KPOP
K-pop (
Korean: 가요,
Gayo) (an abbreviation of
Korean pop or
Korean popular music) is a
musical genre consisting of
dance,
electronic,
electropop,
hip hop, and
R&B music originating in
South Korea.
In addition to music, K-pop has grown into a popular subculture
among teenagers and young adults around the world, resulting in
widespread interest in the fashion and style of Korean idol groups and
singers.
Through the presence of Facebook fan pages, availability on iTunes, Twitter profiles, and music videos on YouTube, the ability of K-pop to reach a previously inaccessible audience via the
Internet is driving a paradigm shift in the exposure and popularity of the genre.
South Korean popular culture is today serving as a major driver of youth culture all across the
Pacific Rim and
Eurasia, with special reference to
China,
Hong Kong,
Philippines,
Taiwan and
Southeast Asia, see also
Korean wave.
Etymology
Although, in a bigger scope, K-pop supposed to included all the
genres of "popular music" within South Korea, outside of the country,
the term is more commonly used for songs sung usually by Korean teen
idols, which covers mostly dance, electronic, rap, hip-hop, and R&B
genres.
Starting in 1992, dance and rap music started to become popular due to the popularity of
Seo Tai-ji & Boys. It is seen by many as the start of K-pop and ever since then it replaced the whole Korean music scene with the genre.
Genres from the 1980s are still popular even today, such as ballad and rock. However, the term can be debatable.
History
Origins: 1920s-1980s, birth of Trot and the introduction of Western music
In the mid-1920s, Masao Gouga, a Korean-expat composer in Japan,
mixed traditional Korean music with Gospel music that American
Evangelists brought with and have taught since the 1870s. This type of
music became known as
Enka in Japan, and later in Korea as
Trot (
Korean:
"트로트").
In 1932, a controversial plagiarism was caught and condemned by an
article in the Japanese magazine "New Young Adult", Gouga's "Sakewa
Namitaka Tameikika" was blamed for copying off the work of Korean
composer Su-Lin Jeon, which his version was named "The Calm Jang-Ahn".
This event triggered a wave of Korean musicians to flourish with
talented composers such as Nan-Pa Hong, Gyo-Sung Kim, Yong-Hwan Kim,
Joon-Young Kim, Ho-Wol Moon, Mok-In Son, Shi-Choon Park, and Jae Ho Lee
becoming the very foundation of Trot music in its early stage.
Trot has been transformed over the years using a variety of instruments
and mixing different styles of music to become the dominant genre in
the Korean music scene until the late 80's. To this day, Trot music
still remains as a popular genre for many; mostly with its very sad
melody and heart-touching lyrics.
As Korea was liberated from Japanese annexation in 1945, the country
was divided into two nations: North Korea and South Korea. Western
culture was introduced into South Korea on a small scale with a few
Western style bars and clubs playing Western music. After the Korean
War, which started on June 25, 1950 and lasted for 3 years, U.S. troops
remained in South Korea for protection. With the continued presence of
the U.S. military, American and world culture began to infiltrate South
Korea. During this time, Western music became more accepted to a wider
crowd of young adults.
Improvements in the recording systems encouraged the production of
LP records in the 1960s, which led to the pursuit of diverse voice tones.
Many singers sang for the American troops in Korea at the time, and the
appearance of chorus in performances was conspicuous. At this period of
time, civilians were exposed to pop songs by commercial radio stations,
which led to the great popularity of pop songs.
The Kim Sisters, Yoon Bok-hee and
Patti Kim were the first singers to debut in such countries as Vietnam and United States.
In the 1970s, the new career of
DJs became popular, deeply impacting the teenage cultures. Guitars and jeans were the symbols of youth.
This resulted in the introduction of more folk singers, such as
Chang Sik Song,
Young Nam Cho, and Hee Eun Yang. In 1977, the Seoul International Song
Festival was launched, which encouraged cultural exchanges with other
countries.
In 1980, the Asia Music Forum was launched. National singers from five different Asian countries competed in the event.
Cho Yong-pil won first place and earned a high reputation as a Korean singer in Japan.
[15]
1990s: Diversification
The debut of
Seo Tai-ji & Boys in 1992 was a turning point for
popular music in South Korea, incorporating
American popular music styles like
rap,
rock and
techno in their music.
[7] Hip hop duos such as
Deux were also popular in the early 1990s. Also, Korean trot-techno singer
Epaksa started ponchak wave in Japan.
Beginning of Hallyu (Korean Wave)
Main article:
Korean wave
The founding of South Korea's largest talent agency,
S.M. Entertainment, in 1995, by Korean entrepreneur
Lee Soo Man led to the first K-pop girl groups and boy bands.
