A brief history of k-pop. K-pop: Korean culture taking over the world? Korean pop culture

KPop or K-Pop is an acronym that stands for Korean Pop Music. It can be used to refer to all popular music in Korea, but is often used to describe a specific genre that has dominated the Korean music market for the past 20 years. The genre includes elements of Western pop, dance, electronica, R&B and hip-hop.

Mini story

Like many South Asian countries, the area today South Korea was subject to a number of foreign influences that led to the development of its own popular music market. During the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) local and foreign composers created a mixture of traditional Korean music and gospel that is popular to this day and is known as trot.

The end of Japan's brutal colonial rule marked the advent of Westernization. Western music began to be broadcast on the radio, and clubs playing this style of music popped up in various places to please the American soldiers still stationed in South Korea. It was at this time various genres Not only the Korean public, but also domestic musicians became interested in Western music.

Own music industry South Korea began to flourish in the 60s. At that time, the first labels began to appear, the first singles were released, and talent competitions were organized. The 70s were marked by the era of hippie folk pop music

and the emergence of DJ culture. The 80s are known as the "era of ballads".

Korean pop music in the 90s

What we know as K-Pop today is a phenomenon of the 1990s. Then new ones music bands created innovative, catchy songs with lyrics that dealt with everyday issues in Korean society. This is how the path to modern sound. The mid to late 90s saw the founding of many of the music labels that dominate the market today. Then the underground musical movements hip-hop and rock began to become more successful and popular.

21st century: the beginning of the Hallyu wave

Beginning of XXI century marked the beginning of the global Korean wave. Over the past 15 years, interest in Korean culture, especially entertainment products such as Korean television dramas and Korean pop music, has been on the rise.

K-Pop groups and their hits

The Korean pop music phenomenon known as K-Pop has taken the world by storm. Let's look at the largest representatives of this style.

Perhaps the most famous song K-Pop is Gangnam Style, which was a global hit performed by Korean rapper Psy. The song and accompanying video, which included a distinctive dance, went viral, spreading Korean pop music to a wider audience. By the end of 2012, the song topped the charts in over 30 countries and had enormous social and cultural influence. Even then US President Barack Obama was seen performing the dance!

One of the brightest big stars of K-Pop is G Dragon, who in his songs touches such deep and complex topics, like self-destruction and narcissism. In 2016, Forbes named him the most powerful person under 30 in Asia. He was originally a member of the group Big Bang, and since 2009 he began performing as a solo artist. Since then, he has released many singles and albums.

K-Pop is not only solo performers! Thus, a group of nine girls called Twice released a video for the song Cheer Up, gaining more than 195 million views on YouTube.

Girls Generation is a group of eight girls. The concept of their music is to balance sweetness and sexuality. The group debuted in 2007 and has already released nine studio albums.

Boy bands

Of course, K-Pop songs are not only sung by girls. For example, EXO is a group of nine members. They debuted in 2012 and have since released four studio albums. In 2017, they released a video for the song Ko Ko Bop.

One of the most influential groups K-Pop style- this is BTS. On this moment they are rightfully considered legends of Korean pop music. They became the first Korean artists to have a song debut on the Billboard chart. They were also honored to perform on American television during the AMA Awards. They debuted in 2013, released four studio albums and sold nearly 10 million singles.

One of the latest K-Pop news is that BTS is expected to make a comeback with a new album on May 18, 2018. In addition, on May 20 they will perform again at the American music award BBMA, which will retain their title as true legends of the Korean pop music industry. Their breakthrough into the global music scene shows that K-Pop is not just for Korea.

How do you become a K-Pop star?

There are three things that make K-Pop so distinctive and unique in the pop music field: exceptionally high-quality production (especially the dancing), an extremely polished aesthetic, and a homemade studio production method. However, the pop industry within the country is highly competitive. Starting from the age of 10-12, children begin to attend music auditions and special schools where they learn singing and dancing. The behavior of children is also polished there: they are prepared for the life of a pop star. From a young age, children spend hours in daily rehearsals, take part in weekend music shows, as well as special group performances. Through these performances, children can build a dedicated fan base before they debut as official pop stars.

After an idol—that’s what stars are called in Korea—has been perfected, the label begins to take care of it: recording an album, going on TV shows, and going on tour begins.

