We've seen how strict the entertainment industry in Korea is, and there have been times that they build up a non-exhaustive list of music videos banned by any South Korean television networks, because of suggestive or offensive lyrics and imagery. Of all the big broadcasting networks, KBS earned the nickname of "Korean Banning System," which became the only network that has specific protocols that ban most of the music videos made by idol groups. And here are some of them.
1. NCT 127's "Cherry Bomb"
Boy group NCT 127 released in 2017 "Cherry Bomb," the title track of its third mini-album that has been ruled unfit for KBS as it was disqualified for not following the rules. KBS announced the results for their observation and has ruled "Cherry Bomb" ineligible for broadcasting. It handled the lyrics pointed out in the initial deliberation for having violent lyrics and were accepted as something problematic.
NCT127's "Cherry Bomb" was also reviewed by KBS again for the second time, but it was still banned. It was because of the cruel lyrics that described violent acts such as "Bring your head together, pop your head."
As a result, NCT127 failed to perform "Cherry Bomb" on KBS's "Music Bank" and performed only one track, "0 Mile" (Zero Mile). Since then, SM Entertainment has decided not to revise the lyrics to take the mood of the song as it is. As a result, the problematic part was censored instead of changing the lyrics, but this was also not enough to win a broadcast qualification.
2. BIGBANG's "Fxxk It"
KBS also announced back in 2016 that Big Bang's lead track "Fxxk It" from their album "Made" was not permitted to air on television as the lyrics have been seen as something inappropriate for the viewers. KBS' panel had flagged "Fxxk It" for inappropriate use of lyrics. There was a particular term used in the song, which translates to a "thug" or, in other words, a "scumbag." KBS declared a ban on this music video as the term was too vulgar for broadcast.
3. Dalshabet's "Joker"
Dalshabet's "Joker" that was released in 2015 has been declared not to be broadcast by KBS, and the music video itself is too "sexy." Dalshabet's new song "JOKER" is drawing attention as it has been declared impossible to broadcast on KBS.
KBS said that it has ruled that the word "joker" in the new song in Dalshabet is not broadcastable because it reminds of abusive language and the title of the song when it is analyzed. In Korean, the first word of the title sound similar to a curse word referring to male genitalia, and the other hand means "big." Secondly, the music video also portrayed a scene between a man and a woman's love affair.
In response, Dalshabet's agency released a statement saying, "The Joker is the name of a character. However, it was ruled impossible by KBS due to the deliberation that it was reminiscent of abusive language. SBS and MBC passed. I'll go through the revision process and undergo a review," he said.
4. KARD's Oh Na Na
While the debut song of DSP's group K.A.R.D. was ruled ineligible by KBS, the agency expressed its intention to review it. A DSP Media official mentioned that the song "Oh Na Na Na," released in 2016, was declared unfit by KBS, and will be re-recorded and reviewed again.
KBS' review office ruled "Oh NaNa" unfit for broadcasting on the same day for mentioning certain product brands. The expression "Insta" in the lyrics has become a problem. K.A.R.D. was expected to revise the content and apply it for a review. Meanwhile, K.A.R.D. is a group of artists who combine various talents such as writing, composing, and creating choreography under the concept of King, Ace, Joker and Hidden.
