The K-Pop Phenomenon
By: Avery Calvert, The University of North Alabama
In recent years, Korean pop music, or K-pop, has become a phenomenon that has overtaken the entire world. Originally called the Hallyu or Korean wave, K-pop is most famous for its adaptable sound. Influenced by American music, K-pop combines rapping, dancing, and singing to provide the audience with jaw-dropping performances. Many may say that this is no different than pop music from other countries. Why then is K-pop so popular?
K-pop diverges from traditional Korean music. Traditional Korean music refers to the period from before the introduction of Western music in the late 1880s to the end of the Joseon dynasty in 1910.[1] A main factor of traditional Korean music was its ties to festivals and other socio-cultural events. Today, traditional Korean music is not widely listened to. The Westernization of music started with Christian missionaries and did not stop there. When Japan annexed Korea in 1910, Japan replaced Korean culture with the new modern Japanese culture. Something that was heavily involved in this culture was Western music.[2] Western military band music was particularly important because it appeared to be part of the Western powers’ might. This influence can be seen in the fact that a German composer Franz Eckert wrote the first Korean national anthem.[3]
Technological advances in the twentieth century aided the rise of popular music. As these advances were mostly seen in cities, it is not surprising that Seoul, South Korea’s capital, began to see an influx of people in the twentieth century as well. In the 1920s, the popularity of theater and silent movies produced new opportunities for Koreans to hear music. This new leisure activity was introduced by the Japanese. The yakuza, or Japanese mafia, also had deep connections in Japanese popular music which they began to spread to Korean popular music by establishing Japanese record companies in Korea. In 1927, the rise of radio enabled this new popular music to be heard across the country, especially in cities like Seoul.[4]
Post World War II, Korea was liberated from Japan yet divided as a peninsula. Throughout the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, Korea adopted different aspects of Western music; particularly, in the 1950s when Korean popular music adopted a jazz quality.[5] After the Korean War when American troops were stationed in Korea, American music colonized the southern half of the peninsula. Korean performers readily performed for the American troops and by default adopted American-like qualities to their music.[6] In the 1960s and 1970s, trot became the most popular form of music. This style of music is a mix of blues, jazz, Japanese enka, and Korean folk songs.[7] Still all of these styles are far from the K-pop we know today.
In the 1980s, Korean music starts to adapt characteristics of American music. The pop revolution simultaneously occurring in the United States was characterized by dance and, as a result, influenced Korean artists. As Michael Jackson released pop music in the United States, Park Nam-Jung, affectionately called the South Korean Micheal Jackson, released his songs in South Korea. It was also in the 80s that the first idol group, Sobangcha, emerges. An idol group consists of singers that undergo extensive singing and dancing training, sing in Korean, and are under a Korean label. At first, idol groups were composed of only Korean members, but now many idol groups have a mix of Asian members with some groups even having members that have no Asian heritage at all. In 1987, Sobangcha debuted with the song “Ojetpam iyagi” (Last night’s story) which brought throngs of adoring fans.[8]
In the 1990s, entertainment companies start to produce K-pop groups. Many of the great, early K-pop groups were started by the Big3 companies: SM, JYP, and YG. These entertainment companies were established in the late 1980s and early 1990s and are still around today. In 1992, K-pop, as we know it today, emerged. At this time, Seo Taiji and the Boys’s debut song “I Know” sold 1.7 million copies under SM Entertainment. The song was characterized by rapping and break dancing.[9] Starting from this time, K-pop groups debuted in generations. K-pop generations are defined by the music style that the groups debut with. The first generation of modern K-pop groups, roughly from 1992 to 2004, was characterized by soft ballads and hip-hop songs. My favorite song from this generation is H.O.T.’s “Candy.” This song incorporates rapping into an upbeat pop song about a teenage boy having conflicting feelings about breaking up with his girlfriend. The second generation, from 2005 to 2011, was characterized by catchy tunes that stuck in people’s heads. Here is where we see K-pop branch out to Japan and other Asian countries. This period is also dubbed the Golden Age of K-pop. Songs like “Mirotic” by TVXQ, “Sorry Sorry” by Super Junior, “Replay” by SHINee, and “Into the New World” by SNSD (Girls’ Generation) are perfect examples of the second generation, as well as personal favorites of mine! The third generation, from 2012 to 2017, was characterized by concepts like the school/teen, self-love, and girl crush. At this time, K-pop truly went global and with such fame came a stricter rebranding of idols. K-pop companies started to pay particular attention to idol behavior as well as merchandising. In this generation, songs start to include more English lyrics. Largely because companies want their groups to go global. Representative songs of this time include “Cheer Up” and “Likey” by Twice, “Love Shot” and “Growl” by EXO, “As If It’s Your Last” by Blackpink, “Gangnam Style” by PSY, “Idol” by BTS, and (my personal favorite) “Black On Black” by NCT. The fourth generation, from 2018 to 2023, was characterized by infectious songs as well as insanely difficult dances. Groups that debuted in the fourth generation gained popularity at rapid speed.[10] My favorite songs of this era are “Dalla Dalla” by Itzy and “God‘s Menu” by Stray Kids. Currently there are ongoing debates about whether K-pop has entered the fifth generation or not. I think we can clearly see a shift in the music that was previously released versus the music that is being released now. Some of my favorite songs from the fifth generation are “In Bloom” by ZEROBASEONE and “After Like” by IVE.
