UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

THE PONTIFICAL AND ROYAL UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS,

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

FACULTY OF ARTS & LETTERS

The Pedophilia of K-POP Entertainment Companies: A Call for Justice

An Essay
Presented to the Faculty of Arts and Letters
University of Santo Tomas
Manila, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements of the Learning Area
LIT 1: The Great Works

By
Juliana Aasta Bernice A. Varela
2CW

Submitted to
Professor Paolo Tenchavez
September 1, 2022
 K-POP is an industry that thrives on its idols' success, talent, and beauty. The emergence

of K-POP in an oversaturated western society is the talk of the town for many people, especially

the world's youth. There is a big market for Korean pop, as music, dramas, and fashion are the

crown jewels of South Korea. When discussing the dark side of K-Pop, there are many things to

add to the conversation, including the sexualization of minors.

Like pop culture in many western countries, the sexualization of minors is not a new

thing, sadly. Whether Britney Spears, Natalie Portman, or Billie Eilish, even the brightest stars

can get oversexualized at the ripest ages of 16 or younger (Gray, 2022). In the K-POP industry,

this is no exception. From Tzuyu of Twice to the members of New Jeans and their controversial

creative director Min Hee Jin, the sexualization of young idols in the community has to stop.

Because of these actions, their K-Pop companies and respective management deserve to go to the

eighth circle of hell. The way that they sexualize their Korean idols of minor age and let them

dress in inappropriate clothes, dance sexual dances, and sing sensual lyrics is disturbing.

K-POP companies have been doing these practices for a long time, regardless of age.

Whether it be famous idols in the second generation of K-POP or the fourth, the truth is, it has

been present for quite a while and continues to re-emerge. One example is HyunA, a former

member of Wonder Girls and 4Minute, who is currently a famous soloist. She debuted at the

tender age of 14 and has spoken to the public many times about how she did not want to have a

"sexy" concept. However, they demanded it of her repeatedly, and she had to comply to make

her debut even possible (Sarkar, 2021). Another insane instance would be how Tzuyu, a member

of the famous group TWICE, filmed a sexual elevator dance with sexy clothing and music to

match. The sad thing was, she was only a minor during the filming, according to Quora!
 Of course, no matter the generation, sexualization is here even in the present time for the

fourth generation. The first example would be Wonyoung, a past competitor from the survival

show Produce 48, a former member of IZ*ONE, and a present member of IVE. During her time

in the survival show, she had to perform the song "Side to Side" by Ariana Grande, which is

alarming as the song already has sexual undertones. But the outfit that the 14-year-old trainee

was wearing during the performance was short shorts and a high tank top – which was rotten

from head to toe (Diesa, 2017)! And our last example would be the most recent, the newly

debuted girl group from HYBE LABELS called New Jeans. They have sparked controversy

since HYBE revealed that their creative director was Min Hee Jin, who formerly worked at SM

Entertainment, one of K-pop's leading companies. Min Hee Jin had a lousy reputation for

pedophilic tendencies and questionable choices regarding styling for the previous SM

Entertainment artists (Lopa, 2022). One of their debut singles, "Cookie," also came to the fans'

attention for having sensual and erotic meaning to the lyrics, entirely unsuitable for the group

from 14 to 18 years old.

Regarding Dante's Inferno, it is clear that these pedophiles deserve to go to the eighth

circle of hell, precisely where the pimps and seducers lie. They are pimps and seducers because

they sell their underage idols to the public, letting them do sexual things that are inappropriate

for their age. These idols also cannot say no, because they are legally bonded to a contract, and

they must follow their management to ensure their success. Famous entertainment companies

such as SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, HYBE LABELS, and the

idols' management team have committed atrocities that befall this category. Besides backlash and

the fans calling out these cases, there are little to no repercussions given to these people, as the

public would turn a blind eye to most K-POP scandals or problems. That's why the due
punishment for these people is the given punishment in the eighth layer, which would be for

demons to whip them while they endlessly march, just like how horses are treated. They deserve

a gruesome punishment to atone for their sins being kept under the radar.

People might think, what is their purpose for committing these acts of pedophilia? What

could excuse them from committing such acts? Well, this is because sex sells. Whether you are

of legal age or not, sex is something that people lust and pay money for. It is a sad and harsh

reality, but it is the truth. The tragic thing about sex and lust is that they can easily corrupt any

person's mind, whether you are innocent or kind. During those instances, morality goes down the

drain in pursuit of the pleasures of the human body. That is why many people are found in the

second circle of hell, which is for lust. Many people were swept away by the winds of love,

which led them to lose their morality and righteousness. Not only that, but the victims suffer

tremendous psychological pain and torment. Dozens of pedophilia victims have opened up that,

although they were only underage and were not thinking correctly, the trauma of what they have

experienced haunts them even as they grow up. So, imagine what these young idols feel about

having their public image tainted by the dirty hands of the rich and greedy; they will feel horrid.

In conclusion, fans reprimanded K-POP companies and their management teams for too

long. The surplus of crimes they have committed is so grave that it makes the general public

think it is okay and normal to sexualize minors easily. Therefore, they must go to hell and pay

for the consequences of their actions. These victims are traumatized, and it is damaging to their

careers. Because of these, K-Pop companies and management teams are in the eighth circle of

hell because they deserve to rot and atone for the sins that they have committed.
REFERENCES

Diesa (2017). Kpop and sexualization of minors. The Vigilant Citizen Forums.

https://vigilantcitizenforums.com/threads/kpop-and-sexualization-of-minors.545/

Gray, D. (2022). Kate Moss, Britney Spears, & more celebs who spoke out about being

sexualized at a young age. Sheknows.

https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/slideshow/2509093/celebrities-sexualized-

young/

Lim, P. (2020). Why does JYP sexualization of underage idols (Tzuyu, Yuna, etc.) work with

audiences? Quora. https://www.quora.com/Why-does-JYP-sexualization-of-underage-

idols-Tzuyu-Yuna-etc-work-with-audiences

Lopa, K. (2022). NewJeans' Min HeeJin slammed for ‘pedophilic’ comments and sexualization

of minors. Meaww. https://meaww.com/new-jeans-min-hee-jin-pedophilic-sexualization-

minors-nct-dream-shinee-taemin-red-velvet-yeri-fx

Sarkar, I. (2021). When K-Pop stylists go too far: Underage idols and inappropriate costumes.

Allkpop. https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/02/when-k-pop-stylists-go-too-far-

underage-idols-and-inappropriate-costumes