What you can't see

The K-Pop industry is known to be exploitative. The life of idols is grueling to the point that it feels like slavery. Performers regularly subscribe to long-term contracts, known as "slave contracts". These contracts are so strict that they sometimes spell out the behavior that the pop star must adhere to. Artists are prohibited from having any personal life.

IN last years increased public attention to these issues has led to changes. Thus, in 2017, several studios agreed to significant contract reform. However, as the recent suicide of Shinee artist Kim Jong-hyun shows, the pressure placed on performers is carefully hidden.

Fan base

The army of Korean pop music fans is not limited to Asia. In fact, fans are the foundation of K-Pop's success. So, this style of music is extremely popular in the CIS. For example, in social network There is a K-pop Stock group on VKontakte. A huge number of fans of musicians from Korea gathered here. Fans actively support their favorites. There is also a website k-pop.ru, which has a function identical to the above group.

Modern K-Pop seems to be a seamless, gorgeous, perfectly functioning machine, complete with a few glaring contradictions that make it all the more fun. Yes, Korean pop music is a collection of vivid contradictions.

None of this is accidental. K-Pop is the international face of South Korea thanks to its extremely streamlined, coordinated production system. More than any other music industry, K-Pop is strategically designed. It seems designed to work its way into your brain, thereby elevating South Korea and its culture on the world stage.

Thanks to a combination of global political changes, the work of funds mass media, fan support, and a huge number talented performers who went through a difficult school musical life, we have the opportunity to enjoy the true phenomenon of Korean pop.

Post 03/13/2017 Super User 3616

Nowadays, various trends in culture are sweeping one after another. What have we not seen over the past few years! However, there are things that are steadily gaining popularity and spreading throughout the world. And today I will tell you about this popular subculture, like k-pop and explain what it is and where it came from.

K-pop is musical genre, which originated in South Korea and carries elements of Western electropop, hip-hop, dance music and modern rhythm and blues. Surely everyone remembers the stylish PSY, who took over the world with his song Gangnam Style in 2012? So this was just the beginning, because k-pop continues to slowly but surely capture the world and the sympathies of young people.

K-pop artists are confidently making their way not only to the Asian market, but also to the rest of the world. The Internet has allowed young guys with bright hairstyles not only to become stars, but also to make their creativity the basis of a new youth culture, which, in some cases, develops into a cult. Their concert tours span countries: USA, France, Germany, Chile - K-pop fever spreads quickly and regardless of geography. And Russia is no exception.

Representatives of this genre with their music make it to the top of the most authoritative charts (for example, the American Billboard). BTS, one of the famous K-pop groups, with their album Wings stayed at 26th position for 2 weeks, next to Adele. Before this, no K-pop group had managed to reach such heights, which speaks to the power of their songs and the speed at which they gained popularity.

But how do people become interested in this genre? To understand this, I decided to talk to two Russian-speaking K-pop fans and find out how they discovered this culture.

Alina: ""My sister told me about K-pop because she was studying Korean at the time. I was about 12 years old at the time. At first I wasn’t attracted to K-pop songs. But after 2 years, I accidentally came across one of those songs that my sister played for me and I decided to listen to it. As a result, I sat for 2 hours listening to the songs of this group. My sister, having learned that I liked the songs, began to send me other groups and dramas. I was amazed by the synchronicity and complexity of the dance of K-pop artists. They made everything so easy and beautiful, but if you try to repeat it, you will understand that it is hellish work to learn their choreography. That's how I became interested in the K-pop genre.""

Irina: "I discovered K-pop by accident. One day I was looking for something to watch and was offered one “movie” (later I realized that it was a drama). The drama was called "Let's Go, Handsome Men." And after watching it, I started looking for music and met by Boyfriend. From that time on, I began to become interested in Korea and this culture. This was about 4 years ago. That’s how I slowly learned about k-ror. Maybe it's fate. What attracts me to k-pop is that most songs have deep meaning. Sometimes they helped me a lot in difficult times. Well, where would we be without their choreography, it is, as always, complex, beautiful and rhythmic. The attitude of the artists towards the fans shows their sincerity, they show themselves as they really are, and this is very touching."

