Ha Jae-geun
(a pop culture critic)
 
  Cultural authorities are reacting against the Lady Gaga's concert ban for South Koreans under the age of 18. They say it's an excessive cultural restriction and an excessive conservatism as well. Is it really so?
  Since the military regime of Park Chung-hee, thinking of all kinds of restrictions on cultural expression as suppression has been the general attitude of our educated people. At this time, they are also thinking in a similar way as they did when criticizing the restriction on miniskirts under the military regime of Park Chung-hee. However, we don't have to think like this. We need to think flexibly. Excessive repression on culture is obviously wrong, but excessive freedom is not always necessarily good. Everything needs “proper” regulations.    
  These days, suggestiveness is being intensified rapidly in the world of Korean idols. Excessive exposure and suggestive clothing cause stirs regardless of time. Moreover, even teenage Korean pop stars are being objectified suggestively. If we intensify autonomy, this situation may go even worse.
  Many people associate cultural freedom with creativity and cultural competitiveness. However, in some cases, freedom just intensifies commerciality and  suggestiveness, and it weakens true creativity and cultural vigor. In other words, autonomy and restriction are what we should manage well, so we should not blindly emphasize either one.
  Lady Gaga is famous for excessive suggestiveness. If it spreads, there will be no doubt that it'll affect idol performances in Korea. Although US is an advanced country in the pop culture, it is also obviously true that the US is being criticized all over the world because of excessive commerciality and suggestiveness. We should make our own cultural identity which is suitable to us instead of following the US's blindly.   
  In that sense, the judgement of restricting Lady Gaga's performance to over-18s seems to be justified. Because the judgement is not denying the performance itself and it just doesn't allow under-18s to see the show, it wounds like a proper compromise. 
  Of course, the day will come when the degree of performances' suggestiveness in Korea will reach the point of what is found in Lady Gaga's performances. The problem is that the speed is too fast. For now, it's time to slow down the speed of intensified suggestiveness and make a soft landing. What we need now is to intensify Korea’s cultural depth and its diversity, not its suggestiveness.
  
Seo Hwan-hui
hh32@cbnu.ac.kr