K-POP culture

Basic notions and conventions[edit source | editbeta]
See also: K-pop idol
K-pop uses a set of genre specific expressions.[153] These include traditional Korean honorifics, used by both idols and fans. Besides this traditional social system, K-pop adds its own subculture. As much as age is important, the debut date and popularity of the artist also matters. Younger artists or those who debuted later are called hoobae (후배) and they must greet the older and earlier debuted colleagues (선배, sunbae, "senior") with an insa (인사), the traditional deep bow. Failing to do this have met with strong criticism from the industry and the fans alike, for example in the case of girl group T-ara.[154][155]
Boy and girl groups in Korea are referred to as idols or idol bands.[156] Idol bands have a strict hierarchy. Every band has a leader, chosen by either the members or the managing company based on age, personality and leadership qualities. The leader is a representative of the band as well as responsible for group harmony.[157] The youngest band member is called maknae (막내), which is a special position as it is traditionally regarded that the cuter the maknae the more potential a band has in terms of popularity.[158] Idols are recruited and trained in a trainee system regarded as exceptional in the pop industry.[159]
The Korean pop industry involves the so-called fan service, which is largely based on bromance of a non-sexual nature between band members of male idol groups. Fans pair their favourites into "OTPs" (one true pairing), who in turn reinforce the pairs by acting cute and brotherly with each other on television. The names of such bromantic pairs are contracted from the original stage names of the members, for example the G-Dragon–Seungri OTP is commonly referred to as "GRi". OTP pairs are called "ships", from the English term "relationship", and fans of these "ships" are called "shippers"

Frequently used expressions[edit source | editbeta]
Addressing others
Korean Romanized Explanation
오빠 oppa woman's elder brother; Korean women call older male family members and friends as well as their lovers this way. Fans commonly refer to male idols as "oppa".[162]
형 hyung man's elder brother; Korean men call older male family members and friends this way. Younger members of idol groups call the older members "hyung" as well. Failing to do this is regarded rude and impolite.[163]
언니 unni woman's elder sister; Korean women call older female family members and friends this way. Younger girl group members also refer to older members as "unni".[164]
누나 noona man's elder sister; Korean men refer to older women in their family as well as their friend circles this way.[164]
동생 dongsaeng younger sibling; regardless of sex, people in close relationship with the speaker are referred to as dongsaengs.[153]
선배 sunbae senior, someone with more experience in the respective field, regardless of age[155][165]
후배 hoobae junior; someone with less experience in the respective field, regardless of age.[155]
Other frequent expressions
Korean Romanized Explanation
화이팅 hwaiting Originated from the English "fighting", this expression is widely used for encouragement and support.[166]
대상 Daesang At music awards several artists receive Bonsangs for their outstanding achievement in music, then one of the Bonsang winners is awarded with a Daesang, the "Grand Prize".[167]
본상 Bonsang
Expression Explanation
All-Kill (AK)
Perfect All-Kill (PK) They refer to chart positions. "AK" means that the song reached #1 on the charts of the seven biggest online music portals of South Korea the same day. "PK" songs also led the ringtone download charts.[168]
mini album A mini album in K-pop means that the record (physical or digital) contains no more than two or three songs and their remixes. It is usually longer than a single but shorter than an EP.[153]
title track Title track in K-pop means the leading track of the album, which has a music video released and is promoted on music shows like Inkigayo by live performances.[153]
repackaged album Repackaged album means that after the first promotions of the album are finished, the album is re-released with new design, containing one or two new tracks, out of which one is a "title track" with a new music video.[153]
promotion Promotion in K-pop refers to promoting the "title track" in several televised music shows like Inkigayo. Promotion on TV shows usually last one month, with a "debut stage" for newcomers, a "comeback stage" for regulars and a "goodbye stage" at the end of the cycle.[153]
point dance Point dance consists of hooking and repetitive key movements within the choreography, which matches the characteristics of the lyrics

Appeal and fan base[edit source | editbeta]


Big Bang fans (VIPs) hold crown shaped light sticks during a concert: this is the symbol of the fan club