In Russia, k-pop has just begun to gain its popularity, but it is doing so faster and faster. Thanks to the activity of the community of Russian fans, K-pop artists began to be published in the well-known magazine for young people “All Stars”, and their clips were shown on Russian television. All this tells us that, having emerged as a musical genre, K-pop has turned into an entire subculture with millions of fans among young people around the world.

As promised, I’m returning to the story about the “Korean Wave”, or k-pop, but from a different point of view, more historical. You can read about modern manifestations of k-pop in.

Korea in the 19th and 20th centuries suffered many historical upheavals, and the country was first under the patronage of the Chinese Empire, then the Japanese colonized Korea, and then during the Second World War and Korean War ended, South Korea began to experience strong cultural influence from the West, primarily the United States. Thus, Korean modern culture was formed sometimes in spite of, and sometimes thanks to, outside influences.

Korean historians and scientists, when they talk about the spread of Korean culture, highlight several stages and several key episodes.

So, at the time when Korea was colonized by Japan, there was one very famous dancer, her name was Choi Seung-hee, she did performances that were based on a combination modern dance and national Korean dances. Seung-hee was so popular and famous that she performed on tour not only in Japan, but even in the USA and Latin American countries. But since Korea at that time was under the control of Japan, Japan pursued a policy of Japaneseization, including names, the dancer performed under the Japanese version of her name Sai Shoki.

Representatives of the Korean independence movement did not like her for this and accused her of collaboration with Japan. After World War II, it so happened that Seung-hee followed her husband and ended up in North Korea, where, in general, she was in a privileged position and ran a dance school until the end of the 1970s. Due to this unusual fate and the tense relations between South Korea and the North, the figure of Choi Seung-hee was ignored by South Korean academics and the public when discussing the formation of modern Korean culture. Now this taboo has been lifted.

The next breakthrough of Korean culture is associated with the adaptation of Western modern culture in the 1970s. Great success was the breakthrough of the Korean kittens group, which also toured the world and even stopped by the BBC, where they covered the Beatles. Their phenomenon was that they sang in English, performed covers, were dressed according to Western standards, but at the same time, beauty that was exotic for those times did its job.

The period immediately after the financial crisis of 1997 turned out to be very important for the Korean wave, as the film industry announced itself. It was at this time that Koreans decided to invest in the production of cultural products and reached a new qualitative level in the production of dramas ( Korean TV series) and full-length films that they began to be bought and shown outside of Korea. In 2002, the cult drama “Winter Sonata” was shown. It was so popular in Japan that it was shown twice in one year, and then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said that the actor who played main role Bae Yong-joon is more popular than himself.

In parallel with “Winter Sonata,” the full-length film turned out to be a huge success. romantic comedy"My crappy girl"("My sassy girl"), released in 2001. It turned out to be so successful that it was first remade by the Japanese, and then even... Hollywood, in 2007. This was the first time Hollywood bought a film from Korea. But the American version failed... But nevertheless, the bastion was taken and the Americans continue to periodically re-shoot South Korean megahits.

This is very Short story development of k-pop, which continues to develop and turns out to be so successful that it annually brings in 2 billion US dollars in income from sales abroad of various products of modern South Korean culture, that hundreds of fan clubs of dozens of k-pop teams are created in various countries, in including Kazakhstan.

Success has back side- so the Chinese government state level limits the amount of airtime for Korean-produced programs and films, because it reached the point that the broadcast schedule of some channels almost entirely consisted of Korean media products; in Japan, small demonstrations with anti-Korean sentiments periodically arise due to the oversaturation of Korean programs and dramas; also, based on the example of Manipur in India, fears have been expressed that such a strong spread of Korean pop culture could not only push Bollywood, but undermine traditional culture, since young people prefer Korean style.

But nevertheless, if you choose between the original South Korean film and its adaptation from any country, then it is better to watch the original.

New shocking groups from Asia began to appear frequently on music channels and on the Internet. Possessing a unique style of clothing, excellent choreography and incomparable songs, they are winning more and more fans around the world. The name of this phenomenon is K-pop.

The early nineties can be considered the starting point of the march of k-pop in its modern form. In 1992, a trio called Seo Taiji & Boys performed on a local television talent show, performing a hip-hop song with a distinctive Western sound. Nowadays such groups as “Girls Generation”, “Super Junior”, “Big Bang” perform in this genre, which have become widely known not only in Asia, but throughout the world.

