Skip to main content

K-pop: Popular Korean Music Making Waves

— by Parmita Borah | Bangalore
The west is where it had its inception, but pop music and pop culture soon established its dominion over the whole world in a short span of time. The international monoculture that surged as a result of Pop influence has seen the ascendency of American and British music industries, but with advance of technology and media, countries soon started following their own forms of pop music, in many cases, producing local versions of global trends and assimilating local characteristics. K-pop is one such genre that seems to be gaining popularity across the globe by the hour. An abbreviation for Korean Pop or Korean Popular music, the genre consists of electropop, hip hop, pop, rock, and R&B music. 

K-pop originated in South Korea and in addition to making South Korea's music industry a viable one, K-pop has emerged as a popular subculture among teenagers and young adults around the world. K-pop’s popularity greatly thrives on the internet and social media. With presence of artists and bands on Facebook fan pages, iTunes, Twitter profiles, and YouTube, the ability of K-pop to reach a global audience via Internet is driving a paradigm shift in the exposure and popularity of the genre. 

K-pop grew into prominence with the debut of Seo Tai-ji Boys in 1992. Popular girl bands and boy bands formed and gained widespread acceptance with the founding of South Korea's largest talent agency, S.M. Entertainment, in 1995 by Korean entrepreneur Lee Soo Man. Groups such as, S.E.S., Fin.K.L, H.O.T, Sechs Kies, G.o.d. and Shinhwa had huge success in the 1990s. During this period was the emergence of hip hop and R&B music in Korea, leading to the success of artists including Drunken Tiger. The late 90s saw the emergence of few other talent agencies YG Entertainment, DSP Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment that produced talent as quickly as the public could consume it. 

K-pop has had a steady growth in foreign markets outside of Asia, most notable in the United States with korean bands beginning tour with the current faces of English Pop like Jonas Brothers. In 2001, Kim Bum Soo became the first Korean singer to be placed on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart with his single, "Hello Goodbye Hello". K-pop’s popularity has witnessed a rise in Canada and Australia as well. As a thumb rule of pop music, K-pop too is represented by young artists. As performers, they assimilate high style quotient, trendy looks and dance skills and the ability to synthesize the music of the moment of the West whether it is done as Korean rap, Korean soul, Korean rhythm and blues, or Korean middle of the road music. 

The popularity of contemporary Korean music and pop stars has climbed such heights that Asians have designated a word to reflect this fact. Hallyu, or Korean Wave, is the word noting how influential Korean culture has become in Asia. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

10 music fests in North East India you don't want to miss

— compiled by Debjani Hazarika Northeast India is known as the land of festivals and culture. From the beginning, people of this part of the world have been indulging in merriment and diversion. Hence, the music, dance and other forms of art are the integral parts of everyday life. Apart from traditional festivals, since the commencement of television and social media, many young enthusiasts came up with the idea of organising different music events and festivals where local and acclaimed musicians can showcase their talents. Some of the festivals are funded by the state governments while the rest organised with the help of private sponsorship. Here is a list of some of the music and cultural fests we thought you would love to attend if you are into music and adventure. Hornbill Festival (Nagaland) Hornbill Festival 2012, Nagaland (photo: Sudeepta Barua) WHAT? Hornbill Festival WHEN? December WHERE? Naga Heritage Village, Kohima, Nagaland The Hornbill Festival is a celebra

16 Rock Bands from North-East India you don't want to miss

North-East India is very rich in music, dance, tradition and culture. All the eight states of North-East India have something to offer for rock music lovers. Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, is also known as 'Rock Capital of India'. Some of the festivals promoting rock music of the region like Hornbill Festival of Nagaland and Ziro Festival of Music in Arunachal Pradesh are quite famous among music lovers. The region gave birth to many well known and respected Rock bands since the 60's. We have compiled a list of 16 (sixteen) comparatively new bands we love listening to all the time. Of course, there are various other bands apart from these sixteen bands who have made their mark on the Rock music scenario of India. We will post about those bands in our next segment. The Vinyl Records (Arunachal Pradesh) | photo: Facebook The Vinyl Records (Arunachal Pradesh) - Formed in February 2010, The Vinyl Records is an All-girl Rock band. They have performed in well

Gaurav Choudhury | Assam | ChaiTunes Artist

Gaurav Choudhury | ChaiTunes Gaurav Choudhury is a guitarist and a versatile singer. He has been playing the guitar for many years and composed songs in English and Assamese. He joined the team at ChaiTunes Project in 2017 and has worked for different collaborative projects like Anuron and Niyoror Xur with musicians from around the globe. Gaurav is an Engineer by profession. Gaurav's ChaiTunes Videos Anuron (live & unplugged) is recorded & shot live at the Eastern Fare Studios in Guwahati. It is the first of ChaiTunes Series' unplugged numbers & fourth of ChaiTunes series of music videos. The song is written and composed by Jim Ankan Deka and features Rupam Bhuyan, Veda V Sarma, Prabal Gogoi, Gaurav Choudhury & Jenie. Marvin Gaye (live & unplugged) is recorded & shot live at the Music Malt Studios in Guwahati. It is the first of ChaiTunes Series' unplugged cover numbers. The song features Catherine Khiangte, Jim Ankan Deka, Veda V Sarma, Prab