BLACKPINK’s Jennie’s solo song “Mantra” was deemed ineligible for airplay on KBS due to the mention of specific trademarks. According to the findings of the KBS music review on October 23, 2024, “Mantra” violated Article 46 of the Broadcast Review Regulations as it referenced a specific product brand in its lyrics, leading to the broadcast ban.
BABYMONSTER’s new song “CLIK CLAK” also failed to pass KBS’ broadcast standards due to the brand’s mention in the lyrics. “CLIK CLAK” was deemed unsuitable due to “lyrics which contravene Article 46 of the Broadcasting Review (Limitation of Advertising Effects) Regulations by mentioning specific brands of products”.
In 2022, BLACKPINK’s MV “PINK VENOM” was banned from airing on KBS. The station claimed that the song violated existing law as the group was indirectly promoting the brand’s products. Specifically, “PINK VENOM” referred to two famous brands in their 2 lines, “Waving the Coconut (Chanel)” AND “I’m still in Celine (Celine).” The decision saddened fans and, at the same time, made some parties skeptical of the broadcaster’s questionable regulations.
In 2019, BLACKPINK made a big comeback with “Kill This Love.” However, MV was banned for a surprising reason. The station said the MV contained an image that violated the Road Traffic Act.
In Rosé’s solo scene, the idol acted in a high-speed driving scene without wearing a seat belt. Furthermore, the scene where the idol stood in the middle of the road while a car headed towards her was another cause for the banning of “Kill This Love”.
BIGBANG’s “Fxxk It” was also flagged from airplay due to “inappropriate” lyrics. KBS said the song contained the phrase “yangachi” meaning “thug”, causing the song to be “cancelled” from broadcast due to the negative connotation that could influence the public. Zutter’s “We Like 2 Party” and BIGBANG suffered the same penalty. In the face of these bans issued by KBS, YG stood his ground and announced that he would not switch to more appropriate language to be aired.
AKMU faced a similar and ironic situation when it received a ban from KBS. The broadcaster considered the word “Galaxy” in their song as an indirect advertisement for the popular Galaxy series of Samsung smartphones.
The ban imposed on “I’m Busy” by 2NE1 is, by far, the most controversial case. The station said the use of the word “babo” means “foolish” in Korean, going against station regulations.
WINNER’s “Everyday” has been welcomed by listeners with open arms. However, KBS believed that the song did not pass the censor round. Specifically, the song used the word “lotto,” which supposedly and implicitly encouraged young people to participate in illegal gambling.
During the period of activities under YG, PSY released the MV “Gentleman”, a song of great worldwide interest. However, the song was also banned in its home country.
In the first shot of the MV, PSY kicked a traffic cone with the words “No Parking” written on it, which was considered vandalism and deemed unfit for airing.
While censorship is necessary and encouraged, KBS is confusing Kpop fans by banning YG idols’ songs for absurd reasons.
