[2025 Audit] K-pop Choreographers' Names Missing from Music Shows and OTT Platforms

Serious Infringement of Creators' Right to Be Credited
Jin Jongoh: "Make Credit Attribution Mandatory"

Photo by BTS 'Fire' music video capture

It has been revealed that choreographers' rights are effectively being neglected in the K-pop and Korean Wave content industry. Critics point out that choreographers' names are not credited on music shows, OTT platforms, or music videos, thereby infringing upon their fundamental right to be recognized as creators.

On October 14, Assemblyman Jin Jongoh criticized this situation during the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee audit, stating, "Although the government plans to invest 51 trillion won over the next five years to grow the Korean Wave industry to a scale of 300 trillion won, the protection of creators' rights at its core is being sidelined."

According to data presented by Assemblyman Jin, major music shows such as KBS, MBC, SBS, and Mnet, as well as YouTube music videos and OTT or film content, either do not credit choreographers at all or only list them in a perfunctory manner. Some choreographers have been asked by agencies to delete choreography they posted on social media or have been restricted to posting it only after a certain period. As a result, the right of creators to be credited is left entirely at the discretion of entertainment agencies.

Assemblyman Jin stated, "Leaving the right to be credited up to the discretion of agencies is a serious human rights issue and highlights an imbalance in the industry. Since K-pop has become 'music to watch' rather than just 'music to listen to,' choreographers-who are as essential as the music itself-should be granted equal legal protection and mandatory crediting."

The institutional foundation for this is weak. Article 26 of the Korea Creative Content Agency's 'Content Support Project Management Rules' stipulates copyright attribution only at the institutional level, with no provisions for protecting individual creators' rights. Even content produced with government funding excludes the rights of choreographers and directors under this structure.

According to data from the Korea Copyright Commission, over the past five years, there have been only two complaints related to choreography copyright and zero applications for mediation. Assemblyman Jin pointed out, "This is not because there is no harm, but because there are no institutional mechanisms, making it impossible for creators to even raise these issues."

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's efforts to establish a standard choreography contract have also been stalled for years, with only ongoing discussions. Assemblyman Jin emphasized, "There needs to be an institutional foundation that allows creators to be genuinely protected within the context of unbalanced contracts with agencies," and demanded, "Report whether there are plans to make crediting choreographers mandatory on music shows and OTT platforms, along with concrete timelines and methods."