As we step further into this year’s Pride Month, we need some groovy beats to go along with our true voices buried deep inside; what better way to express the same than to articulate them through LGBTQ Kpop music videos?
From music videos like LOONA’s Butterfly that go beyond gender, race and nationality, to (G)I-DLE’s Oh my god and TWICE’s What is Love, many of these K-pop hits represent themes of inclusivity in one way or another. Lyrics and videos in K-pop are often left open to one’s interpretation and artists don’t necessarily tie down their meanings to a particular idea because South Korea is traditionally a conservative nation when it comes to addressing such issues.
However, that’s not to say that K-pop doesn’t often delve in queer-baiting, because it does. Yet the difference between the two things is often blurred to such an extent that while on one end, a party feels empowered by a certain portrayal, the other one feels betrayed by it in hopes of a more accurate representation. These perceptions are quite subjective, and one of the instances where such divide has arised is Red Velvet – Seulgi and Irene’s Monster. On one hand, many theories draw parallels between its video and the novella Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, governed by heavy undertones of lesbian love. Contrarily, others see it as a case of queer-baiting.
This conversation can go on and on, especially with different and ever-dynamic definitions of love now open for discussion. Listed below are some (in my opinion) Kpop videos with LGBTQ themes that either subtly touch upon the topic or in some cases even bring out blatant visualisation of the same. Do correct me in the comments sections if you deem me wrong.
Check Out Some LGBTQ Kpop Music Videos to Celebrate Pride Month 2023
I’m Not Afraid by Holland
Although the singer is gay himself, and even switched to being an independent artist due to his former company being against his choice of coming out, he’s often excluded from this narrative. We can’t forget his contribution and name when speaking of LGBTQIA+ inclusivity in South Korea, a country that is rather homogenous and generally reluctant of accepting people of varying sexualities. Taking on the mononym, he’s now well known as the first openly gay K-pop singer. His name points towards The Netherlands’ progressive and positive response to the same discourse.
His 2018 music video aptly puts up a mirror reflecting his inner thoughts of having embraced his true self. The autobiographical narrative voiced by this song isn’t merely restricted to his own account. Rather, through this video, he opens up the same room for a diverse cast of people of colour and sexualities, a rare sight to behold in K-pop MVs. Depicting different versions of love on the same plane, this video also portrays drag queens in all glory.
Begin by OnlyOneOf Yoojung
Having spoken of Holland, we can’t not bring OnlyOneOf into the conversation, the same group that was acknowledged by the aforementioned artist in his 2022 tweet that reads, “hey do you know “OnlyOneOf”? what do you think of their concept?”. Clearly, this conversation plays a paramount role in his life, and he wanted to know how the audience received the LGBTQ+ storylines interspersed in their music videos.
While a more obvious inclusion by this group in this list would’ve been their 2021 track libidO, I, instead went for Yoojung’s solo song Begin, which shares similar visuals and themes as reflected in other OnlyOneOf videos as well like seOul drift. The same was also released during the Pride Month in 2022, and the YouTube video was posted along with a caption that clearly states the issue at hand – “Among the countless lovers in the world, there are also lovers that couldn’t be blessed. For whatever reasons. Religious reasons, things like parents’ disapproval. I dedicate this song to all those lovers that couldn’t be blessed.”
All In by MONSTA X
7 years later, this MONSTA X MV is still as iconic as ever! One can only go so far in denying the LGBTQIA+ themes highlighted in this video. Even if some haters were to turn a blind eye to the clear depiction of a “boy love” relationship between Minhyuk and Hyungwon’s characters, one just can’t ignore the date it was released on – May 17 – and it’s no ordinary date (celebrated as the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia). Moreover, they’re possibly one of the very few mainstream K-pop groups (still underrated) to have charted in this territory and boldly brought this discussion upfront, even if subtly.
The more overt discourse being addressed by the video is the Gwangju Uprising, a response to the Coup d’état of May Seventeenth that extended marital law to the whole nation, thereby shutting down universities and banning political activities. Going back to the themes of inclusivity suggested earlier, if it’s only a coincidence that the International Day mentioned earlier shares it date with the Gwangju Uprising, then it’s an even bigger coincidence that the initials of the musical trilogy that features this track – The Clan (Lost, Guilty and Beautiful Trilogy) – spells out LGBT.
