List of K-pop music videos banned by South Korean television networks
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The following is a non-exhaustive list of K-pop videos that have been banned by one or more South Korean television networks, for reasons such as suggestive or offensive lyrics and imagery.
K-pop is characterized by a wide variety of audiovisual elements, and K-pop singles will typically include a music video and a dance routine. There is a history of media censorship and conservatism in South Korea, and as a result, many risque or explicit K-pop songs or videos have been banned from airing by the country's major television and radio networks. Other reasons for a ban are songs featuring Japanese lyrics, negative influences upon youth, or product placement, either in the song or within the video the use of brand names.
KBS, MBC, and SBS are the three networks, and account for the vast majority of banned K-pop videos. Between 2009 and 2012, they banned over 1,300 K-pop songs.[1] This list only includes titular K-pop songs that have an accompanying music video, but many K-pop songs that were not title tracks have been banned as well. However, social media and YouTube have allowed singers and bands to round these restrictions, and may in themselves pressure networks to accept videos after their online popularity has been proven with appropriate edits.
List of banned K-pop music videos
| Song title | Artist | Reason | Year | Banned by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "10 Minutes" | Lee Hyori | Sexually suggestive scenes[2] | 2003 | SBS |
| "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" | Depictions of unsafe driving, including dancing atop vehicles and in roadways, and operating a vehicle without a seatbelt.[3] | 2010 | KBS | |
| "Turn It Up" | T.O.P | Indirect advertisement.[4] | MBC | |
| "How Dare You" | Sistar | Pole dance moves and belittling lyrics.[5] | KBS | |
| "Udon" | Kang Min-kyung and Son Dong-woon | Use of a Japanese word for the title.[6] | ||
| "Freeze!" | Block B | Lyrics describing unwholesome dating methods. It was banned twice after the lyrics were edited.[7] | 2011 | |
| "I Remember" | Bang Yong-guk and Yang Yo-seob | Scenes containing shooting and violence.[8] | ||
| "Rocket Girl" | Stellar | Violence and sexually suggestive content.[9] | ||
| "Dreaming I" | F.Cuz | Rebellious plot that could be a negative influence for teenagers[10] | 2012 | |
| "Gentleman" | Psy | Showing destruction of public property.[11] | 2013 | |
| "Bad Girls" | Lee Hyori | Problematic scenes including a student using a slingshot and a teacher who sexually assaults the students.[12] | ||
| "Shower Later" | Gary | Mature, provocative content, curses, and inappropriate expressions.[13] | 2014 | KBS, MBC, SBS |
| "Marionette" | Stellar | Explicit dance moves, nudity.[14] | KBS | |
| "Beep" | Park Ji-yoon | Closing credits were excessively long.[15] | ||
| "I'll Call Ya" | M.O.A. | Poor video quality.[15] | ||
| "Pass Me By" | Brown Eyed Soul | Use of trademark or brand names.[15] | ||
| "Catallena" | Orange Caramel | Showing disregard for human life by wrapping the singers in plastic packages and dressing them in sushi costumes.[16] | ||
| "Uh-ee" | Crayon Pop | Use of a Japanese word.[17] | ||
| "One More" | Fiestar | Lyrics alluding to a threesome.[18] | MBC | |
| "Paradise Lost" | Gain | Provocative dance moves.[19] | 2015 | KBS, MBC, SBS |
| "Joker" | Dal Shabet | Sexual curse words and explicit imagery.[20] | KBS | |
| "Dope" | BTS | Vulgar lyrics.[21] | ||
| "We Like 2 Party" | BigBang | Indirect advertisement and profanity.[22] | ||
| "Fly" | Jessica | Use of brand names.[23] | 2016 | |
| "January" | Beenzino | Facebook product placement.[24] | ||
| "Lotto" | Exo | Reference to the sportswear brand of the same name.[25] | KBS, MBC | |
| "Fxxk It" | BigBang | Explicit lyrics, including slang words.[26] | KBS | |
| "Body" | Mino | Use of brand name.[27] | ||
| "Full House" | MOBB | Use of brand name, derogatory remarks, and mention of drunk driving.[27] | ||
| "Holup!" | Bobby | Swearing, derogatory terms, Japanese lyrics, uses of brand names, and alcohol abuse.[27] | ||
| "Island" | Winner | Language about sexual relations between men and women or homosexuality, obscene content.[28] | 2017 | |
| "Angel" | Hoya | Sexual content within the lyrics.[29] | 2018 | |
| "Cherry Bomb" | NCT 127 | Violent lyrics. Remained banned after second review.[30] | 2017 | |
| "Oh Nana" | Kard | Instagram product placement.[31] | ||
| "Love Don't Hurt" | Shannon | Imagery of nudity, tattoos, and smoking.[32] | ||
| "DDD" | EXID | Profane lyrics.[33] | ||
| "Instagram" | Dean | Instagram reference.[34] |
Aftermath of bans
Often, the entertainment company that owns the banned song attempt to revise the song and have it reevaluated by the broadcaster's standards and practices department, and will edit the music video to remove the scenes in question, or even create a special 'network cut' meant for broadcast by that network. Other times, they may alter the explicit dance moves or change a song's lyrics so that the song may still be performed on music shows, such as Music Bank. In the case of Exo's "Lotto," which was banned due to it referring to the sportswear brand, the group substituted the word with "louder" to be able to perform it on KBS and MBC.[25]
Although K-pop songs and videos are often banned by KBS, MBC or SBS are more lenient in their content adjustments. Some groups are content to promote themselves on networks other than KBS and do not make any changes to their original material. In regards to Psy's "Gentleman," a spokesperson for YG Entertainment said they had no plans to submit a different version of their video, and they followed the decision made by KBS.[35]
When 12 of 18 songs for Cheetah's 2018 album 28 Identity were deemed unfit for broadcast by KBS and five by SBS, the agency stated that they did not plan on making any changes to the lyrics to "keep the original intentions and meanings of the song."[36]