This might be altogether reckless. But I say that as though it's stopped me before. It rarely ever has - so hear me out:
Our
culture conditions us to expect a perfect romantic partner for
ourselves. And with that kind of lofty anticipation hanging over our
heads, it's easy to forget that finding "the one" isn't so much a matter
of finding someone who is perfect, as it is a matter of finding someone
who's flaws you can grow to love.
Given how much
attachment terrifies me, my subconscious will find enough reasons for me
to wiggle my way out of commitment while the deal is still on the
table. And it usually does so by amplifying the guy's flaws.
Reflect on some of your male K-pop biases. They're ideal, but for what reasons?
Infatuation
over their genetically superior faces or voices that bring to mind a
million singing angels can only last for so long. Rather, it's the
baggage they carry that makes them that much more interesting.
And by
baggage, I don't mean this type:
Think
more laterally. Having a certain image to uphold can't ever excuse
K-pop idols from being... well, human. They have just as much baggage as
the rest of us - just as many issues, traumas, and deep-set flaws,
that, by some freakish workings of our embedded psyche, we find
senselessly fascinating.
So here's to the flaws, to the
imperfection of K-pop's finest men. Here's to my K-pop guy crushes and
their nuanced eccentricities. And not just the quirks I tolerate, but
the quirks I've grown to love.
Eunhyuk
Eunhyuk so fittingly received the nickname
anchovy because of his skinny silhouette. It's certainly a clever and appropriate moniker for the
Super Junior member
given his slender frame, but admittedly, that's not all there is to
him. For one thing, he doesn't look like anyone else in the industry,
which isn't something many idols can say nowadays. He also has one of
those infectious
gummy smiles that guarantees he'll
have a kick-ass sense of humor. Besides, his body doesn't bother me. Not
only does his lithe body make his dancing appear seamless, but I'd also
much rather be embraced by Eunhyuk and his lean muscles than by... say,
the
Old Spice guy.
(If
that were ever the case, the chances of my suffocating against his pecs
would have a less than a 1% failure rate. How embarrassing would it be
for people to recognize you as the girl who died pressed against
unnaturally large moobs...? Awful).
T.O.P
In an environment where male idols fling off their shirts more frequently than girls go through meals when they're on their
menstruation cycle,
T.O.P
is a bit of a black sheep. It's just about as difficult to find a
picture of this guy's abdominal region, or even his naked shoulders, as
it is to find real food at McDonald's. (So this is what it's come down
to - I find fault with T.O.P because of his thoroughly-clothed body).
But it's not that we've never tried to go after these pictures, you
know? It's just, the going gets pretty tough when you're trying to look
for evidence that doesn't exist in the first place. Though his abs - or
lack thereof - are such a well-kept secret, T.O.P doesn't falter in
terms of nurturing a loyal following. And truthfully, hormonal
frustration aside, I can't help but to respect him for it.
In the meantime, here's just about as close we'll get to in seeing T.O.P sleeveless utilizing
Google images:
Zelo
Apparently,
Zelo
finds his chin to be a complex in his appearance, which would explain
how often he frequents his signature face masks. Granted, his chin does
seem to be a bit rounded against his angular cheekbones, but truthfully,
that's hardly a complex. I must admit I experienced quite a delay
jumping onto the
B.A.P bandwagon. But once I did, game over. Zelo
immediately caught my eye, tall stature, pale complexion and all. If
his good looks piqued my interest, his stage presence completely sold
me. Aside from his playful mannerisms, there's nothing about him as a
performer that suggests he's the youngest member of B.A.P - at least not
with that kind of maturity.
Plus, if he needs someone to caress his round chin someone please tell him I'm available.
Kikwang
It's no secret that
B2ST's
Kikwang isn't
the tallest idol to grace the K-pop stratosphere. Kikwang, who's been
given nicknames such as "midget" and "kid" stated on a broadcast of
MBC's '
Weekly Idol' that
"Portal
site profiles say I'm 170.8 cm (5'7"). In reality, I'm sure I'm taller
than 170 cm. I'm actually still growing right now."
Whatever
- if my baby says he's still growing, then he's still growing.
