7 K-Pop songs with questionable lyrics

[goshipgurl]

While browsing Youtube late at night I came across a video by user SinB Ssi, which listed several songs by various artists with more than questionable lyrics, such as sexism, body shaming or cheating. I'm re-posting some of the songs mentioned in the video, more are at the source. This post should be a friendly reminder to not blindly sing along to

Comments

[scionofawhisper]

Teen Top's 'No more Perfume on You' is another song with crap lyrics, I can't even believe they released something like this tbh... xD He tells a noona not to wear perfume or wear glitter cause his girlfriend will find out.

[goshipgurl]

It's mentioned in the original video, I just didn't include it here!

[hellicoptajuuce]

What makes it worse is that some of the members were like super young and the mv was set in a club

[juhli]

The first song I thought about when I clicked on this post.
The song sans lyrics is so good though

[pikapika217]

that's what only look at me is about? fucking GROSS

Another worth mentioning is Big Bang's Baby Baby

[goshipgurl]

which version of the song are you talking about, the english or the korean one?

[ironicmustache]

yeah i dont look up lyric translations because 1. they always seem awkward and dont make listening anymore enjoyable for me and 2. i'd rather live in ignorance about my fav songs lmao

[thebloomroom]

Same I never look up lyrics really. I wonder what bs I've been listening to

[glider]

this is a great topic for a post OP! it kind of blows my mind that a lot of people who listen to foreign language music just don't have an interest in the lyrical meaning of the songs they enjoy. to me, esp if the singer(s) wrote the lyrics, it's a way to connect to your faves and (in the case of songs in this post) know what they're actually singing about bc you might find it disagreeable/gross and lose interest in supporting them. conversely knowing what they're saying might make you appreciate the song more.

[dior_chic]

I understand what you mean. I had a song I liked from San E quite a bit but I found out his previous lyrics in songs were fucked up and his behavior really bothered me, so I avoid him now. Overall I’m pretty proactive about finding English lyrics, but there are songs I like that I don’t know the message too, and I think it’s because It gets overwhelming mentally and I need a break.

I think about often how If types of music have consistently objectionable content, I shouldn’t listen to it...but that means I’m left out of a lot of different genres (from all types of music scenes globally) because it’s so prevalent :( I guess why not buying is a big deal to me, I need to know at least I’m not financially supporting fucked up shit

[babyjenkski]

I alway look up the lyrics if a song catches my interest coz like you, it makes me feel more connected to the song while I listen to it.

[yxerin]

i only check out kpop lyrics if i know that the subject matter is interesting/ i’ve heard that the lyrics are supposed to be good/ an idol wrote the song themselves. i generally don’t listen to kpop for the lyrics, most of the time it’s just... rly generic and kinda bad lol. i listen to a lot of songs in languages i don’t speak and also to a lot of shoegaze/dreampop where the lyrics are hard to hear on purpose, so i don’t mind if i don’t know the lyrics of a song. in fact i often prefer it that way, as someone else said it’s fun to make up your own meaning and i rly like to just focus on the sound of the language itself. if you know the lyrics it’s a bit harder to do that i’ve noticed

[dorawa]

I love Baby Good Night so much but the premise / lyrics are awful lol

Not surprised most of the groups are boys -_____-

But I will say, Twice's "BE A REAL MAN" always pisses me off

[dior_chic]

Yea I really dislike Cheer Up’s overall message. It can be perceived that the girl acknowledges she and her crush like each other and want to think about their feelings rationally and not rush things...

...but nah, the other verses encourage one to play games when it comes to flirting because being honest with your feelings can mean you look fast and easy :/ and that Be a Real Man chant is one of my least favorite gg group lyrics everrrr. Also the the fear of appearing ‘easy’ or waiting for the right one is in Like Ooh Ahh and Knock Knock. LOA is awesome with how cocky the girls get and are looking for someone worthy of their time, which is a great message! But the lyric literally says ‘I’m not a girl that gives it up so easily’, and Knock Knock focuses a lot on waiting and idk not my favorite...obviouslyyyy these lyrics can be perceived it a much more favorable light/understanding, but with men writing the lyrics - don’t really trust them.

[glider]

I understand what you mean re: men writing the lyrics and not trusting their intention but I really don't feel TWICE songs are meant to reinforce some kind of purity ideal when the group's concept overall isn't pure/innocent. I always interpret the "it" in their lyrics translations to refer to their love/heart, they basically just don't want to get screwed over by some guy who likes them only for their looks and isn't interested in committing to them. lol maybe I'm just a crazy stan tho.

What is Love is actually the title I've had the most issues with lyrically because it's really ridiculous to me for a group of women in their early twenties to sing about not knowing love when they're grown, they've most likely all been in relationships -- that song to me reinforces a weird purity concept on a group that didn't previously really have one. and to add the fact that JYP wrote it...yea I can't wait until TWICE members can start writing lyrics to their own title songs, hopefully they will eventually.

[dior_chic]

Ah, see it’s interesting to read how you interpret the songs because it shows how much it can vary per person, as I’m the opposite lol. What is Love is one of my favorites lyrics wise for Twice because I don’t really envision the girls personally evoking those feelings, they’re just playing a character is excited about falling in love. There is no expectation to behave a certain way because of society’s expectations. Plus since their fans are mostly teens just getting into their first relationships, the lyrics work imo. And I’ll slightly disagree about the innocent/pure - their debut for sure hell no they weren’t lmao, that’s a big reason why I love it, but since cute concept has become a big part of their brand I do think there are elements of being ‘pure’ mixed in.

But I can def agree that I would love Twice members having input in the writing process...but with JYP’s track record, I’m not reassured :(