NewJeans' Cookie song not sexual: Agency
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SEOUL • K-pop girl group NewJeans, which burst onto the scene last month, have been under fire for the lyrics of their song Cookie.
Mr Kim Tae-hoon, an English-to-Korean translator, called out the group's management agency Ador for the allegedly inappropriate sexual connotations in the song performed by minors. The ages of the quintet - Hyein, Haerin, Danielle, Hanni and Minji - are 14 to 18.
Mr Kim said in a YouTube video, which was translated from Korean by entertainment portal Soompi: "Many people have been debating furiously over the meaning of the word 'cookie' in this song. But I am going to say it straight out. Here, 'cookie' represents the female genitals. This is just fact. Those of you who argue that this is not true, you are blinding only yourself."
He added that while lyrics with sexual connotations were not uncommon, pointing to fellow K-pop girl group Blackpink's song Ice Cream, the difference was that Blackpink's members are all of age.
Among the Korean lyrics of Cookie, which has been rising on music charts since its release this month, were English lines such as "Keep looking at my cookie" and "I wanna see you taste it. Sugar, got sugar, bet you want some".
In a statement released last Saturday, Ador - a subsidiary of entertainment giant Hybe Corporation - refuted the claim, stressing that its vision for the group was to make "original and wholesome music".
It said it had consulted English professors, professional interpreters, translators and native speakers after the issue arose, writing: "They added that the word 'cookie' is also not a commonly used slang term for anything sexual and therefore not a problematic word itself, but that any listener could take the word to mean something different depending on their personal experience and exposure to certain slang meanings."
The statement also addressed the rumour that the allegedly misogynistic lyrics were written by a man. The agency said the lyrics were by a South Korean woman and a Swedish woman, both native English speakers. The song was translated by a bilingual South Korean woman.
"It's possible that this long explanation would have no sway over people who have already made up their minds about the issue," it said. "We believe the most important factor when it comes to interpretation is context. As always, context is key."
