Why the storm of idol girl bands won't stop anytime soon
Every week there is a new girl band debuting. This week it's Blady, I believe? A Pink is a band that's only been teasing the Kpop world for two months; they're coming out soon too. Last week all the debut buzz was around Rania. So why, in a market that is clearly so saturated, are all these girls debuting?
Since 2007 there has been a huge flood of girls debuting weekly. This is common knowledge in Kpop. 2007 saw Wonder Girls, Kara, and SNSD (in that order) debut. Other girl groups such as Black Pearl debuted in 2007 as well but have largely gone missing in the media frenzy that is Kpop. 2008 saw the debut of Davichi. 2009 is where this starts to get crazy; try to keep up with me: t-ara, 2ne1, F(x), After School, 4minute, Rainbow, Secret, HAM, JQT, and Brand New Day.
Is 10 girl group debuts in a single year enough in order to show that this debut craze is going strong? 2011 already has seen the debut of three different girl groups (Coin Jackson, Rania, and Brave Girls).
Surely this trend is going to end, right? No, no it's not and here's why I think so.
Reason One: Mandatory Military Service
Every man in Korea must serve in someway around two years in the military. There are very few exceptions to this rule and most male idols will serve regardless of whether or not they are able to get out of it. Serving your time in the army provides an image boost (ex: Super Junior's Kangin) and a source of pride for Koreans. Men that have found ways to get out of their military duties have actually been deported in the country of Korea (Yoo Seung Jun) and male idols with a non-Korean residency have stated that they will still serve in the military (ex: 2PM's Taecyeon article here). MC Mong was recently sentenced to jail time because he was avoiding his own military service. (He pulled out his own teeth in order to do it.) To avoid Korean military duty is seen as an act of treason in some cases. This is an obvious hindrance on male stars and women are not required to do anything military wise.
The idol world is full of "here I am!" all the time. Once an idol steps out (in this case for two years, without question) the public moves on to the next thing. Since girls do not have this guaranteed two year absence they appear as a better choice in this respect.
Reason Two: Men Have More Money
No where on this Earth do women make as much money as men. In a study done in 2006 South Korea compared among other rich developed countries had the LARGEST pay gap between men and women, even beating out countries known for their gender inequality like Japan. South Korea had a pay gap of over 35%. (Source)
If attractive women appeal to men (and as seen in the case of IU and SNSD, they do) and women (normally seen as cute, sexy, or a role model) companies effectively capture both sides of the audience to a small or large degree and can earn more money in this way. This is opposed to the power of boy bands whose fan clubs typically are made up of girls.
Men have more money to put towards their hobbies and more time. Women that work and are married are typically tasked, in Korea, with both household duties and their work duties. Men have started believing that they too can help out with the household chores but they are still widely regarded as "womens work". Korea is still very conservative.
Female pop stars can appeal to men in so many different ways. Whether it's After School sexy, IU innocence, or SNSD's constant appeal to men to "look at them and love them" girls have charms that are different from men. Women can keep up the cute and innocent act for as long as it's needed and then can use their bodies when they need something new. When these girls are done using their sex appeal they can go back to being cute. Both this cute and sexy range appeal to men and their hormones and their desire to "protect". However, girl groups must tread this line very carefully. Too much of one (mostly sexy) will work against them. With Kpop being in the state it's in today the line between just right and too much has become much more clear. Also these charms can appeal largely to women as well. Many girls like cute things, many girls enjoy sexy women. Sexist or not, the oppa factor works strongly in a girl bands favor.
This is why I believe girl bands are going strong.
