10 Low Budget K-Pop MVs That Are Actually Genius And 10 That Were Total Flops
K-Pop MVs are some of the most intense music videos out there. On top of the splendid singing and dancing oftentimes the sets, fashion, and concepts are so gorgeous you can’t take your eyes off of them! Most of these videos had budgets to match the outstanding aesthetics but there are some K-Pop MVs that still managed to look like pieces of art without breaking the bank, then there are those that just fell short.
1. Royal Pirates — “Dangerous”
The MV for this song was actually filmed in the basement studio at AOE Company. The wall was painted by the director of their “Run Away” MV and the members themselves. Despite keeping things so simple, the MV turned out great and fit the rock concept of their song so well.
2. 9MUSES — “Yes or No”
The members of 9MUSES actually directed this music video themselves and all their hard work really paid off. The video is quirky, unique, and undeniably cute! Rumor has it that the girls also filmed this whole video with their phones! But whether or not they did, the video will make you feel all warm inside.
3. LAYSHA — “Party”
LAYSHA probably had one of the tiniest sets ever for this MV but the girls made the most out of it and it gave the video a unique look. There’s just something about this one that makes you want to watch it over and over again! Plus the song is a total bop.
4. Romeo — “Treasure”
The “Treasure” MV looks like someone just took a whole bunch of behind the scenes clips from promotions and photo shoots and stitched them together to create a full video. Although it definitely looks like this, it still oddly works well and actually looks pretty amazing.
5. TVXQ! — “Drive”
Besides the…umm…rather obvious greenscreen problem, the MV is actually still pretty decent. The fact that most of this video takes place with the group posing around a yellow convertible in the middle of a desert-like landscape is oddly appealing. Plus you’ve got to cut them a little slack since this was shot in 2004.
6. Target — “Please Love Me”
Although the boys’ outfits and makeup are a little on the WTF side, the whole abandoned warehouse theme is a bit of a classic in the world of K-Pop so Target‘s “Please Love Me” MV is actually pretty trendy.
7. Purfles — “Bad Girl”
The whole video is just the girls dancing in front of a different colored screen but it totally works. It’s a super simple approach and gives a little bit more focus to the girls. Obviously, it’s not the most visually stunning MV but still looks pretty amazing!
8. BEAST — “Mystery”
So this one might not be an official music video but the whole thing was put together by the boys! Junhyung wrote the script, Hyunseung directed, Doojoon was the cameraman, and Kikwang took care of the lights. Plus Girls’ Generation and KARA appeared as guests! The video was never intended to be super serious and the boys did an excellent job with their comic theme!
9. Bloomy — “Because of You”
Their debut MV for “Because of You” was filmed partially at the famous abandoned theme park, Yongma Land, and at their school affiliated with their company. The overall aesthetics are pretty amazing considering they wouldn’t have had to spend very much if anything on sets. There are also some people who believe that it was filmed, directed, and edited by a team of students! Overall, it’s a good-looking video.
10. A.DE — “Good Time”
While there are some scenes in this MV that give away it’s low budget, there are many other scenes that look incredibly high quality. Take those parts where the girls are walking through gardens and you’ve got yourself a true masterpiece visual!
11. SIX BOMB — “Wait 10 Years Baby”
When this video first came out it received a lot of attention, not all of which was good. On the one hand, people were amazed at how much they could do with so little money and on the other hand, it received some very harsh criticism due to the pink bodysuits and dance moves. It was so negatively viewed that the group was banned from performing it on music shows. Which is too bad because the song itself is, well, bomb!
12. WA$$UP — “Fire”
The video was made to celebrate the 2014 FIFA World Cup hosted in Brazil and features the group playing football in Brazilian and South Korean jerseys. While the sentiment behind the MV is real, unfortunately, critics just don’t seem to be big fans of the techno-colored background.
13. M.O.A — “I’ll Call Ya”
In the “I’ll Call Ya” MV, M.O.A showed off a mixture of cute and sexy charms that ultimately ran into a few problems. The MV was deemed unfit for broadcast on KBS due to the video quality which might be why the group ultimately decided to film a second version!
14. K-BOYS — “K-BOYS”
K-BOYS’ self-titled track is actually pretty fun and an interesting viewing experience. There’s a lot going on and a lot of effects used for their limited budget. Unfortunately, there are many critics out there who just don’t seem to like it for those same reasons.
15. AA — “So Crazy”
AA‘s “So Crazy” pulled off the incredibly trendy one-room concept that was so popular around the time the MV was released. Sadly, as time goes on, more and more people are criticising the once trendy set design and AA is only one of the group’s that they like to mention.
16. U-KISS — “Not Young”
In 2008, the group gave their first live performance of this song on Mnet and even though they were newcomers in the industry, they were already being considered for a Japan-Korea collaborative project! Sadly though, many people weren’t as impressed with their MV as they were their live performance and said it just came off as a little bit cheesy.
17. JYJ — “Ayy Girl”
“Ayy Girl” was part of the groups first solo work and the video showed JYJ defying gravity in a surreal deteriorating city. Their dance moves were unreal and when it was released everyone was sure it was going to grab a lot of attention. Sadly that attention seemed to be mostly negative with a lot of people saying it didn’t quite live up to their expectations.
18. A-Force — “Wonder Woman”
A-Force did an amazing job with their limited budget and used scenes from photo shoots and behind the scenes shots just like Romeo did in “Treasure”. Unfortunately for A-Force, they received a ton of criticism for the video and it’s now a bit infamous in the K-Pop world.
19. A-Prince — “Yes or No”
We’re not sure why “Yes or No” received such harsh criticisms by some people because the MVs actually pretty good for their limited budget. They must just be haters! In fact, only the thing that disappointed fans was the fact that the boys’ song was fantastic and deserved a bigger budget for the music video!
20. Anda — “Taxi”
They tried their best with their limited sets and it actually came out pretty well if you ask us. Sadly there are some people out there though, that just can’t get over these facts and have said its just too obvious that they were working with a low budget.
