How Has ‘Music Bank’ Changed Since Tightening Its Rules on Girl Groups’ Revealing Outfits?

[ 10/22/2010 ]

Navels and chests were fully covered. At a live broadcast of KBS 2TV’s ‘Music Bank’ in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 22nd, performers took the stage for the first time since KBS president Kim In-kyu announced on the 18th that the broadcaster was preparing restrictions on revealing outfits and suggestive choreography. Seven-member group Rainbow and nine-member group Nine Muses appeared in covered-up costumes, as though both had dressed for the new rules. Rainbow, whose “belly-button dance” had drawn criticism for revealing the members’ navels when they lifted their tops slightly, covered up completely. Returning with their new song ‘Mach,’ the members wore a mix of leather skirts and trousers. They chose long pants or, where their legs were visible, thigh-high boots to limit exposed skin. Their tops revealed so little that they looked almost restrictive. Nine Muses, whose members include former models, also avoided revealing outfits. Their tops left their arms bare, but long trousers and black tights covered their legs entirely. “We couldn’t ignore the criticism that the outfits were too suggestive,” said Choi Seong-pil of Rainbow’s agency, DSP Media. “The producers also asked us to limit exposed skin, so we reflected that in the new costume concept.” One entertainment industry insider lamented, “Today we laugh at the restrictions on singers’ dyed hair from 10 years ago and call them childish. Government-level restrictions on girl groups’ outfits will be viewed the same way.” At a National Assembly audit of KBS on the 18th, Kim said, “We are reviewing revealing outfits internally. We are also preparing measures so that underage singers, in particular, have separate costumes and choreography for appearances on ‘Music Bank.’”