Hello and welcome to the second OMONA DISCUSSION post! First of all I'd like to thank everybody that participated in the last one. If you have no idea what I'm talking about just click
here. If you want to talk about a certain topic next time just post it in the comments or message me (or make a post lol). Maybe we can really turn this into a weekly/monthly thing!
Today, I want to talk about the possibility of non-asian people debuting in a K-pop group. The reason why I choose this topic is because I randomly stumpled upon this video on youtube last week.
( FIRST NON-ASIAN K-POP TRAINEE SPEAKS OUT (youtube) )
In this video, a guy from Italy talks about his experience in Korea. He trained with 4 other korean dudes and was preparting to debut in a K-pop group, but in the end it didn't work out because of visa-issues. He doesn't mention the company though so we don't know if he was signed to a big or a small entertainment agency.
Nowadays it's not unusual to have one or more half-korean or non-korean idols in a group. However, most are still asian. When Chocolate debuted back in 2011 with 3 half-korean/half-white girls they received great attention. Unfortunately they didn't make it big.
Later, Busker Busker debuted with an caucasian member. I don't know much about Busker Busker so I don't know if it was a big deal. In 2015, Alex joined Rania, making her the first half-african-american/half-white idol in Korea.
Netizens complimented her, saying she was pretty and asking what the hell such a pretty girl is doing in Korea. However Rania failed to make it big even after Alex joined the group.
Technically, the answer to my question above is "yes". However, none of the examples mentioned above have really hit it big (Busker Busker isn't really an idol group), eventhough officially the big agencies are open to any nationality and race in their auditions. So I'd like to hear your opinion now, Omona:
Do you think it's possible that one day we will see a non-asian person debuting in Korea, maybe under SM/JYP/YG, and hitting it big? Why is this still not the case in 2016 and after K-Pop became a global sensation? Do you think Korea is ready for non-asian popstars (given the fact that they already talk bad about foreign asian idols, calling them "traitors" and what not)? Would YOU (if you're not asian) want to debut in Korea? Share your opinion below!
sources:
Seoul Mafia on yt +
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