Kpop star and Big Bang member, G Dragon, recently released his album and accompanying music video for his single Too Bad with Anderson Paak. In the video, the two danced alongside each other and seemingly had fun making a banger single. To the untrained eye, nothing seemed out of place, but to Kpop fans, G Dragon’s tan was noticeable, especially compared to his previous releases and music videos.
If you know anything about Korean beauty standards, you’ll know that light, pale skin is considered beautiful. In some behind-the-scenes clips of idols on stage or in photo shoots, the makeup teams use lavender lights to cancel out some pigmentation so the idols’ skin appears lighter than what it is. When posing next to Anderson Paak, a black man, G Dragon’s makeup team used bronzer to try and warm up his complexion. It’s clear the stylists aren’t used to accentuating tan skin as G Dragon’s bronzer took on a pumpkin complexion instead of a natural tan/brown.
This could be avoided if Korean makeup artists began embracing tan skin before it was time to don it like a costume, like when standing next to a black person or performing black culture like rap songs and hip hop. There’s a way to merge two cultures without disrespecting either, and that starts with embracing people as they are, allowing people to take up as much space as they need until the two groups meet in the middle. If Korean idols were to embrace their tan skin and use foundation shades that weren’t a few shades too light, it would be much easier to introduce new styles to the performers’ repertoire.
