The Awakening of Female Consciousness: Study on K-Pop Girl Groups Music Videos

Abstract

Since the 21st century, the Korean Pop music industry (K-Pop) has begun to grow by leaps and bounds, forming a music industry that is representative of Korean culture. Over the course of more than twenty years, K-Pop groups have begun to make new attempts and challenges with their works, especially the girl groups that have received more attention in recent years. More and more people are paying attention to the deeper meaning they want to express behind their works. This study focuses on three music videos by the K-Pop girl groups, (G)I-DLE, ITZY, and Red Velvet. Based on John Fiske's semiotic theory, it conducts a visual analysis of their music videos to investigate how the music videos of K-Pop girl groups reflect the awakening of female consciousness. It was found that all three girl groups expressed their feminist ideas through their music videos, reflecting the further profound development of K-Pop works and the strengthening of female consciousness in Korean patriarchal society.