Kikwang's miniature size never bothered me because height is the last
thing we consider when he performs. Because he carries himself with such
alluring charisma, we're never underwhelmed. His unparalleled
confidence and the way he genuinely seems to enjoy and thrive on stage
help me to look past his smaller stature. Give him to me. I'll take him -
all 5'7" of him.
L
When I first saw
L's face, I thought to myself,
"Omg... my ovaries." Then when I finally composed myself, it was something more along the lines of,
"Bravo, Mr. and Mrs. Kim. It seems all the stars aligned when your son's X and Y chromosomes came together."
But then... when I realized that L's alter ego, Kim Myungsoo, is something of a closet dork, that's when I knew,
"Yes, I can spend the rest of my life with this guy." With his sharp features and
impregnating brooding
stare, L's made a name for himself for his refined, mysterious
demeanor. But once L exits the room, he leaves in his absence the
clumsy, childlike Kim Myungsoo, who doesn't always know how to channel
back from the depths of his own faraway world. The switch is as
refreshing as it is endearing and frankly, I don't think I'd want it any
other way.
Luhan
This might sound bratty and grossly characteristic of first world problems, but
Luhan's
only flaw - at least the only one I could find - is the way he looks.
There's nothing about those wide Bambi eyes and plump lips that suggest
he's 23-years-old. Rather, his small face and soft features give off the
impression that he's a five-year-old kid whom you just want to protect
from all the vices of the world (though his midriff would hint
otherwise). Luhan, whose name appropriately translates to "morning deer"
in Chinese, is known not only for his infallibly cute looks, but for
his sweet personality. He's also one of those rare cases where raw
talent
actually measures up to jaw-dropping aesthetics. Luhan's a considerable force to be reckoned with,
even though his baby face makes you want nothing more than to squeal and pinch his cheeks.
Onew
When I first caught wind of
Onew's condition, I knew, deep down in the icy hollows of my heart, that I had found a kindred spirit. Basically, the
Onew Condition is
an intuitive lack of social finesse that renders everyday activities
completely hazardous. If we look at Onew's case, we can already see some
of the earlier symptoms: obsessing over chicken, taking falls while
walking on flat surfaces, and freezing up the merriest atmospheres with
truly lame jokes. One might assume that people can't handle such high
doses of awkward in their blood streams - Onew begs to differ.
Sure,
his social ineptness is an imperfection, but can we imagine him any
other way? God forbid he act normally from here on out - that would very
much throw the entire K-pop universe off its axis. It's a flaw I've
grown to love not simply because it's uncannily reminiscent of my own
social shortcomings, but because it's baggage that I've decided looks
well on him.
Surely, because we have preferences of our own, which flaws do you find to be most lovable in your male biases?
allkpop
When G-Dragon of Big Bang
landed in hot water for smoking pot two years ago, many North American
and European fans scoffed. It’s almost a given that musicians in the
west smoke marijuana and possibly do other drugs. Some musicians, like Snoop Lion (formerly Snoop Dogg),
have practically built a career on the image. But now, G-Dragon has
managed to land himself in hot water with some of his fans out west. On
Tuesday, G-Dragon posted an image of himself on Instagram with his face
circled by a t-shirt and covered in something black with the caption
“X.” Controversy erupted in the international G-Dragon/Big Bang fandom
known as the VIPs. 
The terrible history of blackface and its uses is well documented.
People from the US in particular are aware that the use of blackface is
like the visual version of the N-word; while both still happen, it is
not acceptable for non-Black artists to engage in them. Looking to
Europe, and at Germany and the Netherlands in particular, controversy
erupts each December as performers don blackface to portray
Sinterklaas’s assistant, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). 
It is simple to say that there is no reason one should expect G-Dragon
or anyone in the K-pop industry to be sensitive to this. But in the end,
that can be overly generous. To delve so deeply into the music of a
community but not to learn anything about the community that made the
music is a selective awareness that represents a failure on the part of
the artist and his management, and this is not the first time, not even
for G-Dragon. Some consider this kind of insensitivity to be an ongoing
problem with Korean performers: a lack of consideration for the
feelings, memories, and stories that are evoked when someone with their
face painted black is looked upon. Now might be the time to get with the
program. Efforts to export Hallyu to a broad North American and Latin
American audience will necessitate making inroads with diverse audiences
that include people of African descent. 