LE SSERAFIM’s Chaewon Faces Accusations of Cultural Appropriation 

Earlier in March, LE SSERAFIM delivered a performance of their latest title, “EASY”, on the Korena music show “M!Countdown”. 

This specific performance has been gaining attention again after a TikTok edit of it went viral, albeit for a not-so-positive reason. 

In particular, most netizens pay attention to LE SSERAFIM’s Chaewon’s hair in the performance, which is styled into multiple braids and covered by a beanie. This styling is believed to be intentionally mimicking the appearance of locks or butterfly braids – a signature hairstyle of black people, with the braids made intentionally messier and the beanie believed to be an alternative for a durag. 

These accusations lead to heavy criticism from netizens, who believe that Chaewon’s hairstyle is an act of cultural appropriation – taking inspiration from other cultures to turn them to “aesthetics” without considering the cultural and historical connotations. 

The braids, for example, are considered to be of important cultural and historical value to black people, who struggled to hold on to them while facing discrimination. In the past, these braids used to be considered uncultured and dirty, so making them an “aesthetics” and disregarding the efforts black people fought to retain their culture is improper, many netizens explained. 

Therefore, Chaewon’s styling is considered offensive by many, leading to the female idol receiving backlash on SNS. 

On the other hand, many argued that Chaewon likely had no influence on her styling, while others added that there are many braided hairstyles so Chaewon’s is not necessarily cultural appropriation. 

Source: Krb