K-pop phenomenon: how it got world fame

as well as in the rest of the world, the K-pop phenomenon has been increasingly on the rise in recent years. But what is K-pop? And why has this genre of Korean music become so popular around the world?

When was K-pop born?

Korean pop music was born about 30 years ago when Lee Soo Man founded SM Entertainment, which is now one of the leading Korean entertainment companies. In 1992 the group Seo Taiji and Boys participated in a Korean TV show, presenting themselves with a performance that incorporated in the lyrics of the songs some English words, with a hip hop and R&B rhythm, with choreographies and tunes aimed at teenagers. Although the show's judges were shocked by the performance, the younger ones liked it to such an extent that it climbed the charts by staying at the top for 17 straight weeks.

In the wake of the success of this new musical genre, two other major record companies were founded in Korea at the end of the 90s: JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment.

Among the most famous K-pop groups of the early 2000s are TVXQ, which also became very popular in China and Japan, riding the Korean wave of that period. After TVXQ there were, among the male bands, the Super Junior and the Big Bang, while the Kara and 2NE1 were the most prominent girl bands in 2007. But obviously, these are just some of the hottest bands in the music scene. Korean pop of the last decades.

We cannot, then, not mention the global phenomenon “Gangnam Style”, a piece created by the eclectic music producer PSY. Gangnam Style was the video that hit a record of over 1 billion views on YouTube in 2012.

What characterizes K-pop groups?

The minimum number of members of a K-pop group is 4 people. In every K-pop group there is a sort of ranking, with the leader, usually more "senior", who is expected to be mature, charismatic and able to handle any situation for the good of the group. Then there is the one considered particularly attractive and which represents the ideal of beauty, according to the standards of K-pop idols of course. Then there is the younger member, who inevitably is "labeled" as the cute and shy one, someone to protect.

K-pop groups are divided into categories: there is the lead singer, who often sings much more than others, there is the rapper, with good rapping skills than the others, and there are dancers, who sing less but they move more.

Every K-pop group and community can be considered a real family. The idols are very fond of their fans, and vice versa, and the members of each group share life together virtually 24/7, living in the same house and training for almost non-stop performances.

K-pop groups also work a lot on collaborations, with other Korean artists, but especially foreign ones. Think of the song "Kiss and Makeup" by Dua Lipa in collaboration with Blackpink, "boys with Luv" by BTS with Halsey, and "Close to Me" by Red Velvet with Ellie Goulding and Diplo.

Let's not forget, then, the aesthetics. Make-up, hair, and costumes are fundamental and distinctive elements of the K-pop phenomenon, and more and more Korean idols undergo cosmetic surgery to represent certain beauty standards established by show business.

The economic boom in Korea thanks to BTS

In 2013 BTS was born, also known as Bangtan Boys, a group of 7 boys that quickly became famous all over the world.

According to the Hyundai Research Institute, BTS generates over $ 3.5 billion annually for the Korean economy. This is mainly due to their global success, if we think that in 2019 they were the first Korean band to perform at the iconic Wembley stadium in England, where legendary bands such as Queen, the Rolling Stones, or the likes of Michael Jackson. BTS concerts sold out, with 60,000 fans in prime time alone. The band originally planned to only perform one night, but the tickets all sold out in just 90 minutes, so it was decided to add a second concert. There are those who compare them to the Beatles of the 21st century.

The K-pop phenomenon approaches the Korean language

The K-pop phenomenon has led Korea to be known all over the world and to attract many young people to the Korean language. In fact, by memorizing K-pop songs, fans want more and more to know the Korean language and culture and to visit the country from which their idols were born.

Also in our opinion using K-pop songs is a great way to study Korean, having fun, and trying to fully understand the lyrics of your favorite songs.

If you are also a fan of BTS or other Korean bands, have you already heard words like (I don't like) and (I like), (love) and  (hate), or expressions like? (what do I do?) and (cute / beautiful). You can certainly broaden your vocabulary and learn a lot from K-pop songs, and then deepen your study perhaps by learning Korean in Korea. This is why we are here at Go! Go! Hanguk, which we offer free advice and support for enrolling in a Korean language school in Korea. There are many options for you: if you want to study for a few weeks you can join one of our study holidays in Korea, or you can spend more time on a three-month or six-month course.

What do you like about K-pop music? Would you like to study Korean and visit Korea? We hope that this passion of yours is then an opportunity to learn even more about Korean culture and language.