Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
f(x)‘s “Red Light” was apparently a criticism of the Sewol ferry disaster, according to SM Entertainment production team leader Lee Sung Soo.
Lee Sung Soo, production team leader at SM Entertainment, recently spoke about the agency’s music in the past two years. “It’s true that ‘Red Light’ by f(x) was criticizing the Sewol ferry disaster,” he said. “Using words such as ‘sink’ were all decisions made internally at the company.”
This was said as part of a larger interview about the direction of the company and the music, but that … well, it was certainly a surprising admission.
I didn’t think much of it at the time, but reading the lyrics with that context provided, and it certainly matches quite accurately.
“Hey, wait a minute,
Under the rule of the jungle,
The weak get eaten.
Just get pushed ahead,
Yeah, pushed ahead,
Oops, I get stepped on.
Ay ay, it’s a red light light,
I don’t even know what’s wrong,
With the current situation.
Ay ay, it’s a red light light,
Listen carefully to the whoever is trying to warn us,
Red light.
Try to breathe for a moment,
Try breathing, try breathing,
Eh eh oh,
This isn’t a war.
Open your eyes wide,
Stop the collision from happening (you’re going to be a witness to change),
In front of that caterpillar that got pushed around (when everything sinks).
It’s turned on, red light,
The vivid, red light,
It gets bigger by itself,
That red light.
Boy,
Your best excuse,
Is just filled with doubt to me.
Maybe it’s love,
A very slow wave,
A very slow wave.
Ay ay, it’s a red light light,
Let’s find it for each other using light,
That special emergency exit.
Ay ay, think about it,
Why something made us stop,
Red light.
Turn around again, eh oh,
Try to fnd what’s important.
Open your eyes wide,
Stop the collision from happening (you’re going to be a witness to change),
In front of that caterpillar that got pushed around (when everything sinks).
It’s turned on, red light,
The vivid, red light,
It gets bigger by itself,
That red light.
It’s taken too long for this miracle to come,
But we wait for the blue light, we want it.
Stop the flood (this is reality, listen to my voice),
Open your eyes wide (look at the world in front of you),
The one who’s only been pushed (a bright light pushed you),
Caterpillar,
That’s madness.
It’s turned on, red light,
The vivid, red light,
It gets bigger by itself,
That red light.”
SME are out in front of this by stating that it was a criticism of the handling of the Sewol ferry disaster, which is a positive because in a different context the lyrics can certainly be read a different way.
While I don’t quite understand the desire to reveal this information now (I doubt it becomes a thing anyway but still), and I do get the objections to this from some, I honestly don’t think this is all that controversial. Sure, any reference to the incident itself will understandably generate a ton of emotional reactions, but taking a stance of criticizing the handling of the Sewol ferry disaster is not necessarily an off-the-beaten-path type of thought, and I think the general public agrees. As do I.