By the late 1990s,
YG Entertainment,
DSP Entertainment, and
JYP Entertainment,
FNC Music had burst onto the scene and were producing talent as quickly as the public could consume it.
Groups such as,
S.E.S.,
Fin.K.L,
H.O.T,
Sechs Kies,
G.o.d.,
Fly to the Sky and
Shinhwa had huge success in the 1990s, not only in South Korea, but also outside of the country as well. Especially, artists such as
H.O.T,
Kim Wan-Sun,
Clon,
Baby V.O.X,
NRG saw huge successes in
China and
Taiwan in the mid-90s.
Also during this period was the emergence of hip-hop and R&B music in Korea, leading to the success of artists including
Drunken Tiger.
And many
Modern Rock groups were debuted in second-half of 1990s such as
Jaurim,
Juju Club and
Pipi Band.
Juju Clbb's first album named "16/20" won many first prize on TV music
programs and Jaurim's debut song "Hey,Hey,Hey" won second prize on TV
music programs. Many Modern Rock bands were also debuted in 2000s. But
Modern Rock bands did not become popular like Idol groups such as
Fin.K.L,
S.E.S
and others at that time. And Juju Club and Pipi Band were broke up. But
only Jaurim were succeeded now and they are became popular like Idol
groups.
2000s: Popularity in Asia and globalization
According to the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange,
K-pop has been a successful export of Korean culture in Asia. On its
"Korean Wave" index, the top country in 2010 was
Taiwan, in a list that includes
Japan,
China,
Thailand,
Vietnam,
Malaysia and the
Philippines.
Because of increased accessibility via the internet, K-Pop has begun
expanding to the rest of the world as well, but has not yet reached the
mainstream of many countries. Globalization of K-Pop media and fandom
has been facilitated by sites such as Facebook and YouTube, which allow
users from around the world access to videos and information about
artists and promotions. Kpop has undoubtedly caught the interest of the
growing new generation.
China
Since the late 1990s and the beginning of early 2000s, K-pop started to become well known in
China. K-pop artists such as
NRG,
H.O.T., DIVA,
Lee Jung Hyun and others stayed in China for their performances.
[citation needed] Today,
Super Junior is the most popular group in China, where they have the largest fandom. Their sub-group
Super Junior M had successful results with the song "Perfection" on the Kuang Nan Record, CCR and
Hit Fm Taiwan music charts.
K-pop has yet to make a major impact on China but there has been considerable success. The
Wonder Girls won an award for their song "
Nobody"
in the 5th annual China Mobile Wireless Music Award in Beijing, China
for having the highest digital sales for a foreign artist with a total
of 5,371,903 digital downloads in 2010. Their song "2 Different Tears"
was also one of the most downloaded songs and their albums have had high
sales for a foreign artist. Not forgetting EXO-M who has just debut
early April 2012 .
Japan
In 2011, it has been reported that the total sales for K-pop artists'
has increased 22.3% during 2010-2011, contributing about 1/10th of the
Japanese market.
BoA,
Girls' Generation,
Kara and
TVXQ
are among the best selling artists, with Girls' Generation, Kara, and
TVXQ making the 4th, 5th and 9th best selling artists of 2011 in Japan.
Outside of Asia
K-pop is steadily gaining influence in foreign markets outside of Asia, including North America.
In 2011,
Billboard officially launched the
Korea K-Pop Hot 100, the second Asian Billboard chart after the
Japan Hot 100.
On February 03, 2012,
B.A.P's Warrior (EP) debuted on Billboard's World Albums Chart at #10.
In 2009,
Wonder Girls, one of Asia’s most successful music artists who sold millions of singles including the international #1 songs “
Tell Me”, “
So Hot” and “
Nobody”, debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
The Wonder Girls are notable for touring with the
Jonas Brothers in 2009 as well as making guest appearances on
So You Think You Can Dance (United States) and
The Wendy Williams Show, making them the first Korean artists to perform on an American broadtime show. They are still the
only kpop group to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
Big Bang was awarded "Best Worldwide Act" at the 2011
MTV EMA's on November 7, representing the Asia-Pacific region. The group was up against singer
Britney Spears and won with over 58 million votes.
On November 10, 2011,
2NE1 was officially crowned the "Best New Band In the World" by
MTV Iggy after winning a global voting contest that began in early October 2011.
In 2012,
Girls' Generation made their first live television debut in the United States on
Live! with Kelly,
Late Night with David Letterman, and
Extra, promoting their international single "
The Boys". They also performed in France on
Le Grand Journal (Canal+).
In May 2012, Korean-American star
Jay Park will be headlined the
APAHM Tour, taking place in four cities across the United States, including performances of songs from his English
Mixtape, titled
Fresh Air: Breathe It.
The genre continues to be
embraced by the South Korean government as a tool for its
soft power abroad, particularly towards global youth.