Fan rice for the Korean boyband EXO
According to some opinions, the music itself is not the decisive factor in the popularity of K-pop. A publication in New York Magazine calls K-pop "catchy but derivative" and states that Girls' Generation fans admit to liking the group for its members' looks and their personality, radiating what the magazine calls "humility" and friendliness to each and one of the fans. A fan stated to the magazine that when Girls' Generation performs on stage, you get the illusion of the girls sometimes looking right at you and interacting with you personally.[169]
Many K-pop fans travel overseas to get the chance to see Korean bands. Tours from Japan and China bring fans to see K-pop concerts.[170] A K-pop group tour from Japan had more than 7000 fans fly to Seoul to meet boy band JYJ.[171] During JYJ's concert in Barcelona, fans from many parts of the world camped overnight to gain entrance.[172]
Korean fan clubs play an essential role in K-pop, their structure and operation is different from Western fan clubs.[173] Each club has its own name and color. For example, TVXQ fans are called "Cassiopeia" and their official color is "pearl red"; SS501 fans are named "Triple S" and their fandom color is "pearl light green"; and Super Junior's fan club is called "E.L.F." and they use the color "pearl sapphire blue".[173] Colors play an important role in fandoms, as fans express their unity and loyalty this way, especially in concerts where other artists also perform: fans from a certain fan club create their own sectors with the represented colors, usually with light sticks or official balloons and create a "Kpop Ocean".[173][174] If a color is already taken, fanclubs of new artists cannot choose them unless the color they want is taken by a soloist or a group of a different gender.[173] As colors are limited some artists do not have an official color, Big Bang fans for example hold crown shaped yellow light sticks, while Se7en's fans are represented by the number 7.[175]
Official fan clubs have subscription "waves"[173] when fans need to register, usually after paying the club fee and then the fan receives a membership cards and other items such as light sticks and official balloons for an idol. Clubs are well organized, united in nature and frequently participate in charity events to support their idols.[173] They purchase bags of fan rice as gifts to their favourite bands in order to show their love and support. According to Time Magazine, for BIGBANG's first show in months, 12.7 tons of rice were donated from 50 fan clubs around the world and stacks of rice bags were lined up like shrines to the K-pop idols. There are businesses dedicated to shipping the rice from farmers to the venues.[176] The rice bags are then donated to people in need.[177] Another way for fan clubs to show devotion is sending lunch to the stars, and there are special catering companies in South Korea for this purpose. The trend started when fans picked up complaints that the stars do not eat properly due to their busy schedules.[178]
A unique feature of K-pop fan clubs is the so-called organized "fan chant" during live performances when fans chant parts of the song lyrics or the names of the idols (in order of birth) at parts of the performance previously decided and organized by the club.[153][179] Standardized phrases are generally chanted during non-vocal part in the song, as to not disturb the singers. There are various websites and video tutorials for fan chants of K-pop songs.
Celebrity fans[edit source | editbeta]
Music artists and celebrities who are fans of K-pop include:
Grimes: According to Grimes, K-pop has influenced her musical style "more visually than anything else".[190] The Canadian singer is also known to be an admirer of Big Bang's G-Dragon.[190][191]
Nelly Furtado: During an interview with the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, Furtado pointed out that there has been a "big K-Pop explosion" and that she has been closely following the development of K-pop over the past few years.[192] She expressed an interest to collaborate with Big Bang's member T.O.P, and also admitted to being "obsessed" with the K-pop genre.[193]
Dakota Fanning: In early 2013, Fanning sparked a media frenzy in South Korea for being a fan of G-Dragon.[194] Her movie Now Is Good also features a collaboration with Ailee.[195]
A*M*E: According to A*M*E, she first discovered K-pop when her older sister showed her a music video by Big Bang and told her to "listen to it with an open mind", and she "absolutely loved it from the first moment".[196] As a result, K-pop has influenced her music style. In 2013, she co-produced the single "Need U (100%)" with Duke Dumont, which "blends her beloved K-pop into Dumont's house music", according to a music critic from Fuse TV.[197]
Pixie Lott: The British singer-songwriter's first contact with K-pop bands took place during a trip to Japan, and she "just loved the whole vibe of it".[198] She considers herself to be a "big fan" of K-Pop band Big Bang,[199] and her second album Young Foolish Happy also features a collaboration with band members G-Dragon and T.O.P.[198] She also wrote the Song "Baby Maybe" for Girls' Generation 's fourth album I Got a Boy.[200]
Grammy-winning artist Jill Scott took on twitter to spread her new discovery of K-pop, writing: "Feeling Big Bang's Bad Boy right now. Dope", and "Check out Big Bang - our brand of fresh in Korea" She went even further to confess her love with a picture of T.O.P, tweeting: "Odd couple but I love this guy. His name is TOP...I think."[201]
Mugler creative director Nicola Formichetti, known for his work for Lady Gaga, is a huge fan of Big Bang and 2NE1 and was seen attending Big Bang's concert in Japan. For Mugler 2013 Men's Line, he asked G-Dragon to compose the music for the Paris Fashion Show.
Snoop Dogg: The American rapper considers K-pop to be his "guilty pleasure"