South Korean K-Pop group NATURE have addressed the cultural appropriation controversy their latest song was involved in. The nine-member multinational group recently made a comeback after a year and a half with Rica Rica.
On January 13, 2022, they announced their comeback album Rica Rica through their mockumentary series NATURE Can't Go Down Like This.
Ahead of the song’s release, the girl group dropped a music teaser for Rica Rica on January 20, showing fans snippets of the peppy new track and the choreography. While fans were eagerly awaiting the comeback, the song and teaser took many by surprise, with several accusing the group of cultural appropriation.
In the short clip, members of group can be seen wearing a bindi on their forehead, which is traditionally a South Asian accessory. The jewelry and headgear worn by the members were also allegedly South Asian in origin.
Apart from South Asia, Rica Rica also highlighted influences of Native American and African cultures in the group’s concept.
A Reddit user pointed out that the clothes appeared to be inspired by the Zaouli dance form from Ivory Coast. The mockumentary NATURE Can't Go Down Like This, according to the netizen, highlighted the Zaouli influence. This was corroborated by the group's member Chaebin in an interview with Officially Kmusic.
NATURE promises to be more cautious next time
Amidst the controversy surrounding Rica Rica, the group sat down for an interview to address the cultural appropriation controversy. Member Loha stated that the group had no intentions of offending any cultural or ethnic groups, and had tried their best to be “especially cautious” in avoiding cultural appropriation.
Acknowledging their mistake, Loha promised that she and the rest of the group would try to do better next time. Here is what she said,
We were especially cautious as we understand that such issue (of cultural appropriation) is a sensitive matter these days. We had no intention of mocking other traditions, but the members and staff will make sure we take more caution next time.Meanwhile, NATURE’s special album Rica Rica dropped on January 24 KST. Readers can watch the music video here:
The South Korean girl group made their debut on August 3, 2018, with the album Girls and Flowers. Its lead single Allegro Cantabile, inspired by Nodame Cantabile’s opening track, received a lot of appreciation, including the "New Artist of the Year" at Soribada Best K-Music Awards.
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