak 7,000 languages.

For the sake of this article, we will focus on Native Americans more than other indigenous people because they are the ones the most mentioned by K-Pop fans in terms of cultural appropriation. Native America refers to the indigenous people who lived in the U.S originally before it was colonized and their cultural representation.

Here is a look at how K-Pop appropriates both Southern Asian and Native American culture. Idols must