Video Analysis of “My Last” Official MV by Ying Xin Crystal Jiang

Along with the common usage of celebrity endorsements in Korean advertisements, sexual objectification does not fall far behind. With the industry norm of having “15-second advertising slots” (Turnbull 2017: 129), Korean agencies need to grab viewers’ attention quickly while also making an impact. However, regulating this form of advertisement is harmful not only to women but for society overall. Analysis of Bak Jaebeom’s “My Last” music video indicates how the commodification of both male and female bodies and lighthearted music in advertisements in Korean media products furthers sexual objectification.

Within the first five seconds of the music video, the traditional forms of advertisement are prevalent. This is demonstrated by the camera’s focus of the CASS beer that was thrown to Jaebeom. This music video while promoting Jaebeom’s song is also clearly in partnership with CASS as scholar James Turnbull has noted that “it is only logical to hire celebrities with the widest possible fanbase,” (2017:129). As the video progresses however, the focus of the video shifts to a female. With the fragmentation of the video, there is a direction of attention towards her “bare legs and waving crotches and hips” (Lin and Rudolf 2017:32) as the video slows down during those frames. While this is highly likely due to long slender legs being the new physical ideals in Korea (Epstein and Joo 2012: 2), the implications behind the cinematography are severe. With this “level of leniency toward bodily exposure and expressions of female sexuality (Fedorenko 2014: 344-45), advertisers will continue exploit the boundaries of public decency.

While men are also sexualized in K-pop, the effects differ in comparison to females. In several scenes of the music video, Jaebeom is showing his toned muscular body. Male idols are “often asked to show off their chocolate abs for the pleasure of their female fans,” (Lin and Rudolf 2017:32). Although a muscular male body is seen as a source of empowerment (Epstein and Joo 2012:18), the act of commodifying sexuality is still present with men. In this case, there is a problematic issue where it becomes a near requisite for male idols to possess the “perfect” body (Ibid., 5). Fans and viewers alike expect idols to gain or maintain these bodies and demand for them to be revealed to them in concerts, music videos, and events. While the career of a K-pop entertainer entails fan service, the requirement of revealing their bodies on as demand is of itself, sexually objectifying. Furthermore, the naked torso “operates as a consumer fetish, encouraging desires to both gaze at and possess the ‘perfect’ body” (Ibid., 8) setting unrealistic goals about the average male.

The beat of the song with its upbeat and positive feel further promotes objectification. “My Last” takes place on a beach and a field where Jaebeom and his friends are having fun while also noticing the main female character. Unintentional as it may be, the light atmosphere behind the song diminishes the severity of sexual objectification and begins to “foster permissive sexual attitudes” (Kistler and Lee 2009: 82). With the hybridity of K-pop genres, Jaebeom’s music are fused with hip hop and R&B in which the hip-hop genre has “become heavily influential on young people’s views of sexuality” (Ibid., 68). Considering how K-pop has had “rapid penetration in the global market and culture” (Jin and Ryoo 2014: 116), the influences of K-pop music videos cannot be underestimated.

While the celebrity endorsed advertising of the CASS beer is evident in the “My Last”, the additional use of “sex-appeal aesthetics” (Fedorenko 2014: 355) facilitates sexual objectification. Particularly with the current physical trends where both male and females attempt to manufacture themselves into “objects of desirability” (Epstein and Joo 2012: 14) which shifts societal beliefs toward the concept that sexual objectification is acceptable. However, in the case of all genders, it should be deemed as unacceptable.

Fedorenko, Olga. “South Korean Advertising as Popular Culture.” In the Korean Popular Culture Reader, edited by Kyung Hyun Kim and Youngmin Choe, 341–62. Durham: Duke University Press, 2014.

Jin, Dal Yong and Woongjae Ryoo. “Critical Interpretation of Hybrid K-Pop: The Global-Local Paradigm of English Mixing in Lyrics.” Popular Music and Society 37, no. 2 (2014): 113- 31.

Kistler, Michelle E. and Moon J. Lee. “Does Exposure to Sexual Hip-Hop Music Videos Influence the Sexual Attitudes of College Students?” Mass Communication and Society 13, no. 1 (2009): 67-86.

Lin, Xi and Robert Rudolf. “Does K-pop Reinforce Gender Inequalities? Empirical Evidence from a New Data Set.” Asian Women 33, no. 4 (2017): 27-54.

Turnbull, James. “Just Beautiful People Holding a Bottle: The Driving Forces behind South Korea’s Love of Celebrity Endorsement.” Celebrity Studies 8, no. 1 (2017): 128-35.