Jay Park’s Release From 2PM: Korean-American Culture Shock

One of the most controversial incidents to come out of the K-pop world from the past few years concerned the termination of Park Jaebeom from the popular boy band 2PM. The group was enjoying their rise to the top of the Korean music industry with the success of their second single, “2:00PM Time For Change”, released on April 16, 2009. But in September of that year, attention shifted from their music to past comments made by their leader, Jaebeom.
Korean fans found comments written by Jaebeom on Myspace in 2005 in which he insulted Korea and Korean people. At the time, he had recently moved to South Korea from his hometown of Seattle, Washington to train as an artist under the record label JYP Entertainment. From his comments it seems he was experiencing difficulty adjusting to life in a different country. The most damaging comment he made that was cited by many fans stated, “Korea is gay… I hate Koreans”.

The backlash Jaebeom and 2PM experienced was intense. After the translations of his comments were spread all over Korean media, fans called for Jaebeom’s removal from the group. He issued an official apology explaining the context of his comments, but it did not quell the fans’ anger. There was even a petition signed by thousands of people demanding that he commit suicide. As a result, Jaebeom announced he would leave 2PM temporarily and return to Seattle. By February of 2010 JYP announced that Jaebeom’s contract with their company had been terminated, crushing any hope of a reunited 2PM.

Today 2PM continues as a six-person group and Jaebeom is now a solo artist going by his English name Jay Park. Both parties remain successful in and out of Korea but as entirely separate entities. What can be learned from Jay’s experiences as a Korean American in the Korean music industry? Evidently, even if someone is ethnically Korean he/she can still struggle with cultural differences when relocating to South Korea. Korean fans are vigilant in both their admiration and hatred for idol figures in the music industry. The misinterpretation of language and culture between Korea and the United States almost ruined Jay’s career, but he has managed to start over as an artist on his own terms thanks to support from his fans all around the world. While the Korean Wave is now known worldwide, it is not free from its own controversies that stem from the side effects of globalization.

Link
http://youtu.be/cUgReo37ECw
Music video for “Again & Again” by 2PM

Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Park
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2:00PM_Time_For_Change
http://www.dmwmedia.com/blog/%5Buser%5D/myspace-facebook-youtube-twitter-and-story-jay-park-aka-jaebeom-park
http://ourmoderngush.blogspot.com/2011/01/top-5-k-pop-controversies-mistakes-made.html
http://www.allkpop.com/2009/09/does_jaebeom_think_korea_is_gay
http://news.donga.com/3//20090905/8805847/1
http://www.soompi.com/2009/09/10/everything-about-jaebums-departure
http://www.soompi.com/2009/09/05/2pm-jaebum-offends-koreans-with-myspace-posts/
http://www.allkpop.com/2009/09/antis_create_a_suicide_petition_for_2pms_jaebeom