“Are you forcing yourself to diss?” Singer IU's new song “Love wins all” co-starred with “BTS” V has sparked a controversy that demeans people with disabilities?

Singer IU's new song "Love wins all" was surrounded by a disability demeaning controversy.

At midnight on the 24th, the music video for IU's new song "Love wins all" was released through IU's YouTube channel "Ijigum.

The released MV depicts IU and V (BTS) fighting against "Nemo" (discrimination and oppression) and searching for freedom in a post-apocalyptic worldview.

However, some netizens pointed out that the production in the music video for "Love wins all" was controversial because it portrayed disabled people, and some scenes were interpreted as demeaning to disabled people, such as a disabled couple yearning to be a non-disabled couple.

In response, IU's agency EDAM Entertainment released an interpretation by director Om Tae-hwa, who directed the music video. Director Om Tae-hwa explained the symbolic materials in the music video.

First of all, "Nemo" refers to discrimination against the main characters, and by extension, discrimination and oppression in our daily lives, according to director Om Tae-hwa. He also explained that the lens of a video camera is a "love filter," an important device that allows us to look beyond the internal and external appearances of the characters and observe the beautiful things in the world.

V also wears a white lens over her left eye, which means that even with one eye, she and IU face many challenges in overcoming the obstacles of the world. V also interpreted that the two girls are trying to overcome the difficulties in the world, even though they are each wounded and exhausted.

Amidst mixed public opinions on the music video for "Love wins all," some netizens commented, "I guess this kind of debate could come up, but to see this as demeaning is a 'forced diss' using the subject matter as an excuse. The "disability" is a material that is not only a "disability," but also a "disability" as a whole.

The "Love wins all" music video could be easily criticized, as it is clear that "disability" is a material that should be handled with sensitivity. However, it would be unreasonable to say that IU demeaned the disabled based solely on a fragmented interpretation of the music video.

Prior to this, IU donated 50 million won to the Korean Association of Welfare Institutions for the Disabled in the New Year of the First Dragon. Last year, she also participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge, nominated by Sean of the hip-hop duo Jinuchon, and later donated 50 million won to the Sunil Hope Foundation. He also sent snack gifts to a special school for the developmentally disabled on Children's Day.

Even though some of the performances in the music video for "Love wins all" may be a source of controversy, it was never intended to demean the handicapped. IU has been doing good deeds for a long time, which makes this controversy even more poignant.