Though I think this article is a bit naive when it assumes that every idol under a ban is actually following the rules, or that the "rules" even exist as anything other than accepted convention/a PR front in the first place.
As far as how idols manage to date around the restrictions, if you believe the music/rumors, they: 1) talk a lot on the phone, 2) go out to clubs (presumably special industry clubs), and 3) meet in parking lots and date in cars.
I'll say again that I don't think the point is necessarily to maintain a fantasy of availability. I think the main point is to be more relateable to the (young) audience. Korean middle school students are also frequently under a dating ban until they pass their high school entrance exams, they also have to sneak around on dates and not get caught, etc. It's the same reason there are few co-ed idol groups (because Korean middle schools are also sex-segregated).
And then there are female idol groups selling a fantasy of youth and sexual inexperience to a supposedly all ages, but actually older male, fanbase, which is another issue, and probably closer to what's going on here. (Although I think most AKB48 fans are young nerds.) Here's K-idols VS J-idols (http://neojaponisme.com/2010/12/09/2010-k-idols-vs-j-idols/) on neojaponisme, maybe overly cynical but with some points to make.
There are so many people who say the "wholesome" image is why they like Kpop and Jpop more than Western pop. That's not my reason, but it's definitely a major factor... I think the machinery that keeps the idols trapped is interesting in itself. But that might just be because I was already heavily invested in particular group before becoming aware of the machinery behind them, and so my arguments and rationalizations have evolved over time to take that machinery into account (since I can't ignore it as many other people do).
Anyway, I think Minami's apology video was never intended for the general public - who are clearly appalled by it - but only for that audience of already heavily invested fans who have "bought in" to the idol culture, with all the misogynist expectations of purity, fan sense of entitlement to the complete public (and private!) life of the performer, etc, that that implies.
no subject
http://seoulbeats.com/2012/05/the-dogma-behind-the-dating-ban/
Though I think this article is a bit naive when it assumes that every idol under a ban is actually following the rules, or that the "rules" even exist as anything other than accepted convention/a PR front in the first place.
As far as how idols manage to date around the restrictions, if you believe the music/rumors, they: 1) talk a lot on the phone, 2) go out to clubs (presumably special industry clubs), and 3) meet in parking lots and date in cars.
I'll say again that I don't think the point is necessarily to maintain a fantasy of availability. I think the main point is to be more relateable to the (young) audience. Korean middle school students are also frequently under a dating ban until they pass their high school entrance exams, they also have to sneak around on dates and not get caught, etc. It's the same reason there are few co-ed idol groups (because Korean middle schools are also sex-segregated).
And then there are female idol groups selling a fantasy of youth and sexual inexperience to a supposedly all ages, but actually older male, fanbase, which is another issue, and probably closer to what's going on here. (Although I think most AKB48 fans are young nerds.) Here's K-idols VS J-idols (http://neojaponisme.com/2010/12/09/2010-k-idols-vs-j-idols/) on neojaponisme, maybe overly cynical but with some points to make.
There are so many people who say the "wholesome" image is why they like Kpop and Jpop more than Western pop. That's not my reason, but it's definitely a major factor... I think the machinery that keeps the idols trapped is interesting in itself. But that might just be because I was already heavily invested in particular group before becoming aware of the machinery behind them, and so my arguments and rationalizations have evolved over time to take that machinery into account (since I can't ignore it as many other people do).
Anyway, I think Minami's apology video was never intended for the general public - who are clearly appalled by it - but only for that audience of already heavily invested fans who have "bought in" to the idol culture, with all the misogynist expectations of purity, fan sense of entitlement to the complete public (and private!) life of the performer, etc, that that implies.