May 7, 2024 will remain a symbolic date for k-pop fans. Unfortunately, not for the reason we all expected. In fact, although for the first time in history a full k-pop group was invited to what is rightfully known as the biggest fashion event of the year in the United States, the Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York – or Met Gala, and had the opportunity to be captured on the red carpet, what Stray Kids fans and all k-pop enthusiasts will actually remember is the racist insults the members received at the hands of the photographers on site.
A bit of context
What is commonly known as Met Gala actually goes by the name Costume Institute Gala. It is a charity event aimed at raising funds for the Costume History section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Held since 1948 at the annual fashion exhibition opening, after changing numerous venues and dates, it has since 2005 found a permanent residence at the museum itself and is held every first Monday of May under the patronage of Vogue Magazine.
The attendance at the Met Gala, considered the single most fashionable event in the world, is by invitation only for personalities from the world of entertainment, fashion, sports and politics. It is one of those events that works a bit on a “give-and-take” basis: the organization of the event invites high-profile personalities with a large following to give prominence to the soirée (and raise a substantial amount of money since the cost of a single guest ticket is $50,000 as of 2023), and the guests attend knowing that they will gain valuable media coverage and exposure.
In all of this, designers from the various fashion houses, from the most prestigious to the emerging ones, compete to dress the guests, creating haute couture gowns that respond to the annual theme established by the organizers.
Stray Kids and racism
The Korean mainstream news outlets these days are reporting news of the k-pop group Stray Kids’ appearance at the Met Gala 2024, dressed for the occasion by American designer Tommy Hilfiger, who crafted eight custom-made dresses for them. However, what could have been a source of great sense of pride not only for the k-pop industry but also for the nation itself has turned into a moment of deep regret, shared with fans of the host group and beyond.
Yesterday, May 9, The Korea Times released a short article titled “Stray Kids faces discrimination at Met Gala, sparking calls for respect” saying:
Footage from the event surfaced online, revealing interactions between Stray Kids and certain photographers. In the video, photographers could be heard directing the group with comments like “Stand straight,” “You all look crooked,” and “Move back.”
Tensions escalated when photographers began mocking the members’ expressions and making overtly discriminatory remarks. One photographer criticized the group, saying, “I’ve never seen so many unemotional faces in my life,” while others made rude comments such as, “Looks like they’re going to start performing,” and “Everybody jump.”
The disrespectful atmosphere intensified when one photographer shouted “arigato” (thanks in Japanese), mistakenly using Japanese with a Korean group, further contributing to the disrespectful tone of the interactions.
In the video, Stray Kids’ leader Bangchan is seen clapping his hands to guide the group off the carpet following the disrespectful remarks. Both Bangchan and fellow member Felix are Australian, with English being their native language.
The Korea Herald adds that the incitement “everybody jump” would have been intended to allude to the height of Stray Kids’ members and would have served as a gimmick to get them to a suitable height for the photo lens. A fact whose gravity comments for itself.
Fan reactions and solidarity among fandoms
As can be easily imagined, the spread of the photographers’ videos and voices online has triggered the outraged reaction not only of Stray Kids’ fans , but also of those who support k-pop in general. On every social media platform it is possible to find expressions of both anger at the incident and solidarity from other fandoms. In particular, paraphrasing the words of a video by a content creator found online, this disgraceful event saw the awakening of Cerberus, whose three heads would be the current Holy Trinity of k-pop fandoms: Stay, ARMY, and Blink – or Stray Kids, BTS, and Blackpink fandoms.
Most fans rallied in a collective feeling of blame and condemnation, rushing to the social profiles of the photographers involved and subjecting them to public pillory. The reason? If you attend an high-exposure event like the Met Gala, where not only what you say but also the actual breaths you take will be most likely recorded and broadcasted, what comes out of your mouth is absolutely and solely your responsibility. So if you deliberately commit racism, you have to be prepared for the consequences.
Condemnation and solidarity. The various k-pop fandoms, particularly the three mentioned above, are behaving as any group of siblings would do: slashing and insulting each other on a daily basis, but as soon as someone from the outside tries to take down one of them, the others (metaphorically) jump to their throats. Cerberus, indeed.
In fact, these past few days it’s been easy to come across messages of support among fandoms and, sometimes, of apologies for not realizing sooner what others went through in the past or bewilderment to why to this day artists and fans still have to live through this.
The Korea Times also refers to online reactions, writing:
The incident sparked immediate backlash online, with many condemning the racist undertones and the photographers’ disrespectful demands on the group. Comments like “The racism was so loud,” “The boys deserved better,” and “No other American celebrity gets disrespected like this when they pose with their straight serious model face” reflected the outrage and support for Stray Kids.
The Korea Herald quotes music critic Kim Do-heon’s statement:
Asian celebrities facing racism in the US is not new. It happened to bigger-name K-pop artists like BTS and Blackpink, too. It’s a mistake to think that the rising popularity of K-pop will protect the artists from racism […] K-pop is still a minor genre in the US and it is only popular among the core fans there.
M!Countdown in Paris, BTS and the appeal against Asian Hate fell on deaf ears.
The Korea Herald reminds us how even BTS in 2020 appealed for more respect for the Asian community as a whole.
Indeed, at the time of the spread of the Covid19 pandemic, the origins of which were attributed to Chinese laboratories in Wuhan, what came to be known as “Asian Hate” had spread violently in the United States (and beyond).
BTS, whose popularity in the U.S. was already high enough for them to have a significant voice, had issued a statement that read:
We send our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. We feel grief and anger.
We recall moments when we faced discrimination as Asians.
We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we look. We were even asked why Asians spoke in English.
We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason. Our own experiences are inconsequential compared to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks. But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away our self-esteem.
What is happening right now cannot be dissociated from our identity as Asians. It required considerable time for us to discuss this carefully and we contemplated deeply on how we should voice our message.
But what our voice must convey is clear.
We stand against racial discrimination.
We condemn violence.
You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.
An appeal that apparently fell on deaf ears not only at the recent Met Gala, but also last September during the M!Countdown event in Paris.
The Korea Herald reports the following:
Last September, French security guards at the M! Countdown event in Paris were accused of being racist towards fans.
A number of K-pop fans who attended the concert wrote on X that the guards were particularly aggressive to Asian fans, who were forced to open their bags for inspection and leave if they were found to have a camera. The posts also alleged that the security guards took no action against white people who were taking photos with their cameras.
A personal consideration
It is absolutely desolating to see how ignorance and disrespect always prevail in the battle to conquer humankind. Modern society, armed with internet and keyboards, seems to have found a placebo in venting its frustration by offending and attacking others, most often completely gratuitously.
We at Koreami, although being deeply outraged by the incident and 100% sympathetic to Stray Kids and Stay, do not justify responding to hate with more hate. Therefore, we will not contribute to the diffusion of the social profiles of the photographers responsible for the insults; we rather invite everybody to use a most powerful weapon, which is silence, in the broadest sense.
Dorian Gray, in the namesake Oscar Wilde’s novel, says:
There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
Turning our backs on those who are responsible for this episode, photographers and the Met Gala itself, taking the spotlight off them and contextually strongly condemning the perpetrated act, is in our opinion the best thing that can be done to prevent these individuals from even going on to gain any fame from social exposure.
Link to article from The Korean Times here
Link to article from The Korean Herald here
