In East Asia, right now arguably the largest exporter of popular culture and media is South Korea. With the emergence of K-Pop on the global scale as well as the continued dominance of Korean Dramas around East Asia Korea is the dominant force. Korean media is so important to Korea that it is even backed by the government. However, while most people look at the bright colors and flashy dance moves there are other things going on behind the scenes in Korea. While the music is very popular there can be an issue with cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is when you take something that is unique to a culture, strip it off its meaning, then re-appropriate it for profit. The prime example of this in Korea is the Hip-Hop scene. While many groups have their own unique styles the vast majority are almost mechanically created by their label. A prime example is the popular band Black Pink. Watching Black Pink is like watching corporate hip-hop. There are fake finger guns, explosions, dark clothing, edgy makeup, and lyrics about being tough and hard. However, what makes this different from artists such as Kendrick Lamar is that this style has nothing to do with Black Pink. When Kendrick Lamar raps he is using this a medium to express himself and his upbringing. When Black Pink raps it’s just a way to capitalize on raps now mainstream success for their label. Korea media also sets the standard for what beauty is not only in Korea but in a lot of East Asian countries. In Korea, the Bishōnen (youthful boy) look is seen as the standard for what constitutes an attractive male. This means they have clear skin, they are thin, almost androgynous features, as well as look very sensitive. You can see this look in almost every major Korean boy-band like BTS or BIG BANG. However, this sets a standard of beauty that is very unrealistic and can cause a lot of issues. Many members of boybands have said they have struggled with the pressure to maintain this certain appearance and have done so by skipping meals, extreme fasting, and over-exercise. But even though there are a lot of issues with the Korean mass media machine it is still fully supported by the government This is because the media that is being put out is fun and happy. It paints an image of Korea as one that is full of boy bands and people will fun hair colors. None of the music is critical of the government the status quo, or really anything. All the media is about love or having fun which is exactly what the government wants. So Korea media while it is extremely entertaining, like all of show-business it has its dark side as well.