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'Bon Voyage': Oh My Girl's YooA delivers visual masterpiece in solo debut, struggles to shake off 'racist' tag

Oh My Girl has been at the receiving end of backlash for their cultural misappropriation of Black and Brown cultures

Oh My Girl's YooA makes her much-awaited solo debut with a mini-album titled 'Bon Voyage'. The title song is accompanied by a magical music video featuring fairies, forests, and more, and gives fans a glimpse into the myriad of genres YooA has chosen to tackle with her solo work.

After sharing a series of controversial teasers, YooA's label, WM Entertainment, dropped the visually stunning music video that sees YooA make her way through a seemingly-enchanted, spooky forest under the cover of night. Thankfully, despite the teaser photos instantly drawing flak and ire for cultural appropriation, the video itself manages to not fall too far into blatantly racist territory. On the contrary, it paints a cinematic picture of a fantasy world where fairy YooA explores realms beyond reality. Fans have been sharing images of the video's stunning visuals, unable to get over how gorgeous it is. One fan said, "The MV is so beautiful." Another stated, "I can't describe how beautiful the mv and #YooA this is just so magical and enchanting. #BonVoyage is an art, my favorite scene was the last photo when the wolves 'guard' YooA," and one tweet read, "THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FAIRY."

And the praise only continued. One fan stated, "This mv is a masterpiece." Another said, "To say that this MV is beautifully and artistically made is SUCH AND UNDERSTATEMENT," and one fan shared, "The way I lost it and burst into tears during this you guys have no idea."

Fans have also been praising the song itself. One tweet read, "YooA didn't have to snap so hard in her solo debut but she did THAT! one of my fave releases so far this year." But despite all the praise, some fans still did call out YooA, the video, Oh My Girl, and WM for cultural appropriation.

Oh My Girl has seen some ups and downs this year, though if one were to assess their history, this is hardly new. The group is known just as much for dropping certified bops as they are for their repeated run-ins with cultural appropriation. More recently, the group was called out for appropriating South Asian culture in their 'KCON:TACT 2020 SUMMER' performance, which saw YooA wearing what appeared to be a South Asian ornament called a 'bindi' and Mimi donning head jewelry that many thought resembled a traditional Indian headpiece called a 'Matha Patti'. Though relatively tame, fans and non-fans took issue with the girls' outfits due to their repeated use of Black and Brown cultures in their work, despite being called out and educated on their missteps. So common is their use of South Asian culture, in particular, that they've earned themselves the moniker 'curry-dols', something the girls themselves, rather oddly, take pride in, despite the obviously racist connotations.

YooA's solo debut was teased with videos of her dressed in tribal attire, including face paint and a headdress, seemingly inspired by stereotypical Native American outfits which made tired and weary fans and non-fans ask, once again, why WM continues to push for concepts that are so overtly offensive. Thanks to this strange choice on their part, the group and its members will likely never escape the accusations of cultural appropriation. As some celebrated YooA's "fantasy world," others responded, "Her CA world." The video itself, however, appears to draw far more from fantasy worlds such as Peter Pan, with a few references to Native American culture via the imagery of things like wolves. This, overall, makes the questionable elements of cultural appropriation rather unfortunate since it takes away from an otherwise stunning release.

Check out YooA's 'Bon Voyage' below.