Rain's video criticized for element of racism

Singer Rain.

By Kim Young-jin

A video from singer Rain's new album, "Rain Effect," is drawing criticism for what some call a racially-insensitive caricature of black women.

Bloggers and observers took exception to the video for "L.A. Song," the album's second single, which depicts a black woman whose chest and buttocks enlarge significantly after being kissed by the singer.

"The suggestion…is that his kiss activates this hyperbolic sexuality of the woman," said K-pop-focused website Seoulbeats in a post. "Combined with the predatory gaze he shoots her way prior to this makes this scene more than uncomfortable."

The video, part of Rain's return from a four-month hiatus, was the latest K-pop product to be hit for racial insensitivity. Comedians, pop singers and other celebrities have made racist gestures in recent years, including those that feature blackface.

A representative of Cube Entertainment, which released the album last week, was not immediately available for comment.

Released last week, "Rain Effect" is the singer's sixth album and his first since he finished his mandatory military service in July last year.

The video portrays Rain and his entourage in a gritty urban environment where they dance with people in an enclosed market.

In the second verse, while eating a bright piece of fruit, Rain spots a woman and strides toward her. Pulling her toward him, he appears to kiss or blow air into her mouth. Her silhouette is seen as the body parts enlarge.

Observers on the internet compared the silhouette to 19th century caricatures of South African slaves who were exhibited for their bodies in Europe, images said to reinforce racism.

"This nameless black woman is positioned as the jezebel, a racist caricature of a hypersexual black seductress," said Tumblr user BlackInAsia.

Another website, Kpopstarz, held a different view, suggesting that Rain and the producers of the video were attempting to "embrace elements of other cultures and to convey the mood of the song itself.

"Rain actively engages with the elements of otherness," the website said. "As K-Pop continues to grow as a worldwide phenomena, these questions will continue to be asked, but it is comforting to see that artists such as Rain are attempting to incorporate more diversity in their videos."

Michael Hurt, an assistant professor at Hongdae University who blogs about life in Seoul, said these were part of an attempt to "use people of color to recreate their spaces, and bolster the artist's authenticity within a genre that is seen as a product of those people of color."

He added, however, that the process of "cultural appropriation" was not new.

"Rain's images of black people vis-a-vis hip hop isn't any different from that of other Korean artists," he said. "He's just channeling the most vulgar, the most obvious symbols of that.

"I think people should look at the video and say hey what's going on here? It's part of a process that's been going on for a long time."

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