5 weird K-pop TV rules: why BTS member Jungkook hides his tattoos on air and RM could only flash one nipple on Music Bank

Aug 12 , 2021

BTS’ Jungkook has to cover up his tattoos for TV appearances while girl groups like Blackpink wear high-waisted pants to avoid showing off their belly buttons ... what other broadcast rules do K-pop idols have to follow? Photos: @ryuhojeong92; @taebear123V/Twitter, @blackpinkofficial/Instagram

K-pop idols regularly wow their fans with stellar performances on the seemingly endless list of Korean music shows, but have you ever wondered about what doesn’t make it on screen? Celebrities in South Korea are subjected to high moral standards after all, and that goes for their song lyrics and how they appear on the air too.

Here are five behind-the-scenes broadcast rules that Korean music artists must abide by that you probably didn’t know about …

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No tattoos

BTS’ Jungkook covered up his tattoos with long sleeves and a bandage. Photo: @ryuhojeong92/Twitter

On Korean TV shows, idols can often be seen covering up their tattoos. On KBS talk show Let’s BTS, Jungkook from BTS wore long sleeves and a bandage to cover up his tattoos – which include the letters “ARMY” on his knuckles, the name of BTS’ feisty official fan club – as well as other symbols on his hand and fingers.

BTS’ Jungkook with his tattoos showing. Photo: @hlphlp1/Twitter

Although there isn’t a rule stipulating that idols cannot flash their tattoos on television, most Korean tattoo parlours aren’t strictly legal – tattooing is considered a medical service, and thus tattooists need a medical license to operate. Since splurging on a medical degree just to be a tattoo artist isn’t realistic for most, many Korean tattooists operate in small illegal shops instead. There’s also lingering stigma around tattoos, as they were primarily associated with gang culture in the past.

The one nipple rule

One odd broadcasting rule is that male idols can flash their nipples on screen – but reportedly only one at once. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this rule has resulted in a number of silly mishaps, such as RM’s nip slip incident on KBS’ Music Bank.

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In 2013, the year BTS debuted, the group gave an attention-grabbing performance of the song Concept Trailer on the music show, complete with powerful dance moves and an outfit change. Unfortunately, while tearing off his uniform to reveal the tank top underneath, RM accidentally ripped the tank top too. He spent the rest of the song desperately holding onto one side of his shirt, presumably so that he wouldn’t end up flashing the dreaded two nipples.

No belly buttons

K-pop girl band Blackpink in outfits that hide their bellybuttons. Photo: @blackpinkofficial/Instagram

As for girl groups, they can no longer flash their belly buttons, as the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) proposed stricter regulations on girl groups’ performance outfits on the “big three” broadcasters, SBS, MBC and KBS, in 2010. Although the specific guidelines that each media stations adopted vary, they focus mostly on covering cleavage and belly buttons – especially when it comes to underaged members.

For GFriend’s debut show on SBS’ Inkigayo in 2015, when most members were still high-schoolers, the group wore high-waisted pants and member Ye-rin even taped over her belly button.

No swearing

T.O.P and G-dragon from BigBang. Photo: @BBngVpFvr/Twitter

In addition to nipples and cleavage, profanity is a no-no as well. For songs to be aired on TV programmes during certain time slots, they must adhere to the KCSC profanity rules. Some artists and bands change up lyrics especially for certain performances, like the time G-Dragon changed a Korean curse word in the song That XX to the English letter “X” on SBS’ Inkigayo in 2012.

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No “sexually provocative” performances

K-pop idol Hyuna. Photo: @hyunah_aa/Instagram

If you’re sensing a trend with the KCSC censoring sexual content, you’d be right. Hyuna shared on the show Radio Star in 2020 that if she shows off too much skin on her upper body during TV appearances, she’s advised to wear longer-sleeved shirts. Keeping this in mind, she said that she once created a separate music video of a song for TV networks mostly featuring close-ups of her face and not her body … but she still got a finger wag because her gaze was apparently “too sexual”.

In 2010, the group Rainbow was banned from performing their original choreography for the song A, as it involved them teasingly lifting up their shirts to show off their abs.

Aside from idols’ appearances, the KCSC also monitors song lyrics for sexual content – at times causing controversy for deciding that the intention behind them must be sexual, even though the lyrics themselves might not be particularly explicit. In one infamous case, TVXQ had to create a clean version of their song Mirotic in order to perform it on TV before 10pm. They changed the line “I got you under my skin” to “I got you under my sky”, and “I got you” to “I chose you”, performing this version of the song at the 23rd annual Golden Disc Awards.

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K-pop scandals

Girl groups like Blackpink often wear high-waisted pants on SBS, MBC and KBS TV music shows – due to a rule prohibiting revealing their belly buttons
Big Bang’s G-Dragon and TVXQ had to create clean versions of their songs, and Hyuna got told off because her facial expression was apparently ‘too sexual’