South Korea is a famous country in the East Asian region which was founded on August 15 1948 and is famous for its culture which we know as K-pop. Culture is basically a medium for diplomatic practice, where there is an effort by the government to communicate with the people of its country and other countries by using culture as a medium of communication which of course must be carried out with the right strategy. Culture, which is interesting, must be packaged with appropriate communication methods. South Korea is a country that is well known globally for its cultural diplomacy which is considered successful to the point that South Korea is able to compete with large countries such as China, the United States and Japan. South Korea’s cultural diplomacy is motivated by South Korea’s desire to create a new image for its country and more recognition from the international world, where in the early 1990s it attracted international attention because it was one of the “Asian Miracles”, namely the Asian country with the fastest growing economy. The country, which is often called the country of ginseng, has made a lot of progress in various fields such as technology, automotive and creative industries. Especially in creative industries such as Korean Drama, K-Pop, K-Movie, K-Food and others. South Korea is considered worthy of being a good example in building and developing creative industries.

Kpop atau yg bisa kita sebut dengan Korean Wave atau disebut dengan Hallyu (한류) merupakan salah satu fenomena dalam era globalisasi saat ini. Sejarah Kpop hingga mendunia sangat menarik untuk dikulik. Fenomena gelombang Korea Selatan ini dimulai pada tahun 1990-an. Sejarah perkembangan Kpop telah banyak dipengaruhi oleh berbagai jenis musik Barat dan grup pop. Bisa dibilang, budaya pop Amerika memiliki pengaruh yang besar terhadap jenis musik Kpop. Asal usul K-pop modern dimulai pada tahun 1987, tepatnya saat tahun perubahan politik yang merajalela dan menyebabkan demokratisasi Korea Selatan. Pada tahun 1992 dengan grup Seo Taiji and Boys, yang merupakan grup kontemporer pertama yang muncul di Korea Selatan dan aktif pada pertengahan 1990-an. Pada tahun 2000-an, K-pop terus berkembang dengan munculnya idol grup seperti Big Bang, yang memulai debutnya pada tahun 2006. Selama dekade terakhir, K-pop menjadi semakin populer seperti EXO, Blackpink, Twice BTS dan mulai mendapat tempat di dunia barat.

In Indonesia itself, the Hallyu phenomenon began to hit Indonesia in 2002, which was marked by the appearance of various Korean dramas broadcast on private television stations, namely the Korean drama Winter Sonata and Full House on Indosiar TV station. Since then, some young Indonesians and middle-aged people have started to like Korean TV dramas.

However, in pursuing their careers, K-Pop idols cannot escape rumors and various negative issues and this sometimes results in their activities being postponed for some time. A rumor that is often put forward by several netizens is the connection between political issues and new content by K-Pop singer groups or what is often referred to as diversion of issues. Issue transfer is a form of non-verbal communication, where there is an indirect relationship of understanding the message and can create a sense of satisfaction on the part of the person carrying out the issue transfer. Korean Pop as a tool for diverting issues is presented when information, news or issues that were originally discussed by the public immediately want to be diverted to other information with the aim of public discussion which was initially a main topic, becoming a topic that is lost in the wind.

In Korea, a good impression is very important because their culture pays great attention to social hierarchy, respect for authority, and self-image. Politeness, respect and respect for others are values that are highly upheld. In this context, the impression of a person or an institution can have a major impact on their reputation in the eyes of society. Therefore, to maintain a good reputation and a respected social position, impression among Korean society is very important. The popularity of K-Pop has also brought about various scandalous issues which are often seen as being used to divert public attention.

One of the YouTube content belonging to a creator with an account called Nessie Judge, explains that there is a K-Pop idol group that is suspected of having diverted issues, this group is called Red Velvet. The public or K-Pop fans, both from South Korea and international fans such as Indonesia, admitted that they were shocked by SM Entertainment’s announcement which was classified as too sudden, thus diverting the audience’s focus from the scandal involving the South Korean government which was negligent in summarizing the tragedy of the sinking of the Sewol Ferry on April 16 2014. which killed hundreds of underage students and was accused of being the biggest negligence of the political government in South Korea. Moreover, the difference between the press release time and the debut time is very close. In just 5 days, SM Entertainment presented Red Velvet without releasing a photo or what is usually called an introductory teaser as had been done with previous groups. For example, when the singer group EXO debuted, there were 28 teaser contents or detailed introductions of EXO members, their positions in the group, and it took 6 months since 2011 before finally debuting with the song entitled ‘MAMA’ the following year.

Apart from that, other scandals are also suspected to have emerged to cover up the South Korean government’s case. Among other things, news about Mingyu Seventeen who was rumored to have been bullied during school appeared at the same time as news of 2 court officials harassing women in the SongPa-Gu building. Apart from that, in November 2023, G-Dragon was hit by drug rumors along with rumors of South Korean President Yoon Seuk Yeol’s bad behavior.

However, despite the allegations, this phenomenon is proof of the strength of the entertainment industry in directing public attention.