While K-pop has heavily influenced the globe, K-pop became a global phenomenon because of the globalization of South Korea. K-pop particularly latched onto the American dance music of the 1980s, but unlike American music it never left that stage. K-pop is still characterized by rigorous choreographies, rap sections, and melodious ballads. It also continues to be influenced. In recent years, the use of English in songs and producing songs entirely in English has grown with tremendous results. According to UNESCO, K-pop continues to be one of South Korea’s largest cultural exports. In 2020, with the release of their song “Dynamite,” BTS contributed $1.4 billion dollars to South Korea’s economy.[11] This song’s release coinciding with the pandemic was purposeful. While many entertainment industries shut down, K-pop was in a unique position to keep going. It is a custom for group members to live in dorms together; therefore, they were allowed to be around one another. Idols produced content that rivaled even the best of YouTubers because they could all be together through the pandemic. My personal favorite was a relay cam made by NCT! In 2020, NCT had 23 members. Each member took an hour of the day (with one member taking two hours) and showed how they were living during the pandemic. To some this may not seem interesting but to people around the world that have nothing else to do, this is quite interesting. With groups dropping two to three videos a week and the entire world on the internet, it is no surprise that K-pop infiltrated many people’s YouTube algorithms.
Idols also continued to drop new music. As the COVID pandemic wore on, many Western artists found themselves unable to go to the studio to record. Because of the unique dormitory situation of idols, they merely had to meet one new person (a sound technician) to record new tracks as their managers often live with them as well. For fans like me, new music and videos encouraged me through that difficult time. But it did not stop at new music. Dozens of groups held online concerts throughout this time. I fondly remember staying awake till the concert started at 3:00 am my time and watching with rapt attention until the show ended at 5:00 am. I am not alone in doing this. In 2021, Mickey Rapkin, a writer for National Geographic, did the same as he logged into a BTS with 1 million other fans from over 160 countries around the world.[12] K-pop groups continued to interact with fans which left a lasting impression. I believe this is why K-pop is so popular today. In people’s time of need, K-pop supported them in isolation and made them feel like they were not alone. I have been a K-pop fan since 2018, but my interest quadrupled when the pandemic hit. As a fan and a historian, I find this cultural export of South Korea fascinating and in the spirit of K-pop I have created an introduction playlist that include the songs mentioned in this article.
Notes
[1] John Lie, K-pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea, (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), 9.
[2] John Lie, K-pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea, (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), 13.
[3] John Lie, K-pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea, (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), 13.
[4] John Lie, K-pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea, (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), 22.
[5] John Lie, K-pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea, (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), 30.
[6] John Lie, K-pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea, (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), 31.
[7] Regina Kim, “Ballad, Trot, OSTs and More: Get To Know Other Genres Big in Korea
South Korea's vibrant music scene is packed with artists far beyond those in idol groups,” Billboard, April 24th, 2023, https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/korean-popular-music-genres-artists-guide-1235310593/.
[8] John Lie, K-pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea, (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), 57.
[9] John Lie, K-pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea, (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), 58.
[10] Snigdha Verma, “Decoding the Four Generations of K-pop,” Halsug, Accessed February 25th, 2024, https://halsugprod.com/blog/decoding-four-generations-of-K-pop.
[11] Yu Young Jin, ”K-pop: A Cure for the Pandemic Blues,” The UNESCO Courier, UNESCO, April 6th, 2021, https://courier.unesco.org/en/articles/k-pop-cure-pandemic-blues.
[12] Mickey Rapkin, ”COVID-19 Couldn’t Stop K-pop's Global Rise,” National Geographic, July 7, 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/covid-19-couldnt-stop-kpop-global-rise.
