5 K-pop MVs with references to famous movies

One of the great highlights of K-pop MVs in their entirety is the excellence in audiovisual production, since, regardless of which agencies the artists are from, it is always possible to find clips with impeccable productions for the most diverse singles and on the most different themes.

In some cases, these videos end up adopting works of the seventh art as inspiration to convey the hidden messages in the lyrics of their songs or to achieve the idealized aesthetic expectation, which generates even more engagement among fans, who can analyze the clips frame by frame to find similarities with the original works and create theories.

Regardless of the reason, it is a fact that there are several videos of groups and soloists in the genre that bring allusions to popular feature films that marked the film industry. With this in mind, RECREIO has put together a list of 5 K-pop MVs with references to famous films that fans of the genre need to know; check it out!

5. What Do I Call You — Taeyeon

In 2020, Taeyeon released the EP “What Do I Call You” which came with a music video for the title track of the same name. The clip recreates some of the main scenes from “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004), a film by Michel Gondrynominated for three Oscar categories and winner of two of them: Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing.

The plot follows Joel, a young man who decides to erase the memories of his relationship with Clementine after discovering that she did the same so that she could move on from their bad breakup. The problem is that while having his mind accessed by specialists, Joel realizes that he no longer wants to erase all the memories he has, and will try to stop the procedure before it is too late.

4. Kill Bill — Brown Eyed Girls

Whether through the black and white introduction, the four-year time jump, or the fight scenes as the character seeks revenge, Brown Eyed Girls’ “Kill Bill” features several allusions to the eponymous feature film directed by Quentin Tarantino and released in 2003.

In the film, after waking up from a coma four years after being shot in the head at her own wedding, the former assassin known as the Bride, played by Uma Thurman, decides to take revenge on the people involved in the loss of her daughter, the wedding party and the lost years.

3. Tail — Sunmi

Sunmi released “Tail” in 2021 and, for its promotion, was inspired by Catwoman from “Batman Returns”, released in 1992. This is because, in the track’s MV, the idol plays a character who has problems at work and is murdered by her own boss when she is pushed out of a window. She comes back to life when she is surrounded by cats and after realizing that she now has special abilities, she seeks revenge, just like the story of the character played by Michelle Pfeiffer in the feature film.

2. LIE — EXID

EXID’s “LIE” is set in a hotel and features the group’s five members as employees of the establishment. In reference to “The Grand Budapest Hotel” in the MV, Solji, Elly, Hani, Hyerinand JeongHwa wear a purple uniform similar to those worn by the characters in the film.

Winner of the Oscar for best costume design, the film, set in the 1930s, follows two employees of the hotel that gives the film its title, who end up getting involved in a robbery that puts them in several complicated situations.

1. What is Love? — TWICE

From the setting to the members’ costumes, TWICE’s “What is Love?” references several films, including “The Princess Diaries,” “Ghost,” “La Boum,” “La La Land,” “The Professional,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Romeo + Juliet,” and “Love Letter.”