Russians are familiar with K-pop only thanks to the famous video by PSY “Gangnam style”, which has received more than two billion views on YouTube. But in reality, this video is just a small tip of the iceberg of Korean popular music.

K-pop and its features

K-pop is a music genre that originated in South Korea. The melodic part incorporates many other styles, such as electronic and dance music, rock, hip-hop, and may even contain elements of classical and country.

It is being performed idols (eng. Idol)- guys adolescence, who have been specially trained in vocals and dancing by production centers since childhood. K-pop groups consist of either only girls or only boys, and their group size varies from five to nine people. So what is so special about this popular music that makes it so fascinating?

Of course, these are the songs themselves - simple melodies, mostly with a strong bias towards electronic dance music, which “clings” to the ear. The tracks are sometimes so captivating that it no longer matters that they are performed in an unfamiliar language. Although in Lately There is a tendency to insert English words into a song to attract listeners from all over the globe and make them understand what the story is about.

The topics of the songs are very diverse: from food and lifestyle to romantic relationships, and some songs can be full-fledged stories containing deep thoughts. It is worth noting that such music not only looks at Korean culture, but also includes many references associated with other countries and peoples.

Idols: "fake idols"

These are Korean performers who have signed a contract with some agency involved in music promotion. Before becoming popular and recognizable, young guys undergo complex training courses in vocal, dance and acting skills, and thanks to this, they not only perform songs on stage, but also star in various TV series.

K-pop performers are also trained foreign languages, and the producers bring their appearance to perfection, and in the most literal sense. Almost all idols have undergone plastic surgery and keep themselves in shape by following strict diets and actively engaging in grueling exercises. Usually, private life Such guys are not made public, which adds a certain aura of mystery and enigma to their personality.

Images and dances are cooler than Michael Jackson's

One of the main attractive factors of this genre is the visual content and the image of the performers. Asia has long been famous for its artistry and subtle artistic approach, which has played a significant role in the local entertainment industry.

In all their videos, k-pop stars are professionally made up and have individual style, expressed not only in flashy hairstyles, but also in extravagant clothes. There is an opinion that the image of the performers outshines many Western stars in its effectiveness and originality.

Idols are not at all shy about bringing something new and interpreting modern trends in their own way. A good example Rapper G-Dragon and singer CL can serve as style icons, introducing new trends among young people, be it clothing items or new hairstyles.

Korean groups are famous not only for their vocal abilities, but also for their carefully crafted dances, which require professional training. It takes an insane amount of time and effort to prove that artists dance no worse live than in their videos. Men's dances are based on hip-hop, while women's dances are more sophisticated and simple.

Analogues of the genre in the world

K-pop - not at all unique genre, but all similar analogues are located precisely in the Asian part of our planet. The big and main competitor of the Koreans is J-pop, which, as you might guess, comes from the land of the rising sun - Japan. It also features music performed by idols, and you can see the similarity in concept. But there are differences between them, and this affects the popularity of Japanese and Korean music abroad:

J-pop music videos do not have such powerful visualization and impact, what happens on the screen is almost static, there is no such strong choreography, everything is based on its own identity, and because of this, the music videos seem strange;

K-pop places a strong emphasis on social portals. Each group has its own YouTube channel, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds, where they constantly post photos of themselves, talk about their shows and even hold competitions. The Japanese do not strive for such aggressive propaganda, preferring to work for their “home” audience;

K-pop works according to its own well-established scheme, trying not to deviate from existing canons, focusing on the West and electronic music. J-pop is more experimental, which is reflected in the sound, number and variations of instruments, and also mixes larger number styles, often uses guitar music;

Fans of Japanese music abroad, as a rule, are fans of Japanese cartoons - anime. Popular music Korea is independent from other media arts.

K-pop is taking over the world

K-pop's fan base is growing wider, standing out in separate subculture. This is especially noticeable in Latin America, USA, Europe - and is just beginning to develop in Russia. In our country, fans organize dance competitions among themselves, copying the choreography of their favorite Korean performers, and also perform at events dedicated to Asian culture.

