History of K-POP

K-pop (an abbreviation of Korean pop;[1] Korean: 가요 kayo)[1] is a musical genre originating in South Korea that is characterized by a wide variety of audiovisual elements. Although it comprises all genres of "popular music" within South Korea, the term is more often used in a narrower sense to describe a modern form of South Korean pop music covering mostly dance-pop, pop ballad, electronic, rock, hip-hop, R&B, etc.[2]
In 1992, modern K-pop was ushered in with the formation of Seo Taiji & Boys, whose successful experimentation with different music styles had sparked a paradigm shift in the music industry of South Korea.[3] As a result, the integration of foreign musical elements has now become a common practice in the K-pop industry.[4]
By tapping into social networking services and the video sharing platform YouTube, the K-pop industry's ability to secure a sizeable overseas audience has facilitated a noticeable rise in the global proliferation of the genre.[5] Since the mid-2000s, the K-pop music market has experienced double digit growth rates. In the first half of 2012, it grossed nearly US$3.4 billion,[6] and was recognized by Time magazine as "South Korea's Greatest Export".[7]
First gaining popularity in East Asia back in the late 1990s, K-pop entered the Japanese music market towards the turn of the 21st century. In the late 2000s, it grew from a musical genre into a subculture among teenagers and young adults of East and Southeast Asia.[8] Currently, the spread of K-pop to other regions of the world, via the Korean wave, is most clearly seen in parts of Latin America, Northeast India, the Middle East, North Africa, and immigrant enclaves of the Western world
Stylistic origins Rhythm and blues • Jazz • Folk • Dance • Classical • Rock and roll
Cultural origins Nominally early 1990s; trace the roots to 1960s
Typical instruments Vocals • Rapping • Drum machine • Drum pad • Drums • Electric bass • Keyboards • Piano • Sampler • Sequencer • Synthesizer
Subgenres
Bubblegum pop • Dance-pop • Operatic pop • Pop ballad • Power pop • Soundtrack • Synthpop • Space age pop • Sunshine pop • Traditional pop • Teen pop
Local scenes
Seoul City
Other topics
Music of Korea
C-pop • J-pop

he hallmarks of K-pop are:
Diversity of audiovisual content: Although K-pop generally refers to South Korean popular music, some consider it to be an all-encompassing genre exhibiting a vast spectrum of musical and visual elements. The French audiovisual organization Institut national de l'audiovisuel defines K-pop as a fusion of synthesized music, sharp dance routines and fashionable, colorful outfits combining bubblegum pop with the musical elements of electro, disco, rock, R&B, and hip-hop.[17]
Systematic training of singers: The biggest management agencies in South Korea offer binding contracts to children starting from age 9 to 10. Trainees live together in a tightly regulated environment and spend many hours a day learning music, choreography, foreign languages as well as communication techniques with fans and journalists. This "robotic" system of training is often criticized by Western media outlets.[18] In 2012, the cost of training a single member from SM Entertainment's nine-member band Girls' Generation averaged US$3 million.[19]
Synchronized dance formations and key movements in the choreography: When performing K-pop music, multiple singers in a band, often made up of more than three members, switch their positions while singing and dancing by making prompt movements in synchrony.[20] The K-pop choreography often includes a hooking, repetitive dance that matches the characteristics of the lyrics of the song.[21][22]
Rapid distribution via the Internet: As the South Korean music industry is comparatively small, songs are released onto national television and simultaneously uploaded onto YouTube to reach out to a worldwide audience.[23] This is often preceded by a series of eagerly anticipated announcements and promotional activities referred to as a "comeback", which altogether generates a significant amount of hype and excitement before the official release of songs and music videos.
Support of government agencies: The South Korean government has acknowledged that an increased interest in South Korean popular culture will benefit the country's export sector.[26] According to government estimates, a US$100 increase in the export of cultural products results in a US$412 increase in the export of other consumer goods.[27] Government initiatives to expand the popularity of K-pop are mostly undertaken by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which is responsible for the establishment of dozens of Korean Cultural Centers worldwide. Embassies and consulates of South Korea have also participated in the planning and organization of K-pop concerts outside the country,[28] and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regularly invites overseas K-pop fans to attend the annual K-Pop World Festival in South Korea.
