The Most Controversial K-Pop Releases Of 2024 So Far

2024 is officially halfway over, and tons of artists have released music during the first six months of the year. While many of these releases have been received well, plenty have also sparked controversy.

Here are six of the most controversial releases of the year so far!

1. Kiss Of Life — “Sticky”

Kiss Of Life‘s “Sticky” was initially criticized for several scenes that were found to be risqué, splitting reactions.

The argument then turned into a debate over whether or not the group were being sexualized, as it appeared that the members enjoyed the content they released.

2. IVE — “HEYA”

IVE‘s “Heya” was accused of “stealing” Chinese cultural features and attempting to rewrite them as Korean.

This led to them being branded as “thieves” during one of their recent concerts.

3. Stray Kids — “Lose My Breath”

Stray Kids‘ release “Lose My Breath” was highly criticized due to the involvement of Charlie Puth. Charlie Puth was accused of being a Zionist, as well as a rape apologist, leading to fans boycotting the song’s release.

“Zionist And Rape Apologist”: Stray Kids’ Collab With Charlie Puth Sparks Divided Reactions

4. Cignature — “POONGDONG”

Cignature‘s company, c9 Entertainment, was accused of sexualizing the group in their latest release, “POONGDONG.”

so as i said earlier the song is fire but aigoooo who the fawk directed the mv and can they turn off their boner bc they were doing a lil too much for the bikini shots especially with jeewon like i love a bikini moment be free and live but ntm… pic.twitter.com/8jp5vdhv23

— jupi is VirtuoS with lights on🏖️✧˖° (@fromkicatcher) June 10, 2024

The music video featured many moments fans felt were too much, including several bikini and up-skirt shots. This was only worsened by the company’s alleged continued sexualization of member Jeewon.

5. One Pact — “꺼져 (FXX OFF)”

Ahead of One Pact‘s first comeback, fans noticed that member TAG’s hair resembled a Black protective style.

After being pushed into commenting on the situation, it took more comments from fans for it to be announced that edits would be made to the music video. Some fans were also left unsatisfied with the solution to the issue.

6. ILLIT — Super Real Me

ILLIT‘s first release, Super Real Me, was the target of multiple plagiarism accusations.

The group was accused of stealing NewJeans‘ choreography and plagiarizing concept images from an online shopping mall. BE:LIFT LAB‘s video, which attempted to clarify the allegations, only worsened matters.