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wearing short black shorts. (Yonhap News Agency)

By Nam Ji-en, Writer

On the Aug. 26, on an episode of “2010 mNet 20’s Choice,” Hyun Ah from Kpop girl group “4Minute” performed a dance on a chair, wearing black shorts revealing her body. The audience cheered every time she moved her outstretched legs. After the performance, Internet users uploaded photos and left comments, such as, “The thing I noticed first were your lovely legs,” and “Captivating eyes that seduce a man.” Hyun Ah, 18, is currently a senior in high school.

The girl group “GP Basic,” the youngest girl group with an average age of 15, appeared on the music program “Show! Music Core” on Aug. 21.

“I’ve stolen your heart. You’re already mine. Look only at me,” are some of the lyrics of their hit song. The girls are four middle school students and an elementary school student. Looking at the lyric content of their music and their thick makeup, one might confuse them as being much older.

With the growing popularity of girl groups recently, controversy has arisen regarding how much sexual suggestiveness the girls use in their performances. For these girl groups, which include teen-aged girls, miniskirts and short shorts are standard outfits. They also perform provocative dances in see-through clothes that look more like undergarments, and the music programs encourage this behavior. As more criticism from the public arises, television stations are considering more regulations. However, the public is also criticizing the actions of the music programs, which focus on visuals like close-ups of particular body parts.

On Saturday’s episode of “Show! Music Core,” four girl groups appeared. Three of the four groups performed what many called sexy performances. All three groups, wore short shorts, shaking their behind areas and striking sensual looks at the camera. Unlike the other groups with unique styles, such as the retro look of the Wonder Girls or the powerful music of 2NE1, the “sexy”-style girl groups do not possess anything unique to distinguish themselves from the other sexy-style girl groups. Musical talent seems to take a back seat as they work hard to appear sexy above all else. Their generic sexy dancing and short shorts impart an impersonal performance.

Experts speculate the reason for the recent sexy-concept girl groups is due to the high competition among the girl groups, which proliferated greatly over the recent years. With little difference in their looks, clothing and music styles, girl groups must gain popularity.

Kim Yu-gon, a producer for “Show! Music Core,” said, “These days, girl groups are competing more fiercely than boy groups, so to be on everyone’s lips, they need something people will talk about.” Kim also said, “The ‘sexy code’ is their weapon.”

In addition, changes in the public opinion are also fanning the “sexification” of girl groups.

Producer Seo Su-min said the sexy clothing and dancing of girl groups does not have a direct impact on program view ratings. Instead, teens, the major program viewer age group, busily put screen captures on their blogs and introduce these groups on the Internet. Internet media all turn these groups into stories. By becoming a topic of online-centered conversations, the group’s name raises in recognition and popularity. With this trend, management companies are also promoting the sexy groups strategically.

“In fact, if you adopt an extreme sexy concept, you become big news on the Internet,” said an official from one girl group management company. “‘Brown Eyed Girls, who were loved as artists who can sing well, adopted the sexy code with their song ‘Abracadabra’ and became explosively popular. Recently, the new girl group, ‘Secret,’ also is drawing attention for its song ‘Madonna.’”

Also problematic are indiscreet broadcasters which ask girl groups to do sexy dances on entertainment programs like “Kkotdabal” and “Sebakwi,” with the middle-aged panelists shown openly enjoying it.

Emphasis on the sexy code leads to cases of forced exposure. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family center for analysis and evaluation of youth policy conducted a survey of 103 male and female celebrities and aspiring celebrities aged 9 to 24 from July 21 and Aug. 5. A total of 10.2 percent of those below the age of 19 surveyed answered that they had exposed a part of their body such as legs, chest or buttocks before. In turn, 33.3 percent said they had been pressured to expose themselves. One worker on a music program said he or she had never seen a girl group member at a broadcasting company who was uncomfortable with exposure or refused to wear revealing clothing.

As South Korean girl groups gain popularity , especially in Japan, their suggestive clothing and exposure has continued along these trends. During one recent Japanese morning program on which Kpop girl group Kara appeared, the camera concentrated on taking in Kara’s buttocks, which also caused controversy among South Korean fans. One Japanese media outlet reported that Kara’s buttocks and Girls’ Generation’s shapely legs had shaken the Japanese archipelago.

South Korea’s broadcasting laws merely stipulate that decadence or violence must not be promoted in cases where viewers include children or minors. There are no clear guidelines. Rather, the mood is one of caution, where broadcasting companies make their own guidelines.

SBS recently determined “production guidelines for artistic programs,” where it decided to place restrictions upon performers who noticeably lowered the quality of programs through excessively lascivious performance of excessive exposure or behavior.

SBS’s publicity team explained that the broadcaster judged that “suggestive” scenes or subjects on programs were problematic.

MBC and KBS said that they had not decided upon specific guidelines, but that their general stance was such that they took it upon themselves to inspect items such as clothing in advance.

Show! Music Core’s director Kim Yu-gon said, “People such as the head of the artistic department and the producer examined clothing and dances in advance at rehearsals and demanded changes where necessary.”

Seo Su-min, director of KBS’ Music Bank, said, “As soon as the suggestiveness issue recently began to explode, girl groups’ management companies began to produce and bring separate clothes for use in terrestrial broadcasts and have continuously accepted demands to alter revealing clothing.” Seo also said, “KBS has also been paying attention to camera angles that swept up female celebrities’ bodies from head to toe or concentrated on specific body parts.”

Whether guidelines related to exposure will be properly applied is uncertain. Definitions of what lies within the boundaries of exposure are subjective, and in some cases the same level of exposure can seem not to be subjective, according to the mood created by the singer. In a changing era, where performances by singers are growing more diverse, there are also some who say that regulating exposure could infringe upon freedom of expression.

One high-ranking employee of a terrestrial broadcaster said, “There was previously a time when internal attention was paid to instructions not to show navels, but this mood, at some point, naturally disappeared.” The employee also said, “In many cases, the matter ended with temporary restrictions.”

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