K-pop culture
In this article, Rios argues that K-Pop is growing exponentially across the world. The K-pop culture infuses dance, clothing, and Korean culture in music. According to Rios, the culture has spread to Europe, Pacific Asia, Middle Asia, and the United States. The popularity of k-pop became popular due to internet penetration. In 2012, “Gangnam Style,” a song by Psy, was the first video to attain one billion views on YouTube. After the breakthrough of Gangnam Style, Rio argues, viewers went ahead to research more about similar genres of music. Rios further explains that the lifestyle has diversified from music to include other lifestyles. For instance, it is common to find the genre in other fields such as clotheslines and skin products and care. Rios identifies three major styles of the k-pop genre; Twice, Red Velvet, and Big Bang. Twice involves a sparkling sassy style. Red Velvet, on the other hand, involves beautiful but firm ladies. Finally, Big Bang style involves a performance by “bad boys.”
Jinn and Yoon (2016) believe that social media is one of the largest contributors to the rapid spread of k-pop culture globally. They argue that the youths who are the most elite in society, play a crucial role in connecting the rest of the world to the k-pop culture. Unlike in the old school set-up where people had to physically attend theatre shows or buy VCDs, they can now access all the information related to k-pop on social media. The rise of YouTube has made it possible for people to upload educative videos, including tutorials on the k-pop culture. Similarly, social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter has made it possible for youths across different cultures to share their likes. Yin and Yoon, believe that internet contributed to the rapid spread of the k-pop culture in the rest of the world.
In Korea, the k-pop albums have been selling on a large scale. For instance, in 2011, South Korea released 1,100 albums. The total revenue from k-pop in Asia for that year was US$217. 1 million. South Korea recorded US$3.4 revenue from the sale of k-pop albums in the first half of 2012, an increase of US$0.7 billion increase from 2011. The massive increase in revenue made the Times magazine to refer to claim that the k-pop was the biggest export for South Korea. The fast growth in revenue can be attributed to internet penetration globally, which also enables the producers and artists to market the albums more effectively. Active online presence is crucial in getting high sales for the k-pop albums and projects.
K-pop culture has not been entirely successful in the Western world. For instance, the attempt by Wonder Girls, a k-pop group of artists, was not successful in North America. However, Nevertheless, the k-pop artists have not limited their performance to North America and Korea alone. Instead, they have been performing in several countries around the world. For instance, Girl’s Generation, BTS, and EXO have been performing throughout the world. For instance, Girl’s Generation k-pop group and Wonder Girls managed to get into Billboard 200. As early, Wings, a k-pop album managed a slot in UK Album Charts, albeit for a short time. From that time, the album has been featured in the United States Billboard as the leading seller in the k-pop genre. Benjamin Jeff argues that this aspect is attributed to the penetration of Korean online games in America.
K-pop music is diverse and might contain one or a mix of electronic, pop, R&B, Rock, and hip-hop. Although the music is native to South Korea, it infuses the Western instrumentals to give it an international feel. The Western-Asian hybrid makes the music more entertaining and easy to dance or listen to, regardless of the language barrier. Besides, trainees for the k-pop are signed by a particular label at an early age and put in a secluded place. The trainees are trained in various things such as foreign languages, how to dance, and other crucial skills required of them, ask-pop performers. The k-pop idols are trained rigorously, which makes them perform extraordinarily. Jung (2009) argues that the main reason for the success of k-pop culture is the use of transnational approaches. According to him, the k-pop prepares its subjects to be able to work outside across and beyond the confinements of institutions and national borders. The long duration of training enables the k-pop idols to work with other people from different religious, ethnic, and social backgrounds.
The infusion of English culture in k-pop songs makes it even more popular in Western countries. Most k-pop singers who use English were mainly brought up in Western countries. Once the k-pop singers learn English, it becomes easy to penetrate the Western market. However, the k-pop idols and singers do not concentrate on English alone. Instead, after identifying their target market, the idols learn the relevant language in that particular. Elaine does not believe that infusing foreign language to k-pop might distort the message. Since the audience understands the message better, it is easy for them to accept the k-pop song. The k-pop singers are also adopting English names in an attempt to gain popularity among their audience.
