BLACKPINK’s Jennie’s solo song “Mantra” was deemed ineligible for broadcast on KBS due to its mention of specific brand names. According to the KBS music review results on October 23rd, 2024, “Mantra” violated Article 46 of the Broadcasting 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’s broadcast standards due to brand mentions in lyrics. “CLIK CLAK” was deemed unsuitable due to “lyrics that violate Broadcasting Review Regulation Article 46 (Restriction of Advertising Effects) by mentioning specific product brands”.
In 2022, the MV “PINK VENOM” by BLACKPINK was banned from airing on KBS. The station said that the song violated existing law when the group indirectly promoted brand products. Specifically, “PINK VENOM” referred to two famous brands in their 2 lines, “Waving the coco (Chanel)” and “I’m still in Celine (Celine)”. The decision saddened fans and, at the same time, made some portions skeptical of the questionable regulations of the broadcast station.
In 2019, BLACKPINK made a grand comeback with “Kill This Love”. However, the MV was banned for a surprising reason. The station stated that the MV contained an image violating the Road Traffic Act.
In Rosé’s solo scene, the idol was acting in a high-speed driving scene without wearing her seatbelt. Moreover, the scene where the idol stood in the middle of the road while a car was heading her way was another cause for the ban on “Kill This Love”.
“Fxxk It” by BIGBANG was also flagged from airing because of “inappropriate” lyrics. KBS said that the song contained the phrase “yangachi” meaning a “thug”, causing the song to be “erased” from broadcast due to negative connotation that might affect the audience. “We Like 2 Party” by Zutter and BIGBANG suffered from the same penalty. Facing these bans issued by KBS, YG stood their ground and announced they would not change to a more appropriate language in order to be aired.
AKMU was confronted with a similar, ironic situation when they received a ban from KBS. The station regarded the “Galaxy” in their song as indirect advertisement for the famous Samsung smartphone’s Galaxy series.
The ban imposed on “I’m Busy” by 2NE1 is, by far, the most controversial case. The station said that the use of the word “babo” in Korean meant “foolish”, going against the regulations of the station.
“Everyday” by WINNER was welcomed by the listeners with open arms. However, KBS believed the song did not pass the censorship round. Specifically, the song used the word “lotto”, which supposedly and implicitly encouraged young people to participate in illegal gambling.
During the time of activities under YG, PSY released the MV “Gentleman”, a global buzzworthy song. However, the song was also banned in its home country.
In the first shot of the MV, PSY kicked a traffic cone that said “No Parking”, which was regarded as vandalism and deemed unfit to be aired.
While censorship is necessary and encouraged, KBS is confusing Kpop fans for banning songs by YG idols on absurd grounds.
