Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the feminist strategies in girl groups’ music by analyzing how they respond to digital sex crimes, which emerged as a big social problem at the time of their activities, targeting girl groups in the mid-2010s and early 2020s. When analyzing their music focusing on lyrics and music videos, it can be seen that two elements in common: ‘camera’ and ‘gaze’. What is important at this time is that the camera symbolizes the negative gaze of secretly monitoring the members, and the members are structured to counter it. Realizing the gaze that is voyeuristic of themselves and acting against it, girl groups are reborn as active and subjective beings from passive and lethargic beings in the past. The girl group’s music, which was the subject of this study, goes beyond presenting the problem of gaze and the elements that metaphorize digital sex crimes, and suggests its own way to solve the problem situation, in two main ways. The first is to face the gaze directly. In their songs, the members realize the existence of the gaze that observes them in common and face each other confidently without avoiding them. The second is solidarity together. The songs of these girl groups suggest that in order to escape the gaze and control of others, we must unite together. The music of the girl group, which is also the main victim of digital sex crimes, is meaningful in expressing the problem of digital sex crimes prevalent in Korean society metaphorically, even if it is aimed at commerciality.