The Korean government has been supportive of k-pop artists. Jennifer (2019) argues that contemporary k-pop was highly supported by the South Korean government in several ways. In 2011 and 2012, the South Korean government, through its embassies, organized performances for its k-pop idols. Besides, it has also been encouraging other people from other areas to take part in annual k-pop concerts that are conducted in the country. Since the inauguration of the annual event, the South Korean government has been holding the best MAMA awards, where the best artists and groups are awarded. The awards have also helped the athletes to be highly innovative. The North Korean government has also been organizing similar events to support their own talent. Notably, in 2018, the North Korean government arranged a performance for k-pop artists and attracted 190 artists from South Korea. The attendance by Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader, made k-pop more popular outside Asia.
The k-pop culture is assumed to have started in 1885 when Henry Appenzeller, an American missionary, introduced the western folk songs called changga to them. However, the songs gained more popularity between 1910 and 1945, when Korea was under the oppressive rule of the Japanese rule. The Koreans would use the songs to raise complaints to their Japanese masters. After Korea was partitioned into two, the American army occupied South Korea, consequently introducing the Western culture into clubs. The visitation of big American entertainers such as Louis Armstrong and the introduction of an American radio broadcast in South Korea made Western music popular. With time, the native Korean songs were assimilated into the American culture. Improvement of technology in the mid-20th century made the native Korean singers infuse diverse beats. The native Southern Koreans would use live performances with an American tone to look for money from the US troops.
Although the k-pop songs had been a hit for the entire 20th century, they started to decline in the late 1990s and early 2000. Most of the k-pop idols were splitting, while the rest could not hold many performances. However, in 2003, the TVXQ boy band performed very highly, inspiring other k-pop idol groups. The inspiration of the idol groups led to the birth of the second generation k-pop between 2005 and 2009. The World Cup, which was staged in 2002 in South Korea, further helped increase awareness about k-pop. For instance, the debut of “Coincidence” from Baby Fox at the world cup made the k-pop music throughout East Asia. In 2008, Japan exported k-pop albums valued to be 68%. Similarly, TVSQ sold performance tickets worth US$92.6 million. The record-breaking viewership for Gangnam style by Psy encouraged businesses to invest in the k-pop idol groups and individuals. The investment by the businesses increased revenue to the country and net worth of both the artist and investor.
One of the determinants for the success of an individual or idol group in k-pop is the label that they are signed under. Since the training is carried out rigorously, some people end up dropping out of the training group. Argues that k-pop trainees in South Korea who are signed under JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment and SM Entertainment stand a better chance to become successful. However, before debuting, the trainee must be mentored for a relatively long time. For instance, Jihyo, a member of Twice, was admitted into the academy at the age of eight but made her first debut at 18 years. However, k-pop does not involve music alone but is viewed as a lifestyle, especially in South Korea. South Korea allows its citizens to play k-pop music to express their feelings, which helps them to cope with daily challenges. It also helps them to make their culture known to the rest of the world.
K-pop music has been criticized for practicing social ills and using strenuous training. The Times magazine criticized the decision to isolate trainees, which made them have little access to the rest of the world. It was also established that corruption and exploitation were rampant in the k-pop industry. For example, in 2002, Kim Jong – Jin and Hwang Yong –Woo were exposed and arrested for obtaining bribes. It was established that they accepted the illegal payments in order to allow new k-pop artists to debut on shows. Similarly, the poor regulation of the Korean entertainment industry has made it possible for the agencies to exploit people signed under them. For instance, most of the trainees who are teenagers have been working for long hours, which leaves them exhausted. Also, it argues that artists are given restrictive contracts. The contracts are not put under the watch of the government, and this gives the agencies to flout the contracts.