G-idle 'Wife' °A cultural Look° [JOTM]

Hello there my beautiful besties! How is the start of the week been treating you?

I have to it I am a bit frustrated with this app atm but I decided to overlook that feeling and bring you a JOTM blog to help me get my mind off of things, and to showcase a side of kpop songs and mvs we sometimes fail to notice when they first being released.

This month's song is 'Wife' by G-idle! I am a nevi since their debut but I will be honest, I can't keep up with everything. But, when the teaser pictures for their second full album came out I was shaken and stirred.

I was waiting for their pre release to drop and when it did i was pleasantly surprised. It was something I haven't seen from them and it made me contemplate a few things since the moment the song started.

The focal point for this blog is going to be mostly the jewelry the girls are wearing and how they inspired me to look into the traditions and historical aspects of the' Wife' in Korea's dynasties, especially in Joseon Dynasty.

During this discussion we will bring some of the lyrics into this so we can better understand how the cultural side is tied to the song and mv.

So first of, let us take a look on the rings and what they symbolize.

In the Joseon Dynasty it was customary for women to wear jewelry, mostly rings and wristlets. There were two kinds of rings, the first one was a doubled type called garakji (가락지), and the second was a single ring called panji (반지).

Garakji literally means “a pair of big rings” and they consisted of a pair made from various metals and stones, according to the rank of the wearer. Garakji were reserved only for the married women. They held special meaning in marriage life, as they symbolized the harmony between husband and wife according to Confucianism. When the husband died, one of the ring would be given to the husband while the wife kept another one with her until she die, symbolizing faithfulness.

We see the Queen Sowoon wearing a double ring made from white and green jade. Her status and position as a Queen requires her to have this ring on, most importantly when she's with the king or during important or social gatherings. She sometimes is seen without the ring on but only when she is alone or with her court ladies.

In the drama she appears, (The Crowned Clown 왕이 된 남자), she is seen without them in the beginning, when the king is still cruel and unyielding towards her. In a way this is her only way to show him how she feels about their relationship, because as the Queen, she can't move away from customary showcases or break character.

When she meets the new king, without knowing he is another guy, she feels closer to him, she becomes sweeter and more eager to please her husband because her feelings are reciprocated. She sees that her husband shares her views and is seemingly more kind and understanding, just the person she fell in love with before he ascended into the throne.

In 'Wife' we can see the same sentiment being presented in a more abstract way by searching the lyrics. In the beginning the song goes like this:

"Want me your wife, but she is mm, mm, mm"

In this part (want me your wife) we see how a wife is viewed by others in a very specific type of relationship dynamic. If she works hard, if she does everything for the husband and the household she will be able to get the most amount of praise, not only from her spouse but from society as well. The husband in this relationship is used to always being treated well by the wife but also gets praise because he has a wife like her, one who's always there to please.

In a direct reflection (but she is, mm, mm, mm) the wife rejects other men who try to approach her or who are interested in her because it's more common to be seen as unfaithful when you're a woman as opposed to the man who is seen as a player, still able to pull other women, etc.

In both cases the characters, the Queen and the Wife share the same outlooks on life, the same struggles and the same fears of being seen as unfaithful by their peers by simply using the same tactics as men. The Queen is afraid of being mocked by the royal court for not being there to take the blow for her husband when something happens and the Wife is afraid to be seen as someone who isn't thankful of her position as a married woman who has a husband, a house and kids. A life that every woman dreams of having.

G-idle may not have a double ring of faithfulness on their finger but theirs is an invisible one, a leash around their neck that's always there in every part of their existence. It's the views and watchful eyes of other people and men across their lives, views that are put upon them without asking them if they consider such beliefs.

The ring is in both situations a sign that a woman has to be understanding of her position, of her husband's needs and she also has to be acting exactly how the ring expects her to.

We talked about the double ring and it's meaning, but there's another ring called panji (반지) that is meant to be worn by single women and it's one we're briefly going to touch upon.

This ring is very easy to understand, it is worn to signify that the wearer is still unwed or single. Those are the types of rings we see worn by the G-idle girls and the ones that made me look further into this aspect of the Korean jewelry culture.

Seeing them wearing those rings while talking about a wife and her role in the house is very telling of their real views about the construct of marriage. In some parts of the song we can pin point where the wife is acting exactly how she is supposed to ("I cook cream cream soup, taste is Coco Loco").

The idea behind the line refers to the saying: "the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach". The wife's cooking is so extremely good that it drives her husband crazy, she owns his heart by accessing his stomach with her tasty meals. Also, the lyrics shed light to the stereotypical gender roles where a woman's role is in the kitchen/at home.

We can see how different their portrayal is in relation to the lyrics. G-idle showcase a very powerful type of woman while still speaking to their "husband" with a sly tongue.

The single rings is their rebellious side peaking through. Cooking, cleaning, adoring their husband, everything is there but they will also show their true power when is needed, they will break through the traditional mold they are being put in without their permission. But they will do it their way.

The jade in their rings (or rather the jade color) represents serenity, purity and nurture and is often associated with the heart Chakra. What can be more powerful than this amulet the wife is carrying? Seen by outsiders as the need for her to please and nurture her husband but in reality the rings are there for her, to protect her heart against the hardships she is facing and to make her stronger and ready to eventually break free from the shackles of society.

And we are done, besties!! This was a rather short blog but I hope you liked it just as much! Make sure to show some love to my girlies and stream their mv 'Wife', love you all and have a wonderful day :blossom:

:copyright: thetalkingcupboard/com

:copyright: genius/com

:copyright: tinyrituals/co

#jotm

#januaryjotm