Dedicated fanbase: Fan activities include translating Korean song lyrics and publishing them in English and other languages. An article by The Wall Street Journal indicated that K-pop’s staying power will be shaped by fans, whose online services have partly evolved into "micro"-businesses and small-scale ventures.[29] It is common for fans to organize flash mobs at prominent public areas via Facebook, performing and dancing to the latest K-pop songs so that a concert would be held.[30] Others have turned to other avenues such as calling the local South Korean consulate or embassy to request a concert.[31]
While the roots of K-pop run all the way back to the 19th century, it was mostly contained within the Korean Peninsula until the 21st century when it became an integral part of the Korean Wave; a newly coined term describing the rise and spread of South Korean culture first across Asia, and then to the West and to other parts of the world.[32] According to a 2011 survey conducted by the Korean Culture and Information Service, the total number of active members in Hallyu fan clubs around the world is estimated to have surpassed 3 million for the first time
The beginnings of Korean popular music[edit source | editbeta]

Oppaneun punggakjaengi
(오빠는 풍각쟁이)
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A 1938 trot song by Kim Song Kyu and Park Yeong Ho. Sung by Park Hyang Rim.
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The history of Korean popular music can be traced back to 1885 when an American missionary, Henry Appenzeller started teaching American and British folk songs at a school. These songs were called changga in Korean, and they were typically based on a popular Western melody sung with Korean lyrics. The well-known song "Oh My Darling, Clementine" was for example known as "Simcheongga".[note 1] During the Japanese rule (1910–1945) popularity of changga songs rose as Koreans tried to express their feelings against Japanese oppression through music. One of the most popular songs was "Huimangga" (희망가, The Song of Hope). The Japanese confiscated the existing changga collections and published lyrics books of their own.[34][third-party source needed]
The first known Korean pop album was "Yi Pungjin Sewol" (This Tumultuous Time) by Park Chae-seon and Lee Ryu-saek from 1925 and contained popular songs translated from Japanese. The first pop song written by a Korean composer is thought to be "Nakhwayusu" (낙화유수, Fallen Blossoms on Running Water) sung by Lee Jeong-suk in 1929.[34] In the mid-1920s, Japanese composer Masao Koga mixed traditional Korean music with Gospel music that American Evangelists introduced in the 1870s. This type of music became known as Enka in Japan, and later in Korea as Trot (Korean: "트로트").[35][36] These songs became extremely popular.[34][third-party source needed]
Later, in the 21st century K-pop singers rediscovered the genre of trot, for example singers like Daesung from Big Bang and several members of Super Junior produced trot singles.
21st century: Rise of the Hallyu wave[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: Korean wave
Towards the turn of the 21st century, the K-pop genre began spreading out to other regions of the world as part of the global Korean wave. In 2002, BoA became the first K-pop singer to reach No. 1 on the Japanese Oricon music chart.[51] Shortly afterwards, the South Korean music artist Rain gave a sold-out concert to 40,000 fans in Beijing.[52] Since the mid-2000s, a huge portion of the East Asian music market has been dominated by K-pop idol groups.[53]
In 2008, South Korea's cultural exports rose to US$2 billion for the first time, maintaining an annual growth rate of over 10%.[54] That year, Japan accounted for almost 68% of all K-pop export revenues, ahead of China (11.2%) and the United States (2.1%).[55] The sale of concert tickets proved to be a lucrative business as fans were willing to fork out large sums to see their idols. For example, TVXQ's Tohoshinki Live Tour in Japan sold over 850,000 tickets at an average cost of US$109 each, generating a total of $US92.6 million in revenues.[56] Over 60% of the K-pop industry's export revenue is derived from the sale of concert tickets.[56]
According to Foreign Policy, the K-pop genre subsequently took off in Southeast Asia before reaching out to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South America.[9] In 2012, the number of fans in Turkey surpassed 100,000 for the first time,[57] and reached 150,000 in 2013
Fuelled by the increased interest in K-pop songs, several singers decided to expand their music careers by releasing English language-studio albums in the hope of bringing over the genre to Western music markets. However, such attempts mostly did not succeed at first.[61]
In 2012, K-pop's breakthrough in the Western mainstream media occurred with the release of Psy's "Gangnam Style" which racked up over 1.7 billion views on YouTube as of mid-July 2013.
