1. GLAM - Party (XXO)
When I was a freshman in high school, we read Romeo and Juliet aloud during class. The names of the characters were written on the board, and we would write our names down for the characters we wanted to read for. I remember every day I was dying to write my name down for Romeo. I was shy and never did it. But now, my dream is achieved thanks to GLAM!
English translation sourcea kiss (XXO), anyone can be Romeoa touch of your lips (XXO),if your heart starts to race, you’re Juliet Juliet
GLAM is far from saying "Gay Rights!", but the non-instigative, kind of ambiguous love song is still much appreciated by the starving Us. And Jiyeon did say, "Can I kiss ya baby girl?"
Beyond kissing girls, GLAM is also singing about the pleasure of the body, which is a common theme in pop music, which is basically gay culture. Read about BESTie, feminism and socialism here. They sing about the powerful innocence of love, letting magical fireworks expolde from their bodies and change their boring daily routines. It is actually a really sweet, dreamy song about both love and life. Also, Zinni
2. Baby Soul + Yoo Jia - She's a Flirt
Back when Lovelyz was still the never-debuting Woolim Girls, Baby Soul had done a few projects for Woolim, including a duet with ex-trainee Yoo Jia. The song is sweet, beautiful, gracious with autotune effects but irrelevant; it is all about the best lesbian music video in the world!! The video follows two friends while one of them is having boy problems. Eventually, she presumably dumps the boy, and the two friends get together. It is an extremely simple plot, but is visually appealing and everyone is wearing comfy sweaters the whole time, living in an studio apartment by the river, basically The Dream!!
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| Oh, the arguments I had in the YouTube comments about "friendship" (source) |
3. Z.Hera - D Island
"D Island" stands for Dokdo Island, a group of islets that are under territorial dispute between Korea and Japan. Here's the Wiki article on it.
Even though this video is a confirmed-by-author allegory for a land dispute, it's hard to imagine the people involved in the production did not also see it as a love story. The whole women's-bodies-as-land-masses (especially black bodies) is a little too 18th-century-era-"she-is-all-conquered-islands-and-I-am-their-prince"-by-John-Dunne-the-Green-of-his-day sexism, but the fact that the director chose to tell it as a story between two women, with men as antagonists is certainly a statement on its own about gender roles.
Here's a quick reading I did of the video when it first came out:
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| make note of the reaching gesture, which is a big motif throughout the video via icc |
The men are very muscular, there’s shots of them screaming, etc. It’s not too far-fetched to say they represent male aggression and the patriarchy. When Z.hera's love interest is stolen it’s not literal, it’s that Z.hera felt like that’s why their relationship could not be. So the reason Z.hera and her love could was not working was, not because our protagonist was not interested, but because she was afraid.
In the scene when Z.hera and the two men are at the table, there are pretty flowers; they have this fake front that everything is okay. Meanwhile, Z.hera is obviously struggling. Eventually, she rebels against the men, pushing the flowers. Tables/kitchen are usually a domestic space, so there is the suggestion that Z.hera is fed up with this male-headed, heteronormative family space. But in the end, the men pull down her reaching hands. It has an uncertain, tragic ending.
4. Chaness - SeSeSe (CW: rape, assault, alcohol)
Who is Chaness? An subunit of trot idol group LPG. Who is LPG? Why, only the second longest running girl group after Jewelry, whom you probably know from their song that sampled "Pa Panamericano," but while you are here why not check out actual jam "Slow" or the iconic "Filial Daughter Generation"?
Back to business, "SeSeSe" is also told with a melancholic tone, but is left much less open-ended. "SeSeSe" is about a bedridden woman and her nurse, who seem to be a little too close to each other. After disposing of the former's abusive husband (warning for a pretty disturbing rape scene), they can finally be together. And the performance version is just a bit different.
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| Hate on the choreo all you want, still a better love story than 4Ladies |
5. SISTAR feat. Giorgio Moroder - One More Day (CW: assault, alcohol)
Are you sick of lingering touches, girls doing each other's makeup and committing murder together yet? Well, me neither! Please remember that killing men is a metaphor for queering social norms, as any scholar will tell you.
So here is the exact same story line again, this time with copious amounts of alcohol and sepia tone. This is the grittiest love story so far and the most violent. Despite this, the song is dramatic, upbeat and throbbing with passion. It was apparently a big deal for SISTAR to work with this producer, even though we don't actually really care honestly.
Read more about violence and electronic music here.
This plot is very straightforward: girl is best friends with girl, but then meets guy. Guy is a jerk, girl gets with girl and murders guy. The most interesting part of the video is the color toning, which changes from scene-to-scene. It comes to a dramatic peak when the colors return to normal and the music fades, when one of our characters realize that the other is probably not interested in her. Thankfully, she had assumed too soon, and they ride off into the sunset as a man's body burns in the background. Song Jieun would be proud.
6. Kriesha Chu - Like Paradise
Kreisha Chu is here with another lesson about assumptions! Similar to "She's a Flirt," "Like Paradise" aims to be nothing deeper than a sweet love story, but makes greater use of visual metaphors. Due to several misunderstandings, both girls believe that the other girl is in love with another boy. That is, until the gift of a plate, which rectifies all wrongs.
Kreisha shares in a Pops in Seoul interview that the video was meant to look like a YA movie. And yes, as much as I hate referencing John Green twice in one article, I could see him writing this book. And consequently, me not reading it.
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| The perfect Kpop as films fodder via kf1lms |
7. San E - Story of someone I know
This is the most lighthearted piece on this list. The video follows the lyrics closely, playfully sharing the story of a man who visits his therapist after a breakup. But, he starts to get uncomfortable when he notices a very familiar bracelet on the therapist's wrist... And we are so blessed because it features rookie-era Hellovenus Nara sans wig!!
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| WHAT WERE THEY HIDING |
Honorable Mentions:
1. Orange Caramel - Catallena
The song "Catallena" is about being entranced by an alluring girl. It does not feature a couple and it is not about love per say, but the video is about girls idolizing another girl, similar to Girls' Generation's "Dancing Queen." Ultimately, though, the focus is on Orange Caramel's devilishly clever concept and not the love story.
I am not 100% on how mermaids ended up being lesbian culture, but somehow it happened. Look for a thinkpiece on this elsewhere because I have my hands full here with BESTie mvs.
2. Song Jieun - Don't Look At Me Like That
"Don't Look at Me Like That" is a #confirmed song about same-sex relationships. But, unfortunately, it is also about "different races, different ages, and other possibly prejudiced and stereotyped relationships." Yeah I am not allowing myself to be umbrella'd with daddy kink people, sorry
3. ANDA - Touch
"Touch" has a copious amount of girls between each other's legs and even more yonic symbolism, but so does "Vibrato" and we all know that's no feminist masterpiece. "Touch" has a mesmerizing Fiona Apple inspired, instagram filter, gif like quality that we love. It's hard to say whether it was filmed that way on purpose or if they just literally could not afford any males.
I am sharing these things as a queer person who enjoys studying and watching queer culture and media. I am in no way claiming that any of these music videos or films made an impact on Korean culture. For Americans during pride month, it's important to keep in mind:
“Gay” assumes a Western configuration of politics, desire, and identity. It assumes a largely American understanding of the issues that people face, and the trajectory of social change.Read full text - "But gay is a Western invention"
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