(G)I-DLE's stage outfits for their most recent comeback, "HWAA", is becoming a controversial topic due to its Chinese influences. Keep on reading to learn more.
Numerous people on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform, are criticizing the stage outfits of (G)I-DLE after they noticed the costumes were making use of Chinese silk.
For many years, Korean have been purchasing Chinese silk with Chinese style embroidery to create outfits and clothing. According to many people on the platform, they are taking away the culture of the fabric and that the use of a Korea-based girl group could make people think the silk is actually from South Korea.
South Korea has used Chinese silk to create hanboks. Notably, (G)I-DLE is not the first group to have Chinese styled stage outfits. Stray Kids, NCT 127, Orange Caramel, and T-ARA have been seen wearing Chinese or oriental stage outfits. Former PRISTIN member Kyulkyung and WJSN's Cheng Xiao, who are both Chinese, have also been seen wearing Chinese qipaos while promoting in South Korea.
Some internet users say that the silk used in their clothing was bought from Taobao, a Chinese online shopping website, to create qipao style clothing. Others expressed frustration over the use of Chinese silk for Korean groups, as well as for Korean dramas and film, as they believe the patterns used are uniquely Chinese and not from Korea.
Meanwhile, a slew of fans defended (G)I-DLE and their stylists as they believe the group shouldn't be criticized for something they have no control over: their styling and what they are assigned to wear.
Others, on the other hand, argued that the girls are not appropriating Chinese culture, but are instead showing appreciation for it by making use of the pattern.
This is not the first time the group's Chinese audience expressed disappointment in an aspect of their comeback. Previously, member Shuhua's Chinese fan club announced that they would no longer be ordering albums after they discovered Shuhua only got 3.9 seconds of lines in "HWAA," while the member with the most lines, Soyeon, got 37.3 seconds of lines, meaning the two have a 33.4-second difference.
Shuhua is the only member with less than 10 seconds of lines, with the member with the second-least amount of lines, Soojin, got 16.8 seconds of lines.
The fan club also noted that Shuhua had the least amount of screen time in the music video, only amounting to 17 seconds. With that, the club slammed the company for not treating Shuhua equally to her members.
ALSO READ: (G)I-DLE Soyeon Receives Sympathy after Being Slammed for Line Distribution in ‘HWAA’
According to the club, Shuhua has been mistreated by CUBE Entertainment by decreasing her solo lines after "Oh my god" and by not giving her good makeup. They stated that until the company does their due diligence in taking care of Shuhua, they will only be supporting her as an individual and will not be purchasing (G)I-DLE albums.
RELATED: (G)I-DLE Shuhua’s Chinese Fan Club to Stop Album Orders Following Unfair Line Distribution for ‘HWAA’
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Written by Alexa Lewis
