Controversy: Banned K-Pop MVs Due To Weird Reasons
Similar to most music artists, K-Pop idols mostly rely on their songs to bring in fans and keep fans in the fandom, being on top of the charts and being number one on sales matter if K-pop groups want to have a lengthy and successful career. Most K-pop albums will have at least one major song with a music video.
These music videos are what separates western music and K-pop, aside from the language spoken. The main difference is that K-Pop music videos go hard and are always on another level. Sometimes even to the point of being banned in some TV networks.
Banning MVs for explicit lyrics or unfit for television visuals is understandable, but some K-pop videos have been banned due to oddly specific and weird reasons.
From an MV being banned due to a traffic cone or due to a long credit roll, here are K-pop music videos that were banned for weird reasons:
BLACKPINK's "Kill This Love"
Reason for banning: not wearing a seatbelt.
Approximately one minute into the MV, BLACKPINK member and main vocalist, Rosé, can be seen driving a vehicle without wearing a seatbelt. This, in turn, is a violation of South Korea's Road Traffic Act, which led to an eventual halt and ban of broadcast with the KBS.
T.O.P.'s "Turn It Up"
Reason for banning: indirect ads.
"Turn It Up" by Big Bang's T.O.P. was released eleven years ago in 2010. The song itself has explicit lyrics such as "this is a message to seduce you," and "I'm the official pimp," but the reason why MBC banned it was due to indirect ads with branded products. Dior, Louis Vuitton, and YSL were mentioned in specific lines, which did not bode well for the broadcasting corp.
PSY's "Gentleman"
Reason for banning: traffic cone violence.
In the MV, PSY can be seen playing lude pranks on women, such as untying bikinis and causing another woman to fall on the floor by pulling her seat out. Although these acts may seem indecent, the main reason why KBS banned the video was because of PSY kicking a traffic cone in the opening moments of the music video. This was considered as abuse of property.
EXO's "Lotto"
Reason for banning: the title.
SM Entertainment's EXO was forced to change the title and specific lyrics to "Louder" when they performed live broadcasts on KBS and MBC. In the music video, the K-pop boy group can be seen gambling all throughout. But this was not the reason for the banning. The title of the song is the reason for the banning on KBS and MBC. "Lotto" was considered a brand name due to the word lottery.