Other recent milestones attained by K-pop bands and musicians include:
May 2007: Rain was the first K-pop music artist to perform at Japan's biggest concert hall, the Tokyo Dome, in front of 40,000 fans. The show was sold out within two days after the tickets went on sale.[62]
October 2009: The Wonder Girls enter the US Billboard Hot 100 music chart with their single "Nobody", which was widely noted for its music video's viral spread after having surpassed 50 million views on YouTube.[63][64]
September 2010: SM Entertainment holds its first concert outside the Asian continent with the SMTown Live '10 World Tour in Los Angeles.[65] This precedes two sold-out concerts at the Zénith de Paris a few months later in France.[66] The original concert at Staples Center in Los Angeles grossed over US$1 million,[67] and took the 9th position on the Billboard Boxscore Chart.[68]
August 2011: Billboard launches the Korea K-Pop Hot 100 music chart, which only takes into account digital sales.[69]
November 2011: BIGBANG faces off competition from the American pop icon Britney Spears and the German singer Lena Meyer-Landrut to clinch the 2011 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Worldwide Act.[70] Shortly after, Google announces that its subsidiary YouTube will launch its own K-pop channel.[71]
December 2011: The total number of YouTube views generated by K-Pop videos in 2011 surpasses the 1 billion mark. It had tripled from 800 million in the previous year to more than 2.3 billion, spurred on by huge growths in Europe and the Middle East.[72] In the same month, the United Cube Concert was held in São Paulo, Brazil, heralding the arrival of K-pop in South America.[73]
March 2012: The longest running boy band Shinhwa, who debut in 1998, made a return to the entertainment industry, after a four-year hiatus during which band members served individual mandatory military services.[74][75]
After becoming the first K-pop band to enter the Billboard 200 music chart with their album "Alive", BIGBANG kicks off the Alive Tour in 25 cities worldwide.[76][77] The tour ended in early 2013, and was attended by 800,000 concert-goers around the world.[78]
November 2012: PSY's Gangnam Style becomes the most viewed video on YouTube.[79] After topping the record charts of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom,[80] it was awarded the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video,[81] and became the first video on YouTube to hit a billion views.[82]
December 2012: Towards the end of the year, The New York Times selects 2NE1's performance at the Prudential Center in New Jersey as one of the "Best Concerts of 2012".[83]
February 2013: Cube Entertainment releases an official version of the Gwiyomi song, sparking a massive Internet meme among Asian Internet users.
April 2013: Girls' Generation's YouTube video for its 2009 single "Gee" surpasses 100 million views and becomes the first by a K-pop idol group to do so.[84] In the same month, Super Junior extends the Super Show 5 Tour to Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Santiago and Lima, making it the largest K-pop tour in South America
Characteristics[edit source | editbeta]



Clockwise from left: K-pop boy bands HITT, MBLAQ, BIGBANG and Exo
According to a Rolling Stone author, K-Pop is "a mixture of trendy Western music and high-energy Japanese pop (J-Pop), which preys on listeners' heads with repeated hooks, sometimes in English. It embraces genre fusion with both singing and rap, and emphasizes performance and strong visuals".[86] It is a mix of genres like pop, rock, hip hop, R&B and electronic music. K-pop can be described as a globalized music; as it is a mixture of Western and European sounds with an Asian flavor of performance. The way these Korean singers perform their songs with synchronized dance moves and complex gestures has increased the popularity of K-pop. It now takes a big place in the music market throughout Asia and the world.[87]
The BBC describes the K-pop group singers Super Junior and the Wonder Girls as "highly produced, sugary boy- and girl-bands with slick dance routines and catchy tunes."[88] K-pop is also recognized for pretty-boys and girl groups[89] that are young and considered attractive.[90][91]
More than 60 boy and girl bands are produced each year in Korea, making way of labeling K-pop as a "star factory". Many of these bands disappear after a few hits.[92] K-pop is a fast paced and high-competition industry, according to the Korea Times it produces easily consumable and disposable one-time hit songs that the audience downloads and then deletes.[93] The majority of K-pop songs spend only a short time on music charts and it is rare for a hit to lead the charts for several weeks.[94] The basic format is usually built upon a catchy chorus part and a spectacular, easy-to-master dance to accompany the song – like "Sorry, Sorry" from Super Junior, "Gee" from Girls' Generation or "Abracadabra" from Brown Eyed Girls. The songs are marketed for one or two months and then are usually forgotten as new ones take their place.[92][93] Singer Insooni complained that "the songs that we sang back in the day are still sung today. But music these days – people perform for three months than [sic] stop. Fans have lost a sense of responsibility."[95]
Visual experience is an integrated part of K-pop, which comprises the artist's physical appearance and clothing as well as the sophisticated visuals of concerts and music videos. K-pop videos are often vivid, colourful, strident, extravagant and compared to traditional pop videos can even be shocking or incomprehensible.[96][97][98]
There are instances of foreign songwriters and producers composing songs for Korean performers, such as will.i.am, Sean Garrett, and American-raised Teddy Park.[99][100][101] Musicians who have collaborated with various K-Pop idols include many notable recording artists from the African American hip hop community, such as Akon, Kanye West, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and will.i.am.[102][103][104] It is not uncommon for K-pop songs to be composed by songwriters from Norway and Sweden.[105][106] As a music executive told The Wall Street Journal, South Korean music labels want "a mix of U.S. beats but with a Scandinavian songwriting style."[107]
In recent years, K-pop has been overwhelmingly dominated by new generation idol bands and the expansion of genre is almost entirely driven by the Internet. As traditional media records are losing popularity among consumers, the significance of digital records has risen. In order to capture the audience's attention in a shorter period of time, K-pop record labels generally prefer releasing and distributing shortened EP or single formats (as compared to full length albums). This has led to the widespread use of so-called 'hooks', which refers to catchy choruses that is easy to memorize.
