“Thou shalt not worship false idols” - Exodus 20:4
As a Christian, I often wonder if my love for K-pop is
contradictory to my faith. After all, K-pop idols are called as such for a
reason. They are admired and basically worshipped by fans who spend all their
time following them and their activities, and seen as people who cannot do any
wrong until a controversy happens. Many undergo strict diets, excessive
exercise, and even plastic surgery in order to look “perfect”, and are required
to act in certain ways to please their fans. However, having all these
expectations placed on them by others, and subsequently failing to meet these
expectations, means that there is a large burden for these celebrities. I don’t
even like using the term “idols” for these people because of this connotation.
I’m nowhere near famous or even popular, but I know what it
feels like to be idolized. I know what it feels like to be the centre of
someone’s life to the point that I’m all that they care about. I know what it’s
like to act contrary to my true nature in order to not disappoint the ones I
love and to fulfill their wishes for me. That’s why the stressful life of K-pop
stars has become so much more relatable to me now, especially when they speak
out – sometimes emotionally - about any issues and negative thoughts they’ve
experienced, and any lessons they’ve learned being in the idol industry.
Like many, I got completely hooked onto Produce 101 earlier
this year (making the mistake of spending more time and attention following the
show than growing in my faith), and found myself falling in love with all the
boys’ personalities. For some of the contestants, I started stanning them
because I thought, “hey, they would make pretty good friends if I actually knew
them”, making them seem so much more human to me. However, I had to think
whenever they desperately cried out, “I want to be an idol”. Were they prepared
to be basically worshipped and swarmed by crazy fangirls, every action only for
the entertainment of others? Were they prepared to have people devote their
entire life to them? For example, I’m pretty sure Kang Daniel is Christian, but
he expressed the wish to be known as “God Daniel”, and now his fans basically
worship him and everything he does. (Kang Daniel, if you ever find this, I’m
not intending to hate on you and I’m sorry if it’s coming across this way. I
like you too! I just wanted to point this out as an example.)
I had to put everything into perspective again when I found
out that one of my former high school classmates is debuting as an idol later
this year. Now naturally, my fangirl self was delighted that I actually knew a
Korean celebrity, and to this day I’m hyped for everything that he has to show
the world. However, I can’t help but worry for him, for his life once he
debuts. This particular soon-to-be idol is a Christian as well, and he will
likely find himself tempted to forget about the real reason why he entered this
industry, which I can predict is to use his talent and passion for music to
glorify God. Already, fansites dedicated to him have popped up, and it still
shocks me that total strangers fawn over him more than his former friends and
classmates do. For me, this is a good example of an idol being “just like the
rest of us”. Having known this guy for five years, he is very human to me, and
I can’t imagine how he’ll feel knowing that people may start swarming him, invading
his privacy and – God forbid – endangering his safety, just because they adore
him so much.
Several K-pop artists identify as Christian, but very few
have actually been outspoken about what their faith means to them as an
entertainer, as an idol (for example, I really miss Siwon’s inspirational posts).
I hope and pray that fans and idols alike will recognize that idols are,
really, just like the rest of us, and that ultimately, they can’t be God for
other people. Even when I pray to God for Him to do something, He does
something else that I might not like at first. So if even the LORD doesn’t
fulfill our desires all the time – or at least not in the way we want Him too –
why should human beings feel obligated to do so for the satisfaction of others?
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