Various festivals are organized annually, including the K-Pop World Festival, the largest of all. Every year it is held in different countries, but the finale of the festival always ends in South Korea, in the city of Changwon. Participating in it are: young talents from all over the world, as well as famous Korean singers. It is worth noting that the South Korean government financially supports the entire infrastructure musical activity, which helps them strengthen relations with Western states.

K-pop is a powerful conveyor belt for the creation of media products, aimed not only at the audience of its country, but also at the whole world. Like Hollywood, it throws more and more new projects onto the market, the number of which can reach up to 90 groups per year, without losing the quality of the content.
This genre of music leaves a positive impression on its listeners: pleasant songs with interesting lyrics, excellent visual content.

All this is very eye-catching. Many teenagers want to be like idols who always look great, have their own sophisticated, impeccable style and have the magic of attractiveness. The desire to come into contact with something ideal and beautiful has made k-pop not just a passing trend, but a part of the lives of its many fans, whose numbers are growing every year.

K-pop groups and artists

Seo Taiji & Boys - a group that existed from 1992 to 1996, which popularized Western hip-hop in Korean music. After the group's disbandment, founder Seo Taeji began a solo career and became famous outside of Korea playing heavy alternative rock music.

Girls' Generation- a very famous and world-famous female octet, founded in 2007. In Korea, it is better known as So Nyeo Shi Dae (Sonyo Side). The songs use styles such as electro-pop and bubblegum pop. They recorded 6 studio albums in Korean and Japanese languages. They are famous for their videos, for which they received an award " Best video of the Year" at the YouTube Music Awards in 2013, beating out Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus.

G-dragon (G-Dragon) - singer, actor, model. In addition to your solo career, participates in the k-pop project Big Bang. Particularly popular won because of his extraordinary style of clothing. He writes songs in the hip-hop genre and has released 2 studio albums.

ARTEM SOLOPAEV

Many of you know that the current generation of idols is already their 4th generation. Many of you don’t know what we went through when information about our favorite band could only be found with great difficulty and every bit of it was valued and treasured.

In the age of the Internet, finding something about your favorite idol or group is no longer so difficult; it is no longer difficult to determine whether you have become a real fan of the group or have turned into an inveterate K-popper.

Here are our 17 signs that you're in trouble:

1 You spend every free moment on Youtube watching video clips, behind the scenes videos and videos about videos. You marvel at their sheer volume. .
2 You've often watched parts of your idol on survival shows, you know exactly how many minutes per episode he was on screen. And, of course, you know his lines by heart.

3 Your Idol's Group Name Is Some Weird Form Of Konglish That Confuses You But You Tell Yourself It's Okay Because Nobody Ever Knows What The Hell Fin Killing Liberty Means But That Never Stopped Lee Hyo Ri become a superstar

4 You actually decided to buy a physical CD K-pop groups, which you haven’t done since the last Hands Up cassette.

5 Then you find out that there are two different versions the same damn album that paralyzes you with indecision.

6 You'll then find that each one comes with a random member featured on the spine, meaning you have a small chance of getting the version you really want. It somehow feels like the odds are worse than the lottery, and the thought depresses you.

7 You look at every kind of performance your idol has done, even if all he does is show up and ride. He tells the same jokes and does the same dance from the show, but you laugh and admire every time because he is the best at slicing bread. You are sure that there will never be a star like him.

8 You make a mental note to apologize to your friends for making fun of their bias earlier.

9 You wondered why K-pop fans took the time to separately film each version of one member of the same performance. Who would watch this, you thought. THAT'S WHO YOU ARE.

11 You've gone so deep into the Youtube catalog that you're now getting recommendations of clips from other celebrities who simply mention your idol's name.

12 For the first time in your entire life, you'll find that watching an idol bromance fanfic is a decent way to spend your day. You won't admit this to anyone.

14 Are you really glad that you don't live in Korea, because then you will become this lady:

15 You're sure you're crazy, but then you remember that it seems vaguely familiar. You try not to dwell on it, or what it means that you are an addicted person. Are you sure that K-pop is safer than drugs? Probably.

16 Your new favorite hobby- Watch videos comparing your idol's face to the puppies he most resembles.
17 You're considering getting a puppy and naming it after an idol. You then remember that you have a cat and it will scratch your eyes out if you bring home a dog. You try to change your cat's name, but she won't respond.

Then you find out that your idol keeps cats and you die from cuteness overload.