Marketing[edit source | editbeta]
The promotional activities of a K-pop artist involve the so-called "comeback", called as such even when the musician or group in question did not go on hiatus.[24]
In order to make their new albums known to the public, K-pop artists participate in various promotional activities, such as appearing and performing on national television. Popular television programs in which bands and musicians usually make their comeback include the Korean Broadcasting System's Music Bank, the Seoul Broadcasting System's The Music Trend, and Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation's Show! Music Core. The first performance by a K-Pop artist on a music program specifically for the promotion of their new album or single is also known as the "comeback" stage.[108] In addition to stage performances, Teaser images and video clips are commonly released to the public as part of a "comeback".[109] These are released one after another, often within the space of a few days before the full release.
K-pop music has become diversified into many different genres. Some K-pop musicians offer songs with the mixture of the tunes from the West, such as country music. The combination of Asian singers singing Western and European style music contributes to the unique features of K-pop and making it more global.[110]
Rookie artists start out with a "debut stage" and their second promotional cycle will be called a "comeback."
Dance[edit source | editbeta]
Dance is an integral part of K-pop. When combining multiple singers, the singers often switch their positions while singing and dancing by making prompt movements in synchrony. Since the debut of Seo Taiji & Boys, multiple singers began to switch their positions while singing and dancing, a strategy called "formation changing" (Korean: 자리 바꿈, Jari ba'ggum)[20] and a turning point for the establishment of K-pop choreography (Korean: 안무, Anmu).
The K-pop choreography often includes the so-called "point dance, "(Korean: 포인트 댄스) referring to a dance made up of hooking and repetitive movements within the choreography. The key movements standing out and being easily remembered are supposed to match the characteristics of the lyrics of the song. "Point dance" in a song has almost become a stereotype of K-Pops as shown in the success of the key movements like rubbing hands together side to side as a Korean hand gesture for apology in “Sorry Sorry” from Super Junior.[citation needed]
To choreograph a dance for a song requires the writers to take the tempo into account.[111] A fan's ability to do the same steps must also be considered: "The Korean people really want their fans to be in the music as well. That's why as choreographers we have to simplify movements," according to Ellen Kim, a Los Angeles dancer and choreographer.[111]
Fashion[edit source | editbeta]
K-pop also influences fashion, especially in Asia, where clothes and accessories worn by K-pop stars, as well as their hairstyles and the cosmetic brands they use are sought after by young listeners.[112] Fashion brands release copies of clothing worn by idols.[113] Some K-pop idols including G-Dragon from Big Bang have established themselves as a fashion icon by attracting the attention of Western fashion designers, most notably Jeremy Scott, who expressed his interest in working with singer CL from 2NE1.[114][114][115][116][117][118]
In January 2012 Korean artists held a fashion show in Japan, which was attended by 33,000 people.[119] In Thailand authorities worry over the fashion items popularized by Korean pop, as Thai teenagers are willing to wear items unfit for local weather conditions (e.g. leggings) and also use skin whitening products to look like Korean celebrities.[120] In North Korea, despite strong governmental regulations, South Korean fashion is a topic of interest. K-pop popularized high-heel shoes, sleeveless tops and fashionable accessories, although such attire is forbidden in the country.[121] More information from Fashion in South Korea