Bad by SoYoON
Although now known more to the public due to her collaboration with BTS leader RM for Smoke Sprite, the singer also released another track, Bad, on her 2023 album Episode1 : Love that didn’t gain as much attention. While the song’s message is contained in the lyrics – “I fall in and out of love/ Cuz too many is not enough/ I go astray/ I gotta fade away”- that seek to describe how people often tend to immerse themselves in love to the point that they perceive it to be their absolute solution to endless troubles. Its words can even correspond to the hookup culture many find comfort in, thereby ascribing a modern understanding of love.
Also read: Dear Army: BTS’ Jimin Serves Angelic Vocals in Tranquil Musical Present Before FESTA Celebrations
Yet the most memorable highlight of the video is its unique cinematography that portrays sapphic love with the most unconditional and passionate visuals. Although the initial moment representing the same is a blink and you miss it vision, which is followed by an abstract and artistic storytelling, it’s nevertheless a powerful scene considering that it has been included in a South Korean artist’s work.
When You Love Someone, What Can I Do and I Loved You by Day6
The line between queer-baiting and the LGBTQIA+ representation gets blurred easily. While this may seem like yet another example of the former to some, the former member of the group, Jae, addressed the issue and spoke up about how Wonpil’s character really does like Sungjin’s character in their music video-verse. The trilogy illustrates a complicated interlinked love story that somehow brings all of the members’ characters together.
However, they also make it evident how Sungjin’s persona falls (unrequited) for a girl in their school, and since Wonpil is also his best friend in the storyline, he can see him pining for the girl. He can’t help but sigh at the sight, and his expressions draw you in closer to what’s being heavily (or subtly, in whatever way it comes across to you) implied there.
Special Mention: Although not a video, Day6’s subunit Even of Day with Young K, Wonpil and Dowoon, also released the song Love Parade through their second mini album Right Through Me. Its lyrics – “What is love? / (love) although the shape is different, the name is the same / each other in different ways / (love) express it / (love) you just have to give it to me as it is / the festival has begun our love parade” – blatantly allude to LGBTQ themes.
Please Don’t by K Will
This video has a pretty straightforward love story that is to end with a marriage, until things get messy and a love triangle is drawn out that makes us believe that another guy loves the same girl. The final major plot twist is only revealed at the very end of the MV when the wedding is over. The unexpected ending has viewers gasping to this day.
Lucky Strike by Dreamcatcher
Originally a song by the American band Maroon 5, Dreamcatcher covered the song by investing in its choreography as well. However, what left many listeners pleasantly shook is that the girl group members didn’t switch the pronouns in the track to accommodate a heteronormative code of love or attraction.
Don’t Look at Me Like That by SONGJIEUN
In 2014, SONGJIEUN did something people dared not to address through K-pop. The lyrics of her song, Don’t Look at Me Like That became a window to her mind as she opened up about homosexual love with lines like “What’s wrong, why not? / We didn’t do anything wrong” “All we did was love/ Stop cursing us, we are.. as you see just a little different” “I just want to love the way I feel / I won’t change no matter what anyone says”. Even the official caption under the music video reads that the song “has a rather controversial, experimental lyrics about love between the same sex, different races, different ages, and other possibly prejudiced and stereotyped relationships”.
Love is a Dog From Hell by Mad Clown feat SURAN
Often putting up a mirror (quite literally) in the video, this song’s visuals depict a heteronormative love story, but the man’s (then) identity (played by Jo Hyun-chul, Mad Clown’s brother), doesn’t match with how they identify. By the end of the video, we see a transition in the way they present themself to the world, resulting in a much happier outcome for them.
Hip by MAMAMOO
If there’s one thing MAMAMOO will do without breaking a sweat, then that is breaking through gender stereotypes, shunning body shaming and pushing for body positivity. The HIP MV sees the members break out of the usual mould that encapsulates girl group concepts to cutesy representations, not allowing them to flourish as freely as the members would like. With this 2019 music video, the quartet define their respective versions of femininity, all equal at par and valid. While all these arguments were more focussed with gender performativity, they further push for more representation, by including drag queens in the video.
Do you approve of the aforementioned instances of LGBTQ representation in Kpop? Let us know some more credible examples of LGBTQ Kpop MVs that can be added to this list in the comment section below.
if we’re talking LGBTQ music videos “Shutdown” by Moonbyul and Seori NEEDS to be on the list!!!
Yes, absolutely! I tried to include some different names as well this time, as that’s been mentioned in quite a few previously curated playlists etc.
The article on Leisure Byte presumably compiles a list of Kpop music videos with LGBTQ themes that were released during Pride Month. The author may discuss the significance and portrayal of LGBTQ themes in these music videos, highlighting their contribution to the visibility and acceptance of the LGBTQ community in the Kpop industry.