(G)I-DLE’s Soyeon Praised For Coming Up With Clever Way To Prevent Illegal Pornography
Content Warning
(G)I-DLE‘s leader Soyeon is going viral in South Korea and internationally for her progressiveness and brilliance that’s showcased in the group’s upcoming album.
While historically, people have had mixed feelings about (G)I-DLE’s name since “아이들” (aideul or idle) means “children,” it is now helping with a major issue in South Korea.
In an interview with The Star, group leader Soyeon revealed that the name ‘Idle’ (아이들) came to her when she was composing the ‘Idle Song.’ She suggested it to Cube Entertainment, and the name was finalized after undergoing internal competition.
However, the name received mixed reactions in South Korea and internationally since ‘아이들’ (aideul) means ‘children,’ and ‘idle’ in English refers to someone who avoids work. Accordingly, the group was renamed (G)I-dle, with the ‘I’ standing for individuality, the hyphen showing that the name has been divided into two parts, and ‘Dle’ (deul) as the plural form of ‘I’ in Korean to indicate a group of six different personalities gathering together.
When the name is stated aloud, the ‘G’ enclosed in parentheses is not included. Following their return as a quintet, on an episode of 1theK Original’s IDDP released on the March 15, 2022, the group confirmed they would like to be referred to verbally as ‘I-dle’.
— Wikipedia
In South Korea, the production, consumption, or distribution of pornography in all its forms, such as internet videos and magazines, is completely illegal. Yet, due to the inaccessibility, nonconsensual pornographic videos of women are commonplace. So, hidden cameras or leaked pornography of both women and children is an unfortunate occurrence.
Yet, Soyeon brilliantly has come up with a solution to make it nearly impossible for those who search for such content to obtain it.
(G)I-DLE is to release their fifth Korean EP, I Love, on October 17. Its lead single is titled, “Nxde.”
While many may misinterpret “Nxde” as a racy and sexual concept, that is not the intention behind it. Soyeon previously explained the inspiration behind this comeback’s concepts. Again, she has a brilliant feminist approach.
‘Do they just want to look sexy?’ That’s what most people would think. I want to beat that kind of bias as well. It’s not that we want it to be erotic. I just want to change their perspectives.
— Soyeon
Additionally, Korean netizens pointed out that their new concept will help drastically decrease searches for child pornography. When one searches on social media the group’s Korean name or the word “children” (아이들), along with “nude” or “nxde,” (G)I-DLE and their content will now automatically come up instead of illegal, illicit photos. So, Soyeon’s genius is helping to clear the searches and stop people from easily obtaining the distribution of inappropriate, nonconsensual, and illegal pornography.
(여자)아이들 새 앨범 타이틀곡이 ‘누드(Nxde)’인 거. 이제 포털에 누드 검색하면 노출사진 움짤 대신 무대사진이나 방송캡쳐나 앨범 정보가 많아질 거라는게 좋다. 포스터에 “why you think that ‘bout Nude” 문구… ‘누드’가 일반적으로 생각하는 나체가 아닌 자기 본연의 모습을 의미한다는 점도.
— 넨네 (@nenne_zZ) October 7, 2022
(G)I-DLE’s new album title track is called, ‘Nxde.’ I’m glad that now, when you search the word ‘nude,’ there will be more performance photos, broadcast photos, or information about their album, rather than revealing photos and videos. And the phrase, ’why you think that ‘bout Nude’ on the poster… and the fact that the word ‘nude’ is commonly thought of as nudity but it actually means one’s true self.
The next album concept that Jeon Soyeon was presenting, while filming I Live Alone… Marilyn Monroe was only seen as a blonde sex symbol but she was actually smart and intelligent, and wanted to show that side to herself. That concept resulted in this [new album].
— @nenne_zZ/Twitter
Korean and international netizens can’t praise Soyeon enough.
@koyahua she truly means so much to me #jeonsoyeon #soyeon #gidle #idle #feminism #feminist #i_love #ilove
when that kpop girl named her group's latest title song as "nude" and filtered the south korean internet searches with the thought provoking lyric reveal so that the disgusting men who go to search non-consensual exposed pics of women see their message first
— BEST THING THAT HAPPENED IN KPOP (@kpophappenings_) October 9, 2022
soyeon and gidle are single-handedly redefining the word nude in south korea so its meaning is no longer tainted by men and i think that is so inspiring. THIS is what it means to challenge stereotypes against women and they’re honestly the only idol group to do so pic.twitter.com/q99O2Jkq2t
— rahima⁷ (@uwuidle) October 8, 2022
Previously, Soyeon broke stereotypes with the feminist concept of “TOMBOY” and its explicit lyrics. Read more about “Nxde” below.
Here’s Why (G)I-DLE Is Smashing Stereotypes As Naked Blondes For Their “Nxde” Comeback
