The History of K-pop

K-pop, or Korean pop, is a genre of music that from the borders of South Korea, the country where it was born, has rapidly spread among teenagers all over the world. 

The secret of his success lies in his ability to combine music, dance, visual arts, and fashion within the same performance. Its protagonists, called 'idols', are beautiful and the choreographies they engage in are alluring and fun. These ingredients have made hordes of very young people fall in love with Korean pop, but also older people, who follow their idols with adoration.

The beginnings 

Early nineteenth-century - The first Korean pop songs are traced back to the last twenty years of the 1800s and then flourish again, after the end of the two World Wars, in the 50s and 60s. During this period Korean music was influenced by rock and folk music from the United States. It is only since the 90s of the last century, however, that we can speak of K-pop in the strict sense. And more precisely with the debut of the band Seo Taiji and Boys who, for the first time, merged hip hop elements for the choreography and a rap interlude for the musical piece. It was a real revolution.

Conquering the world - Since then there has been the birth of several bands, such as Hot, TVXQ, and BoA who exported K-pop first to nearby Japan and then reached international fame, thanks also to the birth of the first social media. In 2002 'Coincidence', by Baby Vox, had a worldwide success after being played at the World Cup held in South Korea and Japan, while the following year they ranked first in China with their album 'Devotion'. From the mid-2000s a significant portion of the East Asian music market was dominated by K-pop and the growth of music exports was also favored by the rise of South Korea on the international economic and political scene.

On the wings of digitization - In 2002 the music market in Korea recorded an internal value of, 286.1 billion won or 272 million dollars and exports for 6 million dollars. In 2009, following the economic crisis, the domestic market collapsed to 80 billion won and the music industry turned to the Internet and digital music to make its artists known abroad. This led to a dizzying increase in exports which reached $ 31.3 million and made the Korean music industry the 14th largest in the world. According to Billboard in the first half of 2012, the music industry had a sales increase of 27.8% compared to the previous year and was recognized by the Times as the largest export sector in South Korea.

The Gangnam Breakthrough

Gangnam Style -In fact, the real breakthrough for K-pop came in 2012 with the release of the song "Gangnam Style" by South Korean singer and producer Psy which became the most viewed music song ever, with over a billion views on YouTube. In 2017 it was BTS that established itself internationally by becoming the first Korean group to win a Billboard Music Award. They were later the first Korean artists to win an American Music Award, as well as having a "Love Yourself: Tears" album at # 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2018. BTS holds the Guinness Book of Records for the most tweeted celebrity in the world, both in 2017 than in 2018, and also holds the record for the largest number of interactions on Twitter. 

«A meticulously hybridized product» - According to the professor of ethnomusicology of the University of Hanover Michael Fuhr, K-pop is «a meticulously hybridized product, a unique aggregation of music, visual images, lyrics, dance, and fashion. A real postmodern product, a highly participatory practice implemented through digital media ». The truth is that K-pop music and dance become one and contribute to the success of the band in equal measure.

Hip-hop, funky, and rap contaminations - Being open to transnational influences such as hip-hop, funky and rap music has determined the success of this unique musical genre in the world. Each band includes at least one rapper and the choreography includes breakdance steps accentuated by the hip hop rhythm. On the other hand, within the groups, each artist tends to play his own established role: there is the component who is best at singing, there is precisely the rapper as well as those who perform the most complicated choreographies.

The transition to English -Another key to obtaining international success was the use of the English language and the inclusion of English terms in the songs: while in 1995 the percentage of songs with the title in English in the Top 50 was just 8 %, in 2010 it had risen to 44%. Over time, the use of Korean names has become obsolete and most idols adopt foreign names in addition to studying the English language to ensure greater openness to the global music market. Talent agencies often target the music market of a particular country by differentiating both the language of the songs, which can be sung in English as well as Japanese or Korean and by changing the name of the band itself depending on the language of the country in which it is performed. wants to promote the artist.

A thriving music industry

Over a Thousand Agencies - The success of K-pop led, in a short time, to the birth of a new and thriving music industry including production houses, event management companies, music distributors, and merchandise companies. and services. In 2012, over a thousand management agencies were estimated, almost all of the small and medium-sized, of which only eight were listed on the stock exchange. Among the largest and most successful agencies, in terms of sales and profits, are SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment. These giants of music are called the 'Big 3' and the artists who debut with them start at an advantage over the others and have a greater chance of success due to the large availability of capital and infrastructures they are equipped with.

Attention to every detail -The record labels, on the other hand, take care of every aspect of the career of their artists and the best-equipped ones host, within them, real training centers where the physical training necessary to perform the complex choreographies that are part of the performance takes place. of the idol. When you start working on a project, artists are assigned a "concept" - a visual and musical theme for their performance. After which the writer of the song will give it a certain rhythm so that it can be better choreographed. The same will be performed by professional dancers and submitted to the major and the band in question who will be able to propose any changes deemed appropriate. It is very important that the "concept" awarded is also respected and valued by the director in charge of shooting the music video. As mentioned, in fact, in K-pop music, dance and visual art are equally indispensable for the achievement of the success of a certain song.

The aesthetic canons

Non-threatening male figures - Another fundamental element for the success of an artist is certainly the adherence to a certain aesthetic canon. With the rise of the band Seo Taiji and Boys, the classic Korean male beauty model that wanted the robust man with a round face was subverted. Idols, on the other hand, are characterized by an androgynous look, defined as a "masculine femininity", with slender and slender bodies and thin and delicate facial features. A study related to K-pop has highlighted how fans of this musical genre appreciate this type of physicality because they do not feel threatened by male figures adhering to the man-patriarch model to which they are subordinate.

Beautiful and delicate girls - Artists who are part of a girl band must be beautiful and delicate and adopt alluring and sensual looks. While in the 90s girls had to look very simple and their image was in line with their age, with the passage of time, there has been an increasing sexualization of the female figure. In 2014, the Korean Fair Trade Commission passed a law aimed at protecting minors from harmful work practices and overt displays. Yet the phenomenon does not seem to have stopped and the pressure of young idols to yield to the adoption of Neolithic attire and provocative attitudes remains very strong.

Recognition - The truth is that in K-pop the identity of an artist is inextricably linked to his own image and the use of fashion, make-up, and the adoption of a certain cut or hair color makes him immediately recognizable at the own group of fans, called 'Army'. This phenomenon is unknown in both the US and Japanese music markets. Idols have become dev real brands and have a huge influence in the fashion industry. There are not a few Korean artists who have become style icons: G-Dragon is a true influencer and CL, for example, has collaborated several times with the stylist Jeremy Scott.