K-pop star IU's 'Zeze' under fire

Cover of IU's album "Chat-shire" / Korea Times

By Kwon Ji-youn

Singer-songwriter IU's new album "Chat-shire" was launched to public acclaim with her title track "Twenty-three" sweeping all sorts of music charts, but it has now become the hottest potato in both the domestic and international music scenes due to controversial lyrics in the song titled "Zeze" that sexualize the imaginative but misunderstood five-year-old protagonist of Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos's autobiographical novel "My Sweet Orange Tree."

Foreign media, too, are taking an interest in IU's interpretation of the childhood classic. The Guardian on Monday covered the story with a headline that read, "K-pop star IU's song accused of ‘sexualizing' book's child hero."

"A Brazilian novel first published more than 40 years ago has unexpectedly become a highly sought-after read, after the 23-year-old Korean pop star IU was accused of sexualizing the story of its five-year-old protagonist in one of her songs," it said.

The controversy began when Dongnyok, publisher of the book's Korean edition, blew the whistle on IU's portrayal of the abused boy as a "sexual object."

"We appreciate freedom of expression and creativity," it said in a Facebook post. "But we regret IU's decision to depict such a young and mistreated boy as a sexual object. And to put him in a pin-up girl position wearing fishnet stockings..."

The problematic lyrics read, "Zeze, come on up the tree quick and kiss the leaves, don't be naughty and don't hurt the tree, come up the tree and get the youngest leaf… you are innocent but shrewd, transparent but dirty and there is no way of knowing what's living inside."

The controversy has sparked debate in the music community. Critic Huh Ji-woong supported IU, saying it is undesirable for a publisher to impose an interpretation guide on literature, and that IU has the right to quote and identify with Zeze in her songs.

Author So Jae-won disagreed: "There are taboos in art as well." Added writer Lee Oi-soo, "Would you touch a work of art with a ‘Don't touch' sign in front of it?"

It appears, however, that IU's newest storm is about more than just Zeze ― her attitude towards the public and her fans, past scandals, the album's "Lolita" concept and her overambitious approach to songwriting are all revealing side effects that are taking a toll on her music career.

Both Dongnyok and IU have issued apologies, the latest by the publisher regarding its failure to acknowledge individual variety and freedom of interpretation.

IU's apology came last Thursday. "I did not mean to turn Zeze into a sexual object," she explained. "The Zeze in my song is a new character merely inspired by the book, but I realize that my lyrics have offended many, and for this I apologize."

Even so, some 40,000 people have signed an online petition requesting that IU's "Zeze" be removed from charts and the sound source be destroyed.

"It may put some very wrong ideas into people's heads," said one critic. "There needs to exist limits as to how far freedom of expression can go." Others agreed that for the Lolita concept to fly, the album may have needed a "19 and over" warning.

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