The K-pop group, aka Tomorrow X Together cat and dog (video)

This is very much a boy-band borne out of the South Korean culture. I think these K-pop bands are good because they are inclusive. What I mean is that the boys are very attractive in a very androgynous way. They wear made up including lipstick. This is all fine. It is good really. It breaks down the rigid, conventional barriers between male and female. This encourages inclusivity and is supportive of the LGTBQIA2S+ movement. That acronym gets longer every year!! I believe that the produces do this deliberately to appeal to a wider male and female audience. It is commercial decision with profit in mind.

Modernity

I have a strong feeling that the creators of K-pop groups - and they are very much created like any other product - are very much in tune with modern values especially those concerning the youth of today.

Today's youth, anywhere in the world, tend to be much more open-minded and less stuck in their ways. They have fresh minds and like what they like unencumbered by years of living and experiencing stuff they don't like.

But K-pop idols are not lacking in masculinity it’s just a different kind of masculinity than in other societies and cultures. Are you going to say that all the women in South Korea are attracted only to androgynous men? K-pop idols groom themselves, wear makeup, and do not adhere to gender norms because they are not so insecure in their masculinity that they think it makes them any less than. And clearly with their popularity among not just “young girls” but women of all ages, females really do not have such strict ideas of masculinity either. - Armani Johnson on Quora.com

I like that comment. It is very open-minded and I tend to agree with it.

Screenshot.

Cats and dogs

And the creators like to introduce into their fabricated songs, pets. Cats are dogs are popular all over the word. Their popularity is universal. The pet world is a universal language. It breaks down barriers. Everyone can understand cats and dogs.

In this song they are refer to being a 'pet'. It is a nice idea. It is actually quite a deep philosophical concept to discuss a relationship in which one party becomes a 'pet' to the other. It is an unequal relationship which is not good. It is not good for the long-term success of the relationship which should be based on equality.

Screenshot.

Pets

This feeds through to the human-to-cat or human-to-dog relationship which is one of human dominance to pet subservience. Although humans have moved massively away from that culture over the past 100 years.

Cats and dogs are 'family members' nowadays. They have near equal rights to humans in many homes in the West and probably in parts of Asia including South Korea.

Cat and dog meat trade

The more serious stuff. The culture of South Korea still supports cat and dog meat. That means eating a companion animal which is completely opposite to the sentiment expressed in the video of this K-pop group which is that cats are cute and the world is nice.

I think of South Korea as an advanced nation. For me eating cats and dogs is not advanced. It is very backward. This culture of eating cats and dogs needs to stop. I am not promoting Western values. Far from it. I am promoting decency and animal welfare and the need to recognise the sentience of companion animals and the unwritten agreement that we have with them which does not include the freedom to eat them.

Production team for the video

Story & Concept by UNDERMOOD FILM Edit: Lumpens Assistant Director : Park Soobin, Kang Yena, Dong Kyengryen Director of Photography : Lee Hangyeol Gaffer : Yoon Seungnam Jimmy Jib : Lee Dongjin Art Director : Kim Balko, Kim Xiyul _emorogue CG: Paravan.

Performance Directing : Son Sungdeuk, Kim Subin, Lee Gahun Visual Creative : Kim Sung Hyun, Lee Hyun Ju, Gabriel Cho, Yoon Ji Hyeon Artist Management : Kim Shin Gyu, Oh Gwang Taek, Yang Jun Hyeong

BigHit Entertainment. Rights are reserved selectively in the video. Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of applicable laws. Manufactured by BigHit Entertainment, Seoul, Korea