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K-pop
Stylistic originsJ-Pop • Pop • Dance • Electropop • Hip hop • Rock • R&B • Electronic
Cultural originsNominally early 1990s South Korea; trace the roots to 1960s
Typical instrumentsVocals • Rapping • Drum machine, Drum pad • Drums • Electric bass • Keyboards • Piano • Sampler • Sequencer, Synthesizer • Vocoder, Auto-tune, Occasional use of various other instruments such as Horns, Strings
Local scenes
Seoul City

K-pop (Korean: 가요, Gayo) (an abbreviation of Korean pop or Korean popular music) is a musical genre consisting of pop, dance, electropop, hip hop, rock, R&B, electronic music originating in South Korea.[6][7][8][9][10] 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.[11]

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 change in the exposure and popularity of the genre.[12] 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, Japan, 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.[13] 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.[14] Genres from the 80s 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 (Template:Lang-ko).[15]

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".[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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. [citation needed]

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.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18]

1990s: Diversification

The debut of Seo Tai-ji & Boys in 1992 was a turning point for popular music in South Korea, incorporating elements of rap rock and techno.[citation needed] Hip hop duos such as Deux were also popular in the early 1990s.[citation needed]

File:LG전자, 전세계 K-POP 바람몰이 나섰다(SM town live world tour is new york promotion).jpg
An advertisement for SMTown Live '10 World Tour in Times Square, New York City.

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.[19] 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.[11]

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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

And many Modern Rock groups were debuted in second-half of 1990s such as Jaurim, Juju Club and Pipi Band. Juju Culb'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 didin't 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

Many of K-pop's biggest idol groups and solo acts, including BoA, Rain Bi, Wonder Girls, Big Bang, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, f(x), EXO, 2AM, 2PM, Miss A, 2NE1, MBLAQ , Beast, JYJ, KARA, Infinite, Se7en, CNBLUE, F.T. Island, After School, and 4Minute are popular in most East and South East Asia, including Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, China, Mongolia, Indonesia, Vietnam.[20] 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 undoubtly caught the interest of the growing new generation.[21]

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.[22]

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 . [23]

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.[24]


Se7en on the cover of KoreAm, January 2009

Outside of Asia

K-pop is steadily gaining influence in foreign markets outside of Asia, including North America.[25] In 2011, Billboard officially launched the Korea K-Pop Hot 100, the second Asian Billboard chart after the Japan Hot 100.[26]

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.[27] 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.

Korean-Americans have experienced success in America due to being English-speaking natives and having American influences. Jay Park's 2010 return to America saw his popularity outside of Korea became much more self-evident with the release of English singles, the use of YouTube, and numerous performances, most notable of which is International Secret Agents 2010 and 2011, where he performed along side many YouTube stars, and the likes of Sean Kingston and B.o.B.

On October 23, 2011, artists under the label SM Entertainment such as Girls' Generation, Super Junior, SHINee, F(x), BoA, and TVXQ, held a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City for their SMTown Live '10 World Tour, making them the first Korean artists' in history to do so.[citation needed] SMTown also toured other locations such as Paris, France and Los Angeles, California.[citation needed]

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 American singer Britney Spears and won with over 58 million votes.[28]

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.

On November 12, 2011, twelve bands from South Korea flew to Sydney, Australia to hold the first K-POP Music Fest.

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+).[29]

American rapper Ludacris has shown a lot of interest in the Korean music industry, particularly YG Entertainment due to their hip-hop style and image. Both Ludacris and YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-Suk have hinted in a possible future collaboration with one of YG's artists, such as 2NE1 or Big Bang.[citation needed] Catching the interest of The Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am, 2NE1 is currently working on their American debut album under will.i.am's management.[citation needed] Members of The Black Eyed Peas have also performed their hit song "Where Is the Love?" with CL of 2NE1 at the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards.[citation needed] Record producer Teddy Riley has produced the girl group RaNia as well as Girls' Generation's single "The Boys". He has worked with rapper/singer Jay Park, and boy bands SHINee and EXO.[citation needed]

The genre continues to be embraced by the South Korean government as a tool for its soft power abroad, particularly towards global youth.

