Emphasis on Visuals in K-pop - A Look at Sexual Objectification in Performances

Video Analysis Essay: AOA - “Come and See Me”

The image of female idols in K-pop has long been analyzed and dissected for the way it is established based on societal expectations. The music videos for female K-pop groups largely depict the image of these idols in a certain way. In this way, I argue that for idols, the visuals of their performances are viewed as much more telling of their image than musical elements. To study this claim, I analyzed AOA’s music video for “Come and See Me.”

Throughout the music video I noticed that most of the shots with the members had a focus point on some sexualization their body. This would include close up shots of the lips or hips. For many of the shots the camera would pan or zoom in on their legs as they walked, or on their hips as they danced. This highlights  upon the idea that this emphasis on the bodies of the idols caters towards the majority male audience, painting the artists as objects of pleasure. This style of videography is common in female K-pop music videos, and portrays idols as “glamorous, on display, sexualized...and the spectator can indirectly possess her too” (Mulvey 1975: 13). This is clearly depicted in AOA’s music video, as there seems to be blatant emphasis on their bodies, and many of these scenes seem to take away from the music in general. The emphasis is much more clearly shown on the visuals of their bodies. The image of the girls is groomed to cater what men want, “epitomizing the stoking of male fantasy” (Epstein with Turnbull 2014: 318). By providing images like scenes with touching of the lips, and the framing of certain body parts creates a fantasy for the male audience. In this way, attention is drawn to that one part, drawing away from other aspects, which may include the musical aspects. 

Upon analyzing “Come and See Me” in the live performance aspect I found even more instances where the attention is drawn to the visual and sexualization of the artists rather than the musical quality. In live performances, broadcasters such as Inkigayo have gained notoriety for their types of filming, focusing on the bodies of performers rather than simple shots focusing on the actual singing (Lin with Rudolph 2017: 30). When looking at AOA’s live performance, I noticed far more shots of the butt and legs than of simply the girls’ faces as they sang. During several parts of the live performance, it was very apparent that the focus was being placed on sexualization of the idols in order to seem more appealing. There was an especial focus on butt and leg close ups when the choreography heavy parts of the song came up, and during this part there were very few shots where the idols were not being objectified. Additionally in the live performance during Jimin and Chanmi’s rap parts, I was surprised to notice that the camera did not focus on them rapping, but rather focused on the choreography and close ups on their bodies instead. It has been studied that generally in Korean society, female rappers do not receive the same level of recognition as male rappers, so their attractiveness is used as a method to combat this (Song 2019: 146). This is clearly seen in AOA’s live performance, as instead of focusing on the actual rap, their bodies are used instead to appeal to the audience. This very blatantly depicts the emphasis placed on visual image instead of the actual music content. 

In general, K-pop female groups face the reality of being seen more for the image of their bodies rather than the true quality of their music. By analyzing AOA’s “Come and See Me” it was very clear to see the emphasis of how their bodies were filmed and presented to audiences in order to appeal in a more effective way.