Recently K-Pop also started to receive media coverage from Spanish speaking countries, with publications such as Kpopstarz [1] daily reporting on this new wave.[citation needed]

In May 2012, Korean-American star Jay Park will be headlining the APAHM Tour, taking place in four cities across the United States, including performances of songs from his English Mixtape, tentatively titled Fresh Air: Breathe It.

Industry

Year K-pop in Global Physical Music market rankings
(include albums, singles and DVDs sold)
2005 27[30]
2006 27[31]
2007 32[32]
2008 24[33]
2009 24[34]
2010 21[35]
Year K-pop in Global Digital Music market rankings
2007 23[36]
2009 14[36]
2011 11[36]

Once a market that used to have multiple "million sellers" of artists in a year such as Jo Sungmo and H.O.T, the K-pop industry encountered some difficulty around the 2000s, as online piracy was more popular among music listeners.[citation needed] The size of the industry shrunk to half in 2005, but the government's copyright law helped revitalize the industry, now making it the eleventh largest digital music market in the world.

South Korea became the first country in which the digital music market surpassed physical market,[37] probably because of the timing of when the physical market was the smallest. However, the digital market as well as the physical market has grown ever since then, and still today. More than half of the revenue comes from digital sales, showing the importance of the digital market in South Korea.[36]

In 2009, about 8.8 million South Korean albums were sold worldwide.[34] The retail value of K-pop was $93 million dollars in 2009.[34]

In 2011, 1,100 albums were released in South Korea and the hip-hop genre had the most among them.[38] One-third of the albums were from genres that are less popular in the country nowadays, including rock, modern folk and crossover.[38] Although idol stars are dominating the K-pop scenes today, it shows that there are still variety of genres existing in South Korea.[38]

Apprenticeship

Today, apprenticeship is the universal strategy for nurturing girl groups, boy bands, and solo artists in the K-pop industry. To guarantee the high probability of success of new talent, talent agencies fully subsidize and oversee the professional lives and careers of trainees, often spending in excess of $400,000 to train and launch a new artist.[39] Through the practice of apprenticeship, which often lasts two years or more, trainees hone their voices, learn professional choreography, sculpt and shape their bodies through exercise, and study multiple languages all the while attending school.

K-pop artists

Main articles: List of K-pop artists and List of South Korean idol groups

See also

Look up k-pop in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to K-pop.

References

  1. ^ Template:Ko icon [특파원 월드워치]美아시안계, 韓流드라마에 푹 빠졌다 :: 네이버 뉴스. News.naver.com (2005-12-12). Retrieved on 2011-02-20.
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  6. ^ Jung, Sun (2011). Korean masculinities and transcultural consumption: Yonsama, Rain, Oldboy, K-Pop idols. Hong Kong University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-988-8028-66-5. Retrieved 5 December 2011. In 2009, the year-end South Korean popular music (K-pop) festivals and awards were filled with pretty boys disguised as girls. At the SBS Music Festival (Gayo Daejeon), some of the top idol boy bands — Super Junior, SHINee, 2PM, 2AM... {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ Hartong, Jan Laurens (2006). Musical terms worldwide: a companion for the musical explorer. Semar Publishers. p. 15. ISBN 978-88-7778-090-4. Retrieved 5 December 2011. Since the 1990s, popular genres like rap, rock and techno house have been incorporated into Korean popular music, setting the trend for the present generation of K-pop, which often emulates American models. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ Kim, Myung Oak; Jaffe, Sam (2010). The new Korea: an inside look at South Korea's economic rise. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-8144-1489-7. Retrieved 5 December 2011. Rain and BoA belong to what is known as K- pop—Korean popular music. Before the early 1990s, the country's music industry was dominated by traditional folk music (crooned by older, often gray- haired singers), ballads,... {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ Holden, Todd Joseph Miles; Scrase, Timothy J. (2006). Medi@sia: global media/tion in and out of context. Taylor & Francis. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-415-37155-1. Retrieved 5 December 2011. Since the 1990s, the term "K-pop" has become popularized to refer to Korean popular music, being widely used throughout East and Southeast Asia. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ "허영생 "허영생은 발라드라는 고정관념 깨고파"". Sports Seoul (in Korean). 15 May 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011. － 솔로로 나오면서 어떤 모습을 보여주고 싶었나요.
    사람들이 허영생하면 발라드를 떠올리세요. SS501은 댄스곡을 주로 불렀지만 제가 팀에서 메인보컬을 맡았던 까닭에 발라드의 이미지가 강한가봐요. 솔로 준비를 하면서 지인들에게 "나 어떤 거 하면 될까?"라고 물어보면 항상 "발라드 해"라는 대답이 돌아왔어요. "댄스하면 어떨까?"라고 하면 "그냥 노래해"라고 하더군요. '사람들이 저에 대해 잘 모르고 있구나'라는 생각이 들었어요. 댄스도 좋아하고 자신있어요. 발라드는 노래만 불러야하고 재미없잖아요. 댄스하면서 관객들과 함께 무대를 즐기고 싶어요.
    (Question: Comparing to group and solo debut are there are kind of look you wanna potray?
    Young Saeng: If mentioned about Heo Young Saeng, people will tend to think about ballads. SS501 songs are usually dance songs, but because I am the main vocalist, thus the image of me as a ballad solo singer is more deep in people. So I asked my friends: "What should I sing?" I got "sing ballads" as the answer. "How about dancing?" "You will be remain better singing." Thus I find that those people really dont understand my thinking. I myself also like dance songs. Ballads which only sing will feel bored. Dance song can enjoy with the audience together.)     {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help); line feed character in |quote= at position 30 (help)
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  23. ^ Mendoza, Jaime. "Wonder Girls to Invade China in 2010." Asia Pacific Arts. 31 Dec. 2009. Web. <http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/w_apa/showarticle.aspx?articleID=14188&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1>.
  24. ^ 지은, 백 (2012-02-17). "韓가수, 지난해 日서 3490억 벌었다! "소시-카라, 견인차 역할"". Sports Joseon. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
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  26. ^ The Chosun Ilbo K-Pop Gets Billboard Top 100 Chart 26 Auguest 2011. Reteieved 2011-10-07
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  28. ^ "Bored by Cowell pop? Try K-pop". Guardian. 2011-12-15. Retrieved 2012-1-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  29. ^ 한, 상미. "소녀시대, 미국 진출…CBS•ABC•NBC 방송 연달아 출연 ." Nocut News. 2012 02 02: n. page. Print.<http://www.nocutnews.co.kr/Show.asp?IDX=2047598>.
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  37. ^ McClure, Steve (2006). Billboard Vol. 118, No. 18. Billboard. p. 23. ISBN 0006-2510. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
  38. ^ a b c 이, 동연 (01-11-2012). ""케이팝에 왜 열광하지?"…케이팝의 두 얼굴". PRESSian. Retrieved 11 March 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ TIME Magazine: Korean Pop – Show Me the Money[dead link‍]. 205.188.238.181. Retrieved on 2011-02-20.

Bibliography

  • Heo, Juno (2012). K-pop community site. http://koremusic.tistory.com. JunoHeo Publishers. {{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help)
  • Hartong, Jan Laurens (2006). Musical terms worldwide: a companion for the musical explorer. Semar Publishers. ISBN 978-88-7778-090-4.
  • Holden, Todd Joseph Miles; Scrase, Timothy J. (2006). Medi@sia: global media/tion in and out of context. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-37155-1.
  • Jung, Sun (2011). Korean masculinities and transcultural consumption: Yonsama, Rain, Oldboy, K-Pop idols. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-988-8028-66-5.
  • Kim, Myung Oak; Jaffe, Sam (2010). The new Korea: an inside look at South Korea's economic rise. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. ISBN 978-0-8144-1489-7